When I was a teenager in youth group, I used to be told “Pray for your future husband. He needs your prayers.” The advice was good, but no one ever said HOW to pray for your future husband or WHAT to pray for him.
That's where Robin Jones Gunn's and Tricia Goyer's book Praying for Your Future Husband comes in. The subtitle is “Preparing Your Heart for His” so from just the cover you know it's not all about your Prince Charming, but on what the future bride can do NOW to get herself ready for her husband.
Gunn and Goyer have twelve chapters of things we can pray for our future husband. (Although not mentioned, if wanted you could focus on one chapter a month.) Also in the back is a list of fifty-two Scriptures with comments of how to use each of those in prayer. They did make the suggestion these be used one per week for a year.
I really enjoyed the personal stories. Robin grew up in a Christian home and had a romance like every Christian parent would dream of for their daughter. However Tricia had an abortion as a teenager, and even was a teen mom. She talked about having to leave a movie on the first date with her future husband so she could breastfeed. That was certainly anything but romantic, but that man loved her enough he eventually wanted to marry her even though it made him an instant step-father.
The one thing I disliked was a few of the stories were hard to relate to. I saw this because I'm in my thirties, never married, and personally, to hear of a teenage boy running along a church van filled with kids while yelling “I love you” makes me roll my eyes instead of thinking what a romantic gesture. However, I realize the majority of those reading this book will not be as old as me, and most teen girls would gush at the thought of this.
I also loved the story about the purity ring made with Duct Tape that Robin's son fashioned at summer camp. For twelve years he wore Duct Tape around his ankle, repairing it when needed. He said it was a reminder of the commitment he made to stay pure. At his wedding, when he was in his late 20s, he handed his wife a pair of scissors. To me, that's much more romantic than some fourteen year old chasing a church van!
The personal stories alone are worth reading this book, but as I mentioned before, I have been told to pray for my future husband but no one had ever told me HOW. This book is a great resource not only to tell you how to do that, but to give you ideas on other ways you may pray for your future husband.
I highly recommend this for all never married women and for girls about 13 and up. It would make a great gift! I know I would have loved to have had this when I was younger.
*As an update, after I started praying for my future husband, he eventually appeared. I got married on the exact same day the author's daughter got married. I invited the author to my wedding but she, of course, had prior commitments. I can't say how much I appreciated this book while I was waiting on my future husband! *
You can read a preview of this book here:
Awwww I look forward to reading this. I loved your review. Thank you for it.
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