When someone asks how they can pray for you . . .

Last year, I asked Chaplain Scott Koeman to give me a list of specific things we can pray for our active-duty military loved ones. The resulting blog post, “How to pray for your military man,” has proven to be one of our most popular on this Web site. Prayer is powerful, and I believe it is even more effective when we are specific in what we ask for.

So recently, I asked Chaplain Koeman’s wife Benita, founder of www.OperationWeAreHere.com, to provide me with a similar list of prayer requests that would apply to the spouse of a deployed military member. If you are that spouse of a deployed husband, you may not think you need to read this list of prayer requests yourself– but wait! Next time someone asks you how they can pray for you, share this list with them; it’s quick and easy. Better yet, print out both lists of prayer requests (his and hers, so to speak) and see if your church will create an insert to put in the bulletin so the congregation knows how to support you both in prayer.

Without further ado, here’s Benita’s list of prayer requests for the heroes at home:

Pray…that they would trust God and that they would be firmly rooted in Christ and the Word of God and draw strength from Him

Pray…for joy, hope, endurance, strength, patience, protection and safety

Pray…against fear, loneliness, fatigue, despair, depression

Pray… that support would be present when needed, that friends, family, co-workers, neighbors would rise up and extend assistance and encouragement

Pray…for loyalty and commitment in their marriage, and that their relationship would have trust

Pray…that their love would grow stronger during the time apart

Pray…against temptation or inappropriate relationships

Pray… for a healthy way to fill the hours left empty that would have been spent with their spouse

Pray…that they would be strong for their children and would have wisdom and discernment in parenting

Pray…that children would learn how to cope with the deployment (fears, anxieties, sadness) and learn how to express themselves

Pray…that schools would be understanding and helpful

Pray…for the time of re-integration – after the happy reunion, the period of adjustment can be tough