Providing For, and Protecting, Your Wife and Family

Today I was thinking about how, as the man of the house, we are charged with protecting our family.  It is our God-given duty to provide for our families as well. "But if any man does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” 1 Timothy 5:8

If you are separated or divorced, it is hard to do that “protecting” and “providing”.  How can we protect a wife we are not around?  How can we provide for a wife we do not have communication with? 

Start with prayer.  Pray to God asking how you can accomplish these duties in your circumstances.  Ask Our Lord to provide opportunities to you which will allow you to protect and provide for your wife and family.  

Pray more.  There are some very good scriptures about “protecting” in the Bible.  I would first suggest Ephesians 6:13-17: Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Here is an example of praying Ephesians 6 for your wife and family:

Heavenly Father, Your warrior prepares for battle along with my wife and children. Today my wife claims victory over Satan by putting on the whole armor of God!  She puts on the Belt of Truth.  May she stand firm in the truth of your Word so she will not be a victim of Satan’s lies.  My wife puts on the Breastplate of Righteousness.  May it guard my wife’s heart from evil so she will remain pure and holy, protected under the blood of Jesus Christ.  My wife puts on the Sandals of Peace.  May she go out and proclaim the good news of the Gospel so your peace will shine through her and be a light to all she encounters.  My wife takes the Shield of Faith.  May she be ready to deflect Satan’s fiery darts of doubt, denial and deceit so she will not be vulnerable to spiritual defeat.  My wife puts on the Helmet of Salvation.  May she keep her mind focused on you so Satan will not have a stronghold on her thoughts.  My wife takes the Sword of the Spirit.  May the two-edged sword of your Word be ready in her hands so she can use it to take authority over the Enemy.  By faith, my wife, your warrior, has put on the whole armor of God.  My wife is prepared to live this day in spiritual victory.

This armor is “spiritual armor”.  Pray every day that God’s armor be placed over yourself and your wife and children.  Meditate on Ephesians 6 and really get to know it.  This armor is for protection – you are placing a spiritual protection on your wife and family.  This is your duty.

Pray even more.  I suggest that you read the Book of Hosea.  Hosea was a man who married Gomer, the daughter of a prostitute.  Gomer was unfaithful to Hosea and she ends up being offered for sale as a slave.  Hosea buys Gomer and nurses her back to health.  While Gomer is still away from Hosea and chasing after her lovers, God says that He will put a HEDGE around Gomer. "Therefore, behold, I will hedge up thy way with thorns, and make a wall, that she shall not find her paths. And she shall follow after her lovers, but she shall not overtake them; and she shall seek them, but shall not find them: then shall she say, I will go and return to my first husband; for then was it better with me than now" (Hosea 2:6-7). Remember that the hedge is to be a wall of protection from wrong outside influence. Gomer would not be able to fulfill her own ungodly purpose. She would follow after her lovers but would not be able to overtake them. She would seek after her lovers but not be able to find them.  God said that He would cause her to see that it was better with her husband than with anyone else.

Here is an example of praying a hedge of protection:

"Heavenly Father, I ask You in the name and through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, to build a "hedge of thorns" around my wife. I pray that through this hedge, any other lover, ungodly friend, or anyone who speaks against our reconciliation, will lose interest in my wife and depart. I base this prayer on Your Word which commands that what You have joined together, let not man put asunder." (Matthew 19:6)

Praying in God’s will is something discussed in the previous post.  That same idea can carry through to the ideas here.  Praying for God’s help in how to protect and provide for your wife is, I believe, praying in God’s will, for those are our responsibilities as husbands.