If you are a teenage girl, a single woman, or the mother of either, 
may I recommend a trip to a bookstore? Yes, today. For today is the release of the book Praying for Your Future Husband, the collaborative effort of author friends Robin Jones Gunn and Tricia Goyer.
It didn’t take me long to get excited about this project. Many years ago when I was in my early teens, I first heard the song “Somewhere in the World” by Wayne Watson. In the song, Watson shares how he is praying for his son’s future wife. As music frequently does for me, this song touched a chord in my heart, motivating me to do something I’d never even thought of doing before: pray for my future husband.
In the past twenty plus years as I’ve seen the beautiful results of those prayers, I have shared the idea with more young women than I could ever count. As soon as I heard that Praying for Your Future Husband was being written, I knew that now I’d have a solid resource to share with young women as I encouraged them to pray.
I was definitely not disappointed.
Praying for Your Future Husband is not necessarily a how-to guide on prayer. There is a presupposition that those who read this book already know that prayer is important. However, the authors also make sure to present the truth early on that a personal relationship with Christ is essential.
Each chapter begins with thoughts from Robin, including her own story. Then it flows on to Tricia’s story and thoughts. Woven into each chapter are Scripture passages, verses from Bible paraphrases, quotes from prominent Christian authors, and the stories of other young women who have prayed or are praying for their future husbands. Each chapter ends with two sample prayers, one for the reader and one for her future husband, followed by a series of thought-provoking questions.
I had a complaint about the book that actually fell apart as I came to the end. While reading, I was disappointed as I saw that the authors did not include Scriptures with the prayers in each chapter. But, as I was drawing close to the end of the book, I discovered an appendix with fifty-two Scriptures to pray – one for each week of the year. My complaint turned into delight as I saw that this organization was even better for consistent, systematic prayer focus.
I cannot express how excited I am about this book as a tool for encouraging single women of all ages as they wait for the future God has in store for them. For some, it will be marriage. For others, it will not. But for all, prayer is essential. I began recommending Praying for Your Future Husband before I even finished it, and I hope to soon be walking through it with some young women at church. And, when my own daughters are old enough, I’ll be handing it to them as well.
Interested in reading the first chapter now? Click here.
I received this book through WaterBrook Multnomah’s Blogging for Books program in exchange for my honest review. (Note: a favorable review was not required for participation.)
Not Quite Ordinary 