It's been said that a wife can either make or break her husband in the ministry or in whatever God has called him to do. A wife can either believe in her husband and help him, or she can criticize him and hinder him in his call.

In Genesis 2:18 the Lord says, "...It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an HELP meet for him." A wife is a "helpmate" to her husband.

She is called to stand beside her husband and help him, not hinder him. And she should support her husband's call first, not her own interests or desires.

Pray
There are many ways a wife can support her husband's call and help him fulfill the plan of God for his life. But through the years I found that the most important thing I could do to help my husband fulfill his call was to pray for him.

When Kenneth and I first started out in the ministry together, we pastored several churches over a period of ten years. It seemed as though the Lord always led us to pastor churches that had problems no one else had been able to solve.

I think God led us to these problem churches because Kenneth was a man who walks in the peace of God and who trusts God in every situation and circumstance. And Kenneth was a man of prayer. He never made any big decision in his life or ministry without seeking God first and getting God's wisdom.

With God's help Kenneth was always able to deal with any crisis that would arise in those churches we pastored. We watched God bring those problem churches out of difficulty, and they were good, stable churches when we left them.

Pastoring was not always an easy task, but it was always a rewarding task. It was wonderful to see people in our church grow in the things of God and in their walk with the Lord.

And as a pastor's wife, it was fulfilling for me to know that the people were growing spiritually because of the Word of God my husband fed them and taught them.

Kenneth couldn't have pastored those churches like he did without God's help. But we prayed and we sought God, and God was always faithful to bless and help us.

The Bible says, "...The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much" (James 5:16). Anyone can pray halfheartedly about something. But to be effectual in prayer, you need to be earnest and consistent.

Hold Up His Hands
So, wives, pray for your husband and his ministry or call. Hold the situations of his life up before the Lord, and ask God to strengthen him so he can do God's will.

In Exodus chapter 17 the Bible talks about Aaron and Hur supporting Moses by holding his hands up while the Israelites were in battle.

As long as Moses held his hands up, God caused Israel to prevail against the enemy. But when Moses grew weak and couldn't hold his hands up anymore, Israel began to be defeated (Exod. 17:11-12).

When you pray for your husband, you are "holding his hands up" spiritually, like Aaron and Hur held up Moses' hands. And when you pray, God will strengthen your husband so he can continue to do the will of God in his life and be victorious.

There is power in prayer!

If you're not already praying for your husband, I encourage you to support your husband through prayer. If you are faithful to take your place and fulfill your call as a helpmate to your husband, God will reward you because He's faithful.

But if you don't support your husband in the ministry or in the call God has given him, you won't have any reward.

Yes, there is a price to pay to stand with your husband and support the call of God on his life. It won't always be easy, and there may be times you will feel like giving up.

Those are the times you need to draw your strength from God. The Lord is so loving, and His love will never fail you. He will give you grace for every day.

But if you're always nagging your husband and pulling him in the opposite direction from the direction in which he should be going, he won't be able to accomplish very much for the Lord.

Source: The Price Is Not Greater Than God's Grace
by Oretha Hagin.
Excerpt permission granted by Faith Library Publications