A Prayer for My Wife

For her safety wherever her day takes her: the commute, the school run, the night shift, the walk to the car. A husband cannot be everywhere his wife is; God can. The Catechism says the angels’ “watchful care and intercession” surrounds human life “from infancy to death” (CCC 336).

Two short prayers: one for the morning, before the day starts, and one for the night, when the day is done. The morning one borrows from Psalm 143: “Cause me to hear your loving kindness in the morning, for I trust in you” (Psalm 143:8).

Most prayers for a wife are really prayers for the husband too, and this one says so. St. John Chrysostom, bishop of Constantinople in the fourth century, suggested that a young husband say to his wife: “I have taken you in my arms, and I love you, and I prefer you to my life itself” (quoted in CCC 2365). The Catechism places that line under fidelity, “constancy in keeping one’s given word.”

For a wife who is sick, in pain, waiting for test results, recovering from surgery, or living with a long illness. St. James tells the sick to call the elders of the Church to “pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord” (James 5:14), the root of the Anointing of the Sick, whose first grace the Catechism names as “strengthening, peace and courage” (CCC 1520).

For a wife who is expecting, giving birth, or in the exhausting first months with a baby. Scripture’s great scene of two expectant mothers is the Visitation, where Elizabeth greets Mary: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!” (Luke 1:42). A husband can pray the same blessing over his wife and their child.

For a wife who is worn out, anxious, grieving, overwhelmed by work or children or caring for a parent, or going through a season you cannot fix. “The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves those who have a crushed spirit” (Psalm 34:18). If she is struggling with anxiety or depression, prayer and good medical care belong together; there is a prayer for healing from anxiety and depression. If it is the marriage itself that is hurting, the prayers for that are on a prayer for my marriage.

Prayer never replaces getting to safety. If anyone in your home is being hit, threatened or controlled through fear, the first step is safety, not a prayer. If you have hurt your wife, or she is afraid of you, stop and get help now: the U.S. bishops say men who abuse must be held accountable and need specialized counseling, and warn that couple counseling “is not appropriate and can endanger the victim’s safety” (When I Call for Help, 1992, revised 2002). If someone else is harming her, or she is harming you, the same is true: abuse happens to men as well, and no one is expected to stay in danger. In the U.S., the National Domestic Violence Hotline, 1-800-799-7233 or thehotline.org, answers around the clock.

For a wife whose faith is strong, that it grow; for one whose faith is tired; and for one who does not share yours. Elizabeth’s words to Mary are the best thing anyone can pray over a woman of faith: “Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of the things which have been spoken to her from the Lord!” (Luke 1:45). And St. Paul’s prayer for his readers fits any spouse: “that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith” (Ephesians 3:17).

A husband can bless his wife; the Catechism says every baptized person is called “to be a ‘blessing,’ and to bless” (CCC 1669). Proverbs 31 ends with a husband’s blessing: “Her children rise up and call her blessed. Her husband also praises her: ‘Many women do noble things, but you excel them all’” (Proverbs 31:28–29). Many husbands pray the priestly blessing over their wives as well: “The LORD bless you, and keep you. The LORD make his face to shine on you, and be gracious to you. The LORD lift up his face toward you, and give you peace” (Numbers 6:24–26).

Verses to pray with her name in them, in the World English Bible, Catholic Edition.

For a man who hopes to marry. Scripture’s prayer for a future wife is the prayer of Abraham’s servant at the well, sent to find a wife for Isaac: “LORD, the God of my master Abraham, please give me success today” (Genesis 24:12). And its prayer of a young husband is Tobias’s, made with his bride: “I take not this my sister for lust, but in truth. Command that I may find mercy and grow old with her” (Tobit 8:7). Catholics have long asked the archangel Raphael, who guided Tobias on the road to Sarah, to pray for those looking for a spouse.