How do you change your wife? Honor her. Weird, eh? To realize growth and change in your wife, honor your wife. To honor her means to esteem her, respect her, recognize her, credit her – to accept her for who she is. Consider this, …You husbands must give honor to your wives. Treat her with understanding as you live together…she is your equal partner in God’s gift of new life. (I Peter 3:7) Men, are you treating her as your “equal partner” and as a “gift” from God? She longs for you to do that.

Traveling around the world in ministry affords me the opportunity to observe the male leader who is married. One of the earliest things I like to do is to also meet his wife. When I get to know her and observe her spirit, along with watching how the two of them interact, I can tell if this husband honors his wife. Does she admire him, respect him, speak highly of him or is she weary, angry or unable to meet his impossible standards? It doesn’t take long to discover what kind of man this leader is through the eyes of his life partner.

There is a bit of a caveat hanging onto this honor thing for us as men and husbands. The Apostle Peter writes that if we do not honor this woman and treat her, as we should, …”[our] prayers will not be heard.”