The Law Was Not Abolished

The Husband as Prophet, Priest, and King

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6. He can also pray that his wife would find companions and soul mates who share not only her faith in Christ but also her convictions about how to live as a godly woman and godly wife. He can pray that the Enemy would not disrupt those relationships. A wife needs the strength that comes from solid relationships with others in the body of Christ, who share what the apostle Peter called “a faith of the same kind as ours” (2 Pet. 1:1). T HE H USBAND AS A P ROPHET As part of the headship responsibility, every husband also bears the call to be a prophet in the home. In its simplest definition, a “prophet” is “one who speaks for God.” Although this may conjure up images of fortune-tellers, miracle workers, or locust-eating preachers, the prophet of God has always been one who speaks the word of the Lord. Author and counselor Dan Allender offers a helpful definition of what it means to serve Christ as a prophet today. “He is a bearer of the word of God,” Allender writes, “a spokesman for righteousness, a poet of hope. . . . The true prophet disturbs and invites the heart to return to godly worship. In fact, the prophet is a servant of the church who stands outside the church in order to invite those who appear to be in it to return to true worship.” 4 Here are some marks of a prophetic husband: He hears from God. The prophet, as Allender said, is one who bears the word of God. Before he can speak on God’s behalf, he must be a man who hears clearly the word of God, so that he might faithfully pass it on to his wife and children. The author of Hebrews reminds us that God “spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways” (Heb. 1:1, NASB ). These prophets heard directly from God in dreams, visions, through an audible voice, or through an impression in their spirit. Today, we have the completed revelation of God in the pages of the Bible. To hear from God today, a husband must diligently equip himself as a student of the Scriptures. Douglas Wilson, in his book Reforming Marriage, says: