I’ve never been the most patient person in the world. If I want something to happen, I want it to happen now, not five minutes from now, not a month from now and definitely not a year from now. Whether it’s waiting for Christmas morning, waiting for a new episode of my favorite show to come out or waiting to see my best friend, I just hate waiting.

Lately, though, the thing I’ve had the biggest struggle waiting for is marriage. I’ve always wanted to get married (I may or may not have three different wedding boards on Pinterest), and I’ve always been curious to find out who my future husband will be, but recently it’s gone from something I just hypothetically dream about to something I impatiently demand from God on a regular basis.

No matter how much I desperately ask God to just make it happen already, I keep getting the same answer: just wait. Since I seemed to have been absent on the day when my kindergarten teacher gave the lesson on patience, that answer is pretty difficult to hear.

In focusing on begging God to let me get married, I realized I haven’t been focusing on praying for my future husband. I want so desperately to start my life with someone, but I haven’t been praying for his heart in the midst of the waiting.

I know I’m not the only one guilty of this. We get so wrapped up in the fantasy of the perfect wedding day that we forget there is a person who needs our prayers and love, even if we don’t know who they are. God is going to make us wait until He knows it’s right to give us what we want, but in the meantime here are fifteen ways you can be praying for your future husband.

1. Pray for his ability to hear God’s voice.

He needs discernment about what the Lord wants for his life just as much as you do.

2. Pray for his walk with God.

Pray that it is continuously growing, that he constantly makes God the center of his life and that when the time comes, he will be a good head of your household.

3. Pray for restoration of any wounds.

The chances of you meeting someone who has never been emotionally bruised are slim; pray that your future love’s scars are being mended by the ultimate Healer.

4. Pray for his physical health.

5. Pray that he would find the strength to break any unhealthy addictions.

6. Pray the passions God has given him and that God would show him how to use those passions for His glory.

7. Pray that God will open both of your hearts to the kind of ministry you will be doing together in the future.

8. Pray for the plans God has for him and that he is being prepared to take on the call that is waiting.

9. Pray that God will give him the traits he needs to complete his calling.

This can be tricky, because most of the time our character is built through trials, but we always come out stronger in the end.

10. If you plan on raising a family (and even if you don’t) pray that God is preparing him to be a good father.

Pray that you will both have discernment over what a good family unit looks like when the time comes.

11. Pray for God’s provision over his finances.

No, this doesn’t mean you need to pray for a millionaire soul mate, it just means you should pray that your future husband would know how to manage the finances he has. You want him to be prepared for the future you have together.

12. Pray for his self-esteem and his identity in God.

Pray that he wouldn’t measure his masculinity through worldly standards, but by the way the Heavenly Father views him.

13. Pray that he would be slow to anger in difficult situations.

You may think it’s something you can overlook, but when the trials in life inevitably come, you need someone who will be able to find comfort in the Lord.

14. Pray that he would see you the way God sees you and that he would love you the way Jesus loves the church.

15. Ultimately pray for God to show you how to pray for your future husband.

There is no perfect blanket prayer that covers every relationship, and yours is no different.

Whether you know who your future husband is or not, God does, and when you are finally brought together, he will love you even more knowing you have prayed about him all this time.