The reference to prayer at the end of this paragraph seems to come out of the blue. But the line of thought Peter had been developing in his letter makes the reference entirely predictable. After all, Peter had burst into a song of praise for God (prayer!) in 1 Peter 1:3 due to the Lord’s gracious and sovereign work of granting the gift of birth to certain persons who were spiritually unborn and so making them heirs of God’s infinite grace. That gift speaks to a relationship with God (1 Peter 1:17: “Father”; 1 Peter 1:8: “love,” “joy”). The privilege of this gift means that his readers are a “royal priesthood” (1 Peter 2:11). Old Testament priests offered sacrifices to God in the tabernacle; that is, they had access to God’s throne room in the Most Holy Place, a reality now true for all New Testament saints. The husbands of this passage are of necessity praying men; indeed, since God has assigned leadership to men, they are to lead their families in prayer.
7 Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.