A Heart That Prays Faithfully

Proverbs 31:2, "What, my son? And what, son of my womb? And what, son of my vows?"

This verse reveals a mother's anxious care for her child's good. He is the son of her vows, meaning a son she asked God for in prayer and dedicated to God. "Son of my vows" also suggests that her child was the object of her daily vows and prayers, "a child of many prayers."  

How lovely is this image of a mother who thinks, loves, acts, speaks, and prays with a large and passionate heart! In her godliness she asks God for a child, dedicates that child to God, and then teaches him the ways of the Lord.

But this mother's passion for God and for training her son in His ways doesn't stop with mere verbal instruction to the child. No, she also speaks to God on behalf of the child. The desires of her mother-heart go deeper and higher than basic teaching and training. She is a mother who prays, who expends her greatest efforts to nurture a righteous walk with her God so that she may effectively pray for her child.

As a woman after God's own heart, she is vigilant about her own walk with God, dealing with sin in her own life (we're back to our first priority!) in preparation for entering God's holy presence and interceding for her beloved child.

Psalm 66:18, "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear."

Yes, But How?

How does a woman after God's heart foster a love for and a commitment to pray for her children?

1.  Learn from godly and praying mothers and grandmothers.  

Real life examples will encourage you and model for you the role of prayers.

2.  Ask God for His insights for your children.  

As you read about the remarkable mothers in the Bible and all their children accomplished for God, you can catch a glimpse of how God might work through your children.

A Passion for Godly Training

As important as it is to pray for our children -- for salvation and for Christian spouses -- we must not stop with prayer. We must also model a life dedicated to the Lord and train our children to follow His ways. Many times a woman starts off well -- she gets married, wants a baby, prays for a baby, has a baby, and goes through a ceremony at church where she dedicates the baby to God. But then something happens -- the baby becomes a reason for missing church.

We must realize that attending worship faithfully instills an important habit in our children's lives and something into their hearts that nothing else can give them. Our decision to take our children to church communicates to them the importance of worship and fellowship in a corporate body.

Hebrews 10:25, "...not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching."

And this decision reaps untold dividends. For starters, your children will never know an option for Sunday!

And so...

...The Bible tells us to examine ourselves. You and I need to do that often to, first, live a life that pleases God and, second, fuel our passion for godly training. God's kind of training takes time and dedication, and sometimes the passion needed for the long haul wanes. Ask your own heart, Am I committed to getting my children to church so they can be exposed to truth, no matter what it costs me? It's never too late to shore up any weak areas in hour heart or in your parenting. 

Our Heavenly Father is waiting to hear our prayers and enable us to raise our children to know Him and love Him and serve Him. Let's pray for the passion and wisdom to take the next steps.

A Heart That Values Being a Mother

A Passion for Teaching God's Word

A woman after God's own heart is first and foremost a woman who has in her own heart a deep and abiding passion for God's Word. And her children - not the children at her church, not the women at her church, not her friends, her neighbors, or anyone else - are to receive the firstfruits of this burning personal passion.

You see, God's Word - the divine law - has value for salvation and value for eternity. God uses His Word to draw people to Himself, and of course this would include our children.

Romans 10:17, "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."

2 Timothy 3:15, "and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus."

Isaiah 55:11, "So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it."

In light of this saving power of God's Word, we must place His Holy Scripture first on the list of things our children must know.  

A Passion for Teaching God's Wisdom

Closely related to our call to teach God's Word to our children is our call to teach them His wisdom. Wisdom encompasses principles, counsel, traditions, models of praise, guidelines for decision-making, and godly practices based on the Bible -- practical and scriptural wisdom for daily life!

Deuteronomy 6:6-7, "And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up."

As mothers who want to raise children after God's own heart, we make a decision to "go all out for the Gospel" and relate every tiny thing to God. We need to talk about God with our children whether it's the "in" thing or not.

Also, we must be aware that the practical wisdom of God is taught in two ways. The first is what we've been discussing, that we teach by our words, by our talk. But we also teach by our walk - by the way we live our lives. Our walk encompasses all that we do and say and all that we don't do and don't say.  Our children are watching and we are constantly teaching our children something, either positive or negative. 

How's your walk? What are your children seeing about God in you?  What are you teaching your children?

A Heart That Loves - Part 2

What can you and I do to show our husbands affectionate, indulgent, friendship love?  Whisper a prayer for your husband as you consider the following ways that will complete the list of suggestions from the last post.

Prepare for Your Husband Daily. 

Preparing for your husband's homecoming each day shows him that he's a priority and communicates your heart of love.

Prepare the House. Take a few minutes before your husband is due home to pick up. The goal is not perfection, but instead an impression of order and neatness.

Prepare Your Appearance. If company were coming, you would do a little something to freshen up, wouldn't you?  Well, your husband is your Number One human priority and is far more important than company, so he should get the most special treatment of all.

Prepare Your Greeting. You probably know approximately when your husband will get home from work each day, so warm his welcome as you wait and watch for him.

Please your husband. 

If your husband is the king of the castle, you will surely delight in pleasing him. And pleasing him means paying careful attention to his wants, his likes, and his dislikes -- and this takes a little doing.

Protect your time with your husband. 

You make your husband your Number One human priority when you protect your time with him instead of treating him as a built-in babysitter and darting out the door to shop when he gets home.

Physically love your husband. 

A fundamental principle for marriage is "rendering affection" to one's mate.

Positively respond to your husband. 

Your simple but positive response means no power struggle, no hurt feelings, no bitter words, no raised voices -- and a much better start and finish to our day.

Praise your husband. 

A primary "never" in your life is never speak critically or negatively about your husband to anyone. Instead, blessing your husband in public, and in private, is one of the best ways to sow seeds of love for him in your heart.

Pray always. 

We began with prayer, and we end with prayer. A woman after God's own heart is a woman who prays. When does prayer make a difference?  

...Take every opportunity throughout the day to ask God to enable you to be the kind of loving and supportive wife He want you to be!

A Heart That Loves - Part 1

Titus 2:4, "That they [the older women] admonish the young women to love their husbands."

As we consider the most exciting insight about being a wife, we must discover the meaning of the word "love" as it's used in Titus 2:4.  

God loves (agapeo) you and me unconditionally, regardless of our shortcomings, and certainly we wives are to love our husbands with that kind of unconditional love. But when God instructs us to "love" our husbands in this verse, the word is phileo, meaning friendship love -- a love that cherishes, enjoys, and likes our husbands! Each of us is to value our husband and build a friendship with him. We should see our husband as our best friend and want to be with him more than with any other person.

Yes, But How?

How can a wife nurture a heart of love, a heart prepared to support her husband in practical ways "until death us do part"?

1. Decide to make your husband your Number One human relationship. Our relationship with our husband is meant to be more important than the relationships we enjoy with our parents, friends, a good neighbor, a brother or sister, a best friend, and even our children -- and the way we use our time should reflect that ranking.

2. Begin to chose your husband over all other human relationships. Again, this includes your children. We must avoid over-investing in children and under-investing in the marriage.

3.  Ask of your lifestyle, "Am I spoiling my husband rotten?" This is what loving your husband is really all about -- spoiling him rotten.

Here are two ways to "spoil" your husband and some creative suggestions to help you follow through:

Pray for Your Husband Daily.  

James 5:16, "The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much." As you invest your time, your heart, and your life in prayer for him, you'll find arguments decreasing and mellowing.  

Create a page for him in your journal, and write his name at the top! List aspects of his life you want to faithfully hold up to God -- his relationship with God, his spiritual growth both at home and in the church, his schedule for each day, and so on.

Plan for Your Husband Daily.  

It's a fact. Nothing just happens -- including a great marriage. Make some plans that will help you show your husband -- and the watching world -- that he is your highest human priority.

One idea is to plan a special dinner that he likes! Make a point of learning all of his "favorites" and then treat him like the king of the castle that he is.

Lord Jesus, thank you for the love that You have placed in my heart for my husband and help me share it with him today. Thank you in advance for the grace to obey your promptings. Amen.