What Is "He" Looking For? - Part 2

Introduction * Part 1 * Part 2 * Part 3 * Part 4 * Part 5 * Part 6 * Part 7 * Part 8 * Part 9 * Conclusion

2. "She will need to know how to pray."

Communication with God is an important part of the Christian life. In Scripture, we are commanded to "pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Since I have not learned New Testament Greek, I don't know exactly what it means by "without ceasing," but I do know that I fall miserably short of even the most liberal translation of this text!

I don't think that Paul is saying we can never do anything besides pray, but rather that we should have a spirit of prayer throughout our whole day. On a beautiful morning, we can thank God for the blessing of nature. While we are working in the kitchen, we can thank God for giving us an able body and good health. When we think of a friend who is going through a difficult time, we can breath a prayer that God would give her strength. While we are going about our daily work, we can praise the Lord for His provision and sufficiency. As we look around at our families, we can offer a prayer of thanksgiving to the Lord for His blessing of children, parents, and husband. During hard times, we can continually offer up prayers for guidance and strength. When our attitude is not as it should be, we have the privilege of coming to God and begging forgiveness, asking for help to overcome our struggle.

Communication with God is also an important key to sanctification. One of the reasons we are told to pray is that we "enter not into temptation" (Luke 22:40). Whether we have problems with our tempers, our tongues, our thoughts, or a lack of reverence and respect toward our husbands or parents, we have the power of God through prayer to keep us from giving in to those temptations.

Sometimes the Lord chooses to close a woman's womb, as He did with Hannah (1 Samuel 1:5). She prayed diligently that the Lord would grant her a child, pouring her heart out to the Giver of Life. The Lord granted her humble request and gave her a son, Samuel. Instead of becoming frustrated when things happen that are outside of our control, we can go to the Lord in prayer, freely making known our requests. What peace comes from this communion with our Lord!

It is not a wife's duty to change her husband. In Created to Be His Help Meet, by Debi Pearl, the question is asked: "[H]ow should we wives respond to make our own lives better and to provide a window of opportunity for our husbands to respond to God and improve?" In answer, Debi Pearl replies, "[A]bove all else, you cannot become his conscience or his accuser, expecting that pressure is going to push him into repentance."

My mother has informed me that many times a wife's only - but nonetheless effective - recourse is prayer. Created to Be His Help Meet is full of letters from wives who stepped back and stopped pressuring their husbands. Instead, they prayed and let the Holy Spirit convict. One such letter, from "Jill," speaks of the power of prayer: "When things go hard, I praise God and give the circumstance to him.... [M]y house is changing from week to week. I can see the work going on before my eyes, and I stand amazed."

Introduction * Part 1 * Part 2 * Part 3 * Part 4 * Part 5 * Part 6 * Part 7 * Part 8 * Part 9 * Conclusion