Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Wives praying for thier husbands-a most powerful thing

The Proverbs 31 Woman (NCV)
It is hard to find a good wife, because she is worth more than rubies.
Her husband trusts her completely. With her, he has everything he needs.
She does him good and not harm for as long as she lives.
She looks for wool and flax and likes to work with her hands.
She is like a trader's ship, bringing food from far away.
She gets up while it is still dark and prepares food for her family and feeds her servant girls.
She inspects a field and buys it. With money she earned, she plants a vineyard.
She does her work with energy, and her arms are strong.
She knows that what she makes is good. Her lamp burns late into he night.
She makes thread with her hands and weaves her own cloth.
She welcomes the poor and helps the needy.
She does not worry about her family when it snows, because they all have fine clothes to keep them warm.
She makes coverings for herself; her clothes are made of linen and other expensive material.
Her husband is known at the city meetings, where he makes decisions as one of the leaders of the land.
She makes linen clothes and sells them and provides belts to the merchants.
She is strong and is respected by the people. She looks forward to the future with joy.
She speaks wise words and teaches others to be kind.
She watches over her family and never wastes her time.
Her children speak well of her. Her husband also praises her,
saying, "There are many fine women, but you are better than all of them."
Charm can fool you, and beauty can trick you, but a woman who respects he Lord should be praised.
Give her the reward she has earned; she should be praised in public for what she has done.

Today marks the first day of us coming together, in unity, to purposefully pray for our husbands. My prayer: Lord create in me a pure heart and clean spirit, strong and steadfast. Refine the image of Jesus in me, in my character, my thoughts, emotions, and actions. Make me the kind of wife that You say I should be. I want to be a blessing to my husband, not a hinderance. Thank you for the honor and the privilege of being in this cherished position of praying for my husband.

Monday, February 22, 2010

Sweet Spot

Many things that used to make me feel so close to the Lord don't "work" as of late. It's been frustrating, particularly because I've experienced depths of intimacy that I never before knew existed. It would seem that I've lost my way and have become desperate to find my way back again. Last night, during the last 2 hours of the 24 hour worship and prayer @ NH I found myself, early on, trying to find my groove. After doing a bit of wandering around in the sanctuary I found a spot to park for a short while. I then felt prompted to make my way back to Jeff. As soon as I sat down the Lord began to speak to me about surrendering again. I wrote a note about what I am surrendering-things that I think I know about Jesus, things that I expect my relationship with Him to look like, expectations for my experiences with Him to be as they used to be and to find them in the ways I used to find them. I also wrote about the things I'm laying down this season, mostly in order to stay closely in touch with them. I laid the note at the cross and left it there. I went back to Jeff and began to feel the Lord's presence. It was precious to me. Then there was sort of a break in the songs, and an invitation was given to come to the front for prayer, for breaking through. I sensed the Lord begin to prompt me to go forward with Jeff but just as I got ready to ask him, the Lord told me to remain silent, to wait, to let Jeff lead out in this. I submitted to the Lord, and to Jeff. I prayed that Jeff would hear His voice. As I waited, the Lord's presence thickened. It became completely physically overwhelming and I just sobbed...for the rest of the evening. We never went to the front but the Lord met me in a way I have been desiring and desperate for, but He met me in a new place, with my husband, "the sweet spot." This has brought such affirmation about what my focus is to be about and the changes I need to make in my life durning this season of transition.

Surrendering, submission and obedience have opened the door to new things, to blessing. What is happening with my husband is his story to tell, but I can say that he is in for the ride of his life and will never be the same again-HA! And that impacts me-loving the ride already!!