Dear Heavenly Father,
I desire to be married to a good and Godly man that honors You. I pray we will have children that we will train in Your Word so they will grow up to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with others. I know that this is Your Will for my life, and I also know that it will come to pass because You are faithful to keep Your promises to us. Because I trust Your promise, I am very discerning about the individuals that come across my path. Recently, a man that I’ve known for a long time asked if he could call me. I agreed, and he has called a few times over the last month, but the conversations are sparse, and I find myself asking why he even asked to phone me.
Whenever he’s reached out, it’s always “what you doin’?” or “what are you up to?” It’s never much more than that. Recently, he’s asked if I liked him. He wanted to know what my feelings were in terms of considering a relationship with him. Honesty is always the best way to go. I told him that I think he’s a very nice man, but I felt that talking about a relationship was a little premature.
Father, in Proverbs 18:22(NLT), Your wisdom tells us, “The man who finds a wife finds a treasure, and he receives favor from the LORD.” This is Your standard for the attitude a man and woman in a relationship should have towards each other. Each should regard the other as a treasure. So, when we meet someone that seems nice, the real question is whether they have the capacity to truly treasure someone according to Your standard.
In today’s society, women have made it very easy for men to do the absolute minimum or nothing at all when it comes to showing they value a woman’s worth. Some of them approach you with questions that are more about adding to their egos than making a true investment in the other person. This man is not quite thirty, so quite naturally I would assume that prior to asking such questions, he would have done the things a man does to show his intentions are genuine.
Men actually make time for the things they value, and a woman he’s interested in should be at the top of the list, not the bottom. If a man values a woman, he will make an effort to communicate consistently, and he would put some thought behind plans to spend meaningful time together. None of these attempts have been made. I’m so thankful that You have given us the wisdom of Your Word, so that we can know Your standard, we can discern if it is being met, and measure up to it ourselves.
Your Word tells us that the man should initiate the effort of pursuing, but when I’ve shared this with my friends, they tell me, “That’s ancient! We don’t believe in the ‘old school way’ of doing things.” Just recently, when I told someone Your Word teaches that we should save ourselves for marriage, she said, “This isn’t the medieval times. People don’t do it like that anymore.” This is the sad thing about the times in which we live.
Numbers 23:19(NLT) tells us, “God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through?” In Malachi 3:6(NLT), You said, “I am the Lord, and I do not change.” You do not change and neither does Your Word. When we neglect Your standard, we’re the ones that get left back. Your Word continues to bring life, liberty, and light to those that honor it.
Heavenly Father, I pray that You will inspire the hearts of men to minister to their sons and other young men regarding Your standard of manhood. Please help them to open their eyes to see that Your way is the best way, and that by pursuing Your standard, they will receive Your favor upon their lives. Thank You for our precious and powerful Lord and Savior. Thank You for the extraordinary gift of Holy Spirit and thank You for all Your many blessings. In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray, Amen.
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“God’s Standard Never Changes”, written by K. Lizzie, edited by Reverend Fran Mack for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2020. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! SMS is dedicated to inspiring and encouraging Christian Women through the Word of God.