We need to Fight Virtuously NOT fight viciously
Proverbs 31:10 Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.
Virtuously means morally good. How we behave and treat other people. Matthew 7:12 Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them... Something I say daily to my boys. If we want others to be nice to us, we have to be nice to them first. Lead by example. Pray for them.
Why don't we pray more? God wants to hear from us, and He wants to bless us. Matthew 21:22 - And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. The invitation to pray implies that there are blessings waiting for us at the mercy seat. So why don't we believe God can? James 4:3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. We try to make things happen because we don't want to wait on God to provide. (Credit cards)
The key to getting our prayers answered is believing. Prayer is the world's greatest wireless connection. We can fight yall...on our knees, driving (eyes open), in the shower, while you're cooking, cleaning or doing laundry, just talk to God. when it feels like we can't do anything else, we can always pray.
Mark 11:24 Therefore I say unto you, what things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.
When people got in my husbands face telling him how to preach and I could not say anything. Exodus 14:14 The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace. That was the hardest time in my life. While we were there, money was always tight and we pinched pennies. But we never missed a meal.
I didn't know Jonah (9) was praying for God to send us groceries and Bro. Stacy Pearcy showed up with a truck load from Sam's Club. Everything we needed and so much more! Malachi 3:10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. (I had to drive an hour to just buy another shelf for all the groceries)
Jeremiah 33:3 - Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.
The next year a church from AL we had never met brought us a palate full of groceries specific things we like to eat and could not find or some we could not afford. Chris could not get off work so I took his truck and 4 boys drove an hour to walmart and backed up to their 18 wheeler so they could load us down! WHAT A BLESSING! We had to put some food in the floorboard under the boys feet to get home.
Matthew 6:6 - But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
After 3 years of pouring our lives into this church and feeling beat down spiritually and my health was getting worse, I didn't want to complain to my husband and be the wife that ruined his ministry. So I started praying for 2 weeks constantly all day long, whispering under my breath while homeschooling or just in my heart, praying for God to let us move back to GA. Then on April 4th 2019 my husband told me it was time to go and God had been dealing with him for 2 weeks about it. Its just amazing how God works if we will trust Him.
Romans 12:12 - Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer... (should be as natural as breathing)
Has there ever been a time you watched your children or husband folding clothes or washing dishes but they were doing it "wrong" or maybe you knew there was an easier way. You want to help but you are just waiting for them to ask.
God feels the same way about us. He wants to help us and bless us to make out lives easier but He's just waiting for us to ask. James 1:6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. waver means to be undecided between two opinions or courses of action. Philippians 4:6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. The word pray in all its forms is found 508 times in the Bible. It must be pretty important
1 Thessalonians 5:17 Pray without ceasing. Pray about it as much as you think about it. Take it to the throne before you take it to your phone. No matter how hopeless a situation may seem. God can move mountains if we have the faith of a mustard seed. I have seen him do it so many times. Matthew 7:7 - Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
When we moved to back to GA 3 years ago and there was a donkey next door that never shut up. Yall is it hard to homeschool boys with a loud annoying donkey outside. So I started praying for God to get rid of the donkey and one day I woke up and looked out the window and they were loading up the donkey on a truck! I am not kidding! It was a MIRACLE!
It is true! The more we see God answer our prayers, it increases our faith and brings us closer to Him. If you ONLY pray when you are in trouble then you are in trouble.
As Christian women, we read that about the Proverbs 31 Woman, and we are either inspired or completely intimidated by the list of amazing qualities she has, thinking, “I could never measure up to her!”
This is not just a list of character qualities of a godly woman, but this is King Lemuel’s mother’s idea of a good woman for her son. The kind of woman we need to teach our sons to look for in a wife. The kind of woman we can strive to be for our husbands.
A woman of virtue is a woman who is prepared to fight. This doesn’t necessarily mean fighting like a warrior would fight in battle, but a is a courageous woman who fights for her home. She is prepared in season and out of season, takes care of the matters of her home, and is a spiritual example of godliness that can crush any opposing force.
Ye shall not fear them: for the LORD your God he shall fight for you. Duet. 3:22
We are given a portrait of a woman who: Is a hard worker, provider of food, business savvy, diligent with her daily tasks, resourceful & a planner.
We need to be a woman of wisdom, and use our words to uplift and encourage those around us. The way to combat the enemy, we need to always pray, read the Bible and encourage ourselves and each other with gospel music to get through this life. Fill our minds and hearts with the things of God. Compliment each others strengths instead of pointing out flaws.
Proverbs 12:4 A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband: but she that maketh ashamed is as rottenness in his bones.
Ladies we have more power than we realize in our homes. We can easily fall into the trap of reflecting back someone’s mood like a thermometer detects the temperature in a room or we can be a thermostat that sets the temperature/mood in the home. Which one are you thermometer or thermostat?
Remember this is a spiritual battle we are fighting. Ephesians 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Our prayers may be awkward and our attempts may be feeble. But the power of prayer is in the one who hears it not the one who says it. If we don't pray because we don't feel worthy that is like saying I won't take the medicine because I'm too sick. People may refuse our love or reject our message, but they are defenseless against our prayers.
