A Prayer about the Impossible Woman
Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Proverbs 31:30
Jesus, our True Wisdom,
We thank you for your Holy Spirit,
who gives us wisdom
to understand life
and to understand
that this woman in Proverbs 31 is meant to be an ideal,
a composite of various features
that make a godly woman.
As I was reading about her the other day,
I thought of the high expectations placed on women in American culture:
we are often expected to have highly successful careers
while at the same time being highly successful mothers
raising highly successful children.
Lord, we pray for women in our world,
that we might turn away from both cultural expectations
and some supposedly Christian expectations
that are not your expectations.
Help us not to worry too much about charm and beauty,
or other things that will fade away.
Help us to be wise women,
and to know what work you have called us to do,
whether that be
running a business (Proverbs. 31: 18),
being a realtor (Prov. 31:16),
sewing quilts (Prov. 31:22),
or raising children (Prov. 31:27).
Help us to clothe ourselves in strength and dignity,
not in comparison and competition.
Help us, most of all,
to live in awe and gratitude of you,
to “fear the Lord,”
to enjoy you and glorify you
as the women you have called us to be.
In your gracious name. Amen.
Read Proverbs 31.
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