Seeking Wisdom While You Wait on Marriage

This is a post I shared a few months ago (while I was still pregnant!) in one of our monthly Women Praying Boldly emails. WPB is a group of women coming together to pray for those who are waiting on God to provide them with godly spouses. (You can read more about this initiative here.) I recently passed the torch along to two other ladies, Leeann and Jen, who are now overseeing the group. In celebration of the change in leadership, I wanted to share this post in hopes that it might encourage more of you to check out Women Praying Boldly, if you haven't already:

Happy is the person who finds wisdom and gains understanding. For the profit of wisdom is better than silver, and her wages are better than gold. Wisdom is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her. She offers you life in her right hand, and riches and honor in her left. She will guide you down delightful paths; all her ways are satisfying. - Proverbs 3:13-17

Lately, as I prepare for my role as a mother, I've been reading a lot about the need for wisdom in Proverbs. But I realized that that necessity for wisdom is no less important (perhaps even moreso) when it comes to the search for a godly husband. Because whom we tie our hearts to, whom we become one with is going to affect our lives in the most incredible of ways.

As a mother, I must remember that someday, my child is going to leave our little nest and grow and make her own life, likely becoming one with someone else—not with me and my husband. But as a wife, no matter what life brings or how old we get, I will always be tied to the covenant I made with my husband. There is no such covenant made between me and my child.

So entering into this marriage covenant must not be made lightly. Which is where the deep, sacred call for wisdom comes in.

As I read in the Proverbs, one of the things that encouraged my heart in this matter was the idea that wisdom (which comes from God, not books or education or anything else man-made) is yearning to be found. It is not hiding or elusive, running away and taunting us. Instead, God is calling out to us, desperate to be found and followed:

Proverbs explains: "Wisdom shouts in the streets.She cried out in the public square. She calls out to the crowds along the main street and to those in front of city hall. ... 'Come here and listen to me! I'll pour out the spirit of wisdom upon you and make you wise. I called you so often but you didn't come. I reached out to you, but you paid no attention. You ignored my advice and rejected the correction I offered.'"

And in James, it tells us that if we desire wisdom, we only need to ask God for it, and it will be granted. So simple:

If you need wisdom—if you want to know what God wants you to do—ask him, and he will gladly tell you. He will not resent your asking. - James 1:5

So let us ask rather than ignore. Let us turn to God's vision of wedlock rather than our own culture's definition of what a spouse ought to be like. Let us seek his guidance in preparing our hearts for marriage rather than idle the time we've been given. Let us draw closer to him and wait for his answer—which will surely come.

Tune your ears to wisdom, and concentrate on understanding. Cry out for insight and understanding. Search for them as you would for lost money or hidden treasure. Then you will understand what it means to fear the LORD, and you will gain knowledge of God. For the LORD grants wisdom! - Proverbs 2:2-6

(If you want to find out more about the Women Praying Boldly prayer group, you can read more about it here and sign up to receive the monthly e-newsletters here.) 


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