A Woman Who Fears the Lord – How to Pray Proverbs 31
A Woman Who Fears the Lord
How to Pray Proverbs 31:10-31 to be the Woman God Knows You Can Be
Look at her. Is she for real?
No one can compete with that.
It is just not possible for me to do what she does.
Her house is clean, she wears nice clothes, she spends time helping the needy, she has built a business from home, her children are well-behaved and respectful, and her husband adores her.
I sure wish I was more like her.
No – that’s just asking too much. In today’s society, no woman can really be like that.
Sound familiar?
Satan knows which buttons to push.
Mom-guilt/woman-guilt seems to be an easy one for him to make use of.
The woman being observed in the story above, she is very real. Her life is possible to have. You can imitate her. Satan is the one who tells you that you can’t.
Why would he do that?
Because this woman, she is “a woman who fears the Lord” and we read about her all throughout the Bible. But she is given specific attention in Proverbs 31:10-31.
Satan doesn’t want you to be this woman. He doesn’t want you trusting that God has created you to be a woman, wife, and mother who can manage as this woman does. Satan doesn’t want you to be a woman of valor.
Not sure where to begin?
That woman who is intimidating. The woman in Proverbs 31.
Let’s start right there.
Using scripture to form prayers helps us to know we are asking for things that God would approve of. If it is something He has shown us or told us to do, praying for it cannot be wrong!
Proverbs 31 can be divided up in a lot of different ways, but let’s just look it this way for now:
Proverbs 31:10, 17, 25-26, and 30 are verses we can use to pray about becoming the woman God would have us to be.
Proverbs 31:15, 20, 25-26, and 31 can give us the words to ask God to show us how we may use our own talents to help others.
Proverbs 31:13, 14, 16, 18, 19, 21, 22, 24, and 27 are all verses that can be prompts for seeking God’s help in finding ways to bring extra money in for the family. These verses also talk about taking care of the family and yourself. So lots of good prompts here!
Proverbs 31:11, 12, 23, and 27-29 can prompt you to pray as a wife (or future wife). Single women and widows can also pray these verses in relation to any relationship – work relationships, family, friends, etc. We always need to be someone who can be trusted. We always want to be someone who does good for people and not evil. We want to be someone who others look to as a source of strength and a reflection of God’s love.
You ARE the Proverbs 31 Woman
If you are a woman getting up each day taking care of your responsibilities and finding ways to help others. You are the Proverbs 31 woman.
If you are a widow who has spent years caring for a family and a husband and are now finding other ways to care for yourself and others. You are the Proverbs 31 woman.
If you are a young wife trying to find the best way to keep your house and prepare meals for your young husband. You are the Proverbs 31 woman.
Who is not the woman in Proverbs 31? A lazy woman who cares nothing for how clean her home is, who allows her parents to provide for her every need even though she is an adult or one who only demands that others do for her but she never reaches out to others.
Still not sure?
One thing I know about confidence. It is best found from a powerful source. I only know one source powerful enough to give confidence that will hold you up through rough days on the job, at home with little ones, or when a marriage is getting rocky – and that’s the Bible. Dig in and see what God has to say to about who you are!
Our Bible study, “To Be a Handmaid of the Lord” is a good place to start. Check it out today!
Angela, I really appreciate what you said about if you are fearing the Lord and seeking His guidance, you ARE a P31 woman. I think so much teaching on this passage has been just surface teaching without getting deep into what it really means. It is so much more than a clean house, spinning, and weaving. It’s about the heart. It’s about the 3 most important relationships in her life – God, her husband, and her children. We also miss the fact that this passage is the span of this woman’s life, not all in the toddler years or teen years of her children. Thanks for sharing your thoughts here.
Thank you Aimee!
I agree – this woman is so much deeper. God gives us each woman in scripture so that we may learn from her. Most of them are in ways that we are to imitate. Learning that the widow in 1 Timothy 5 is an example of living out the woman in Proverbs 31 is huge! Both are women I can be. Both are women God called me to be. Not just the women who are especially skilled in crafts and hospitality – but each one of us. We all have what it takes to be that woman – and as you said, the crux is the fact that she is a woman who fears the Lord. Her obedience and love of the Lord are manifested in how she spends her time and energy. Thank you for stopping by and for commenting!
Oh, I like the woman of valor idea. I have seen too many women giving up on perfection but they aren’t looking at it God’s way, He’s the perfect one.
Much of the time becoming this women feels unatainable. Thanks for this encouragement.
Angela,
“praying for the Lord’s help to be the woman He created you to be”
I am excited by this challenge of going to God to ask for the confidence, courage, and valor to live according to His calling. So often we see the bar that God sets for us and we give up. The bar is high because God is God and we can’t do it without Him.
Wow, I love this, Angela! It is so true that if we fear the Lord we are a Proverbs 31 woman. He is the One who empowers us, not us trying to attain an unreachable status. I love how you broke the verses into a prayer challenge. Great idea. Sharing and pinning!
I really enjoyed Donna Partow’s book, Becoming the Woman God Wants Me to Be, since it breaks down Proverbs 31 into many practical steps. It helped me look at this chapter in a totally different and hopeful light.
Hello Sarah!
I had not heard of her book. I will look it up! Thank you for stopping by!
Thank you for this