Praying for a husband

Anyway, during a recent seminar, a lady approached me to ask for advice: what to look for in a man to marry? Now I don’t know if it’s because it’s June, so maybe many single ladies are prone to think about “wedding bells” thoughts, but the question was really an intelligent one!

Times have changed. Whether on TV or in the movies, women today are portrayed to be the more aggressive sex. Here’s a typical scene: Boy meets Girl in a bar. Girl likes Boy. She asks him to go to her place. The two go and spend the night together. The next morning, Boy and Girl exchange business cards and hope that maybe they’ll get together again one day.

There was a time when something like this would have been met by great media censorship. But today, this is usually just a minor plot in a TV program or a movie.

Casual sex makes a lot of people miserable, because there’s really nothing casual about making love. “Casual sex” is definitely not love. And in real life, “casual sex” aren’t so simple – somebody can get pregnant the morning after!

Yes, there are things that we treat casually and lightly, but sex is never one of those things. Casualness leads to casualty.

And then there are those who just can’t wait.

There’s this program on cable TV where all the girls look so fashionable, smart and successful. And they have sex with one man after another, talking about it themselves like they’re comparing ice cream flavors. Our local girls watch and admire them, and imitate their morals, thinking they can get Mr. Right that way. Sure… when hell freezes over! What they’ll actually do is just attract men of their kind – flirty, irresponsible and unfaithful. Men who will shift their interest to the next pretty thing who’ll come along without batting an eyelash.

While out on a date, the girl warned the boy, “Don’t let my mother see you kissing me.”

The boy replied defensively, “But I’m not kissing you...”

“I thought I’d tell you, just in case,” the girl said.

Times have changed indeed. Popular comedian Jay Leno said, “Actually, when I was in high school, I remember boys and girls slept together all the time. We called it algebra class.”

But here’s a true story of a teenage girl who was sure about the kind of man that she wants to marry. Rather than flirt her way to him, she prayed. Here’s how her prayer went:

Dear God,

I pray, all unafraid, as girls are won’t to be

I do not want a handsome man

But make him, Lord, like Thee.

I do not need one big and strong, nor yet so very tall,

Nor need he be some genius or wealthy, Lord, at all;

But let his head be high, dear God, and let his eye be clear,

His shoulders straight, whate’er his fate, whate’er his earthly sphere.

And let his face have character, a ruggedness of soul,

And let his whole life show, dear God, a singleness of goal.

And when he comes, as he will come, with quiet eyes aglow

I’ll know, dear Lord, that he’s the man I prayed for long ago.

This is a poem containing the real prayer of a real teenage girl. That teenage girl was Ruth Bell. And she later met and married Billy Graham.

So what makes a good husband? A man who’s mature, responsible, honest and hard-working – that’s what. And what a great blessing it is for a girl to have a life partner who is God-fearing! Because it’s not the guy’s car, it’s not his job position, it’s not his looks, it’s not his abs, it’s not his wit, it’s not his humor, and it’s not his investment portfolio that will give a girl a secure future. It’s the guy’s trust and love for the Lord Jesus Christ that is the key. When he is faithful to Him, he will be faithful. Period.

But who am I to say things like these anyway? I’m just an old-fashioned guy who has enjoyed many years of happy marriage and family life.

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