Love is Patient...

I’ve recently been reading a really good book by Robin Jones Gunn and Tricia Goyer called, wait for it… ‘Praying for your Future Husband’- (Preparing your heart for his) – I had to include that to make it sound less crazy. Hah. But seriously, as soon as I mentioned the title of the book to my friends, the response I get is always that of hilarity. The girls shyly smile or laugh hysterically, depending on how/when I bring it up…and the guys, well – rather freaked out by the idea to be perfectly honest. I seem to not understand why the concept of Praying for the ‘bone of my bones & flesh of my flesh’ is stirring up such negative connotation. Surely we can all relate to the idea that prayer is indeed powerful, and as we begin to pray for someone else…we are also being changed/transformed in the process? This should be great news for single ladies (myself included) to be aware of, knowing that there is something they can invest in now that will make a huge difference in their life and the life of their future husband?

                                                                                                                The whole meaning of prayer is that we may know God.
- Oswald Chambers

When I came across this book on my favourite blogger’s page, I must admit that I too was perplexed at the idea that people actually prayed for the‘One’ but deep down I knew I had to read it. So, even the gesture of proceeding to purchase the book itself stemmed out of curiosity. The day the book came through, I flicked through the book franctically...hoping to catch a glimpe of the true essence of the message this particular book was addressing. I instantly stumbled upon Lamentations 3:25-29 written as an introductory page, it instantly brought me to tears.

God proves to be good to the man

Who passionately waits,

To the woman who diligently seeks.

It’s a good thing to quietly hope,

Quietly hope for help from God.

It’s a good thing when you’re young

To stick it out through the hard times

When life is heavy and hard to take,

Go off by yourself. Enter the silence.

Bow in prayer. Don’t ask questions:

Wait for hope to appear. (MSG)

Isn’t that just beautiful? Knowing that being patient in your waiting will result in you being rewarded? God cares for us. He sees our hearts, knows our desires and understands our frustrations. Something that caught my attention in that message is the idea of passionately waiting for the Lord. How many of us would happily confess that we enjoy being alone or single or whatever you wish to call it? And that being said, how many of us young people can say that we are diligently seeking the face of the Lord in every aspect of our lives? And truly allowing Him to become our First love? I think there’s an extraordinary mystery and immense beauty in the ideology of waiting for hope to appear. We all want to be loved but to what extend are we actively and reverently pursuing the source of love, God Himself. When you look at it that way…you begin to see things clearly.

 Wait for the Lord;

Be strong and take heart

And wait for the Lord. - Psalm 27: 14 (NIV)

Patience is a great quality to have if we want to pursue love and relationship and particularly marriage but one that is even harder to implement, especially in our current microwave society where we want instant pleasure and satisfaction. Having true patience is more than just passively waiting, ‘It’s actively enduring, it’s remaining steadfast no matter what comes. And it’s anchored in the hope that Jesus is coming again to make all things right. (Jill Zimmerman) And sticking it out won’t be easy but we are constantly reminded that it will be worth it. So then, dear readers, we ought to rest assured that the difficult, agonising waiting period is nothing compared to the total bliss and glory that awaits us on the other side. But for now;

Rejoice in your hope,

                                                                Be patient in tribulation,
                                                               Be constant in prayer. – Romans 12:12 (RSV)


Here's the link to purchase the book 'Praying for your future husband' in the UK. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Praying-Your-Future-Husband-Goyer/dp/1601423489/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1374701842&sr=8-1&keywords=praying+for+your+future+husband
Blog reading: Patience by Jill Zimmerman on theunitive.com:
http://www.theunitive.com/patience-jill-zimmerman-mcfadden/