Probably no passage of Scripture is more widely used in the training of wives than Proverbs 31. However, in How To Pray For Your Wife: A 31-Day Guide, author Mark A. Weathers turns the tables and uses the passage to instruct men on how properly to appreciate a godly wife. Weathers, who is pastor of Providence Presbyterian Church in Concord, North Carolina, has a personal agenda for wanting men to be sensitive to this subject: he has three sons and no daughters!
The 31 entries are all keyed to specific topics related to the Proverbs 31 woman, such as "Trust," "Creativity," and "Devotion." Weathers shows the uniqueness of women. He says that what men call "nagging" is actually a woman's gift for seeing that a household hums the way it should. And he calls a woman's penchant for searching endlessly for the perfect pair of shoes, her ability to be a better bargain hunter than her husband. In these and many other ways, he instructs men on why God wired women the way He did and why husbands should be glad about it.
Each daily reading is followed by tips on how to pray regarding the topic of the day, such as how to ask God to relieve stress in a woman's life, or how to ask God to enable a wife to continue to be a good role model to her children. This material is followed by space for the reader to make entries to keep an on-going record of how the Lord is responding to his specific prayers. Space is also provided for the husband to make notes about how his own wife is a blessing to him and how he can show more appreciation for her.
From time to time the book goes a little far afield. For example, Weathers suggests at one point that some of the Proverbs might have been written by Bathsheba (uh...no, pastor), and he uses some military metaphors to describe the strength of women (a bit over the top), but, generally speaking, the book works well as a one month devotional. For men who might desire to mentor newlywed husbands, there are study guides in the back, as well as Sunday school lessons and sermon suggestions.
As someone married 35 years, I found these lessons to be good reminders of how precious a godly wife can be and how we men need to show our gratitude for the blessing godly wives are to us. Dr. Dennis E. Hensley, Christian Book Previews.com
