Women's Role as Helper

 

What is our role as women?

A joke: In the beginning, God created man. At the end of the day, He stood back and looked upon man and said, "This is good, but I can do better." Then he created woman.   {cue laugh track}

The bible tells us in Genesis 2:18, "The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” (emphasis mine).

So we are to be a helper. And we are to be suitable for him.  What does that mean?

If I were to walk up to you and you were trying to work in your garden, but you didn't have any tools. You were digging with your hands. I could hand you my tools, a rake, a shovel, gloves, etc. and that would help you very much. Right? Well, I'm going to give you some tools to help you be the helper God would have you be.

As Christians, we are told in Galatians 5:22, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness and self-control." 
Okay, we know we are to strive to be all these things at all times. But what are we, as women, supposed to do to be what God intended us to be for our husbands?

1 Peter 3:1 says, "Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, ² when they see the purity and reverence of your lives."


Again, I ask: What does that mean?  Well, I think there are two things we woman are called to do by God for our husbands.

1. Be the best Christian we possibly can be. We do that be reading the word of god. The Bible. Do you read your Bible every day? It's an excellent habit to have. For one it puts the Word in you and allows the Word to work from within you. Then when a situation merits, the Word will come to your mind and you will be able to apply it, quote it, make a valid , Godly point. But another advantage is internal. By getting God's word inside of you, it will nurture you when you are at your wits end. And we all know we women get at our wits end a lot! God's word will give you guidance to handle all things appropriately. Even if that means simply closing our mouths and not saying a word! A tool to begin reading the Bible is a one-year reading plan.  This is one put together by a local radio station KJIL here in SW Kansas. There are others, but if you don't have one, you may borrow mine!

2. Prayer. I believe our role as women and helpers who are suitable for our husbands means we pray for them. We pray for ourselves, our husbands, our children, and then for others. We pray and pray and pray. How long do we pray?

Remember this: PUSH.  Pray Until Something Happens.
I'm reminded of the lyrics by John Waller: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kc7orBfhEmk 
While I'm Waiting by John Waller
I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am hopeful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it is painful
But patiently, I will wait

I will move ahead, bold and confident
Takeing every step in obedience
While I'm waiting
I will serve You
While I'm waiting
I will worship
While I'm waiting
I will not faint
I'll be running the race
Even while I wait

I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am peaceful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it's not easy
But faithfully, I will wait
Yes, I will wait
I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting
I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting
I will serve you while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting on You, Lord

What I did, while I waited for God to do what God does:
I joined teams at the church, Hospitality, Prayer Warriors, Breakfast Committee, and Praise and Worship.  At work, (I managed a Car Rental Company) I made a commitment to help Church rentals by setting a reduced price for their rentals and never charged them mileage.

These things were my seeds. I planted these seeds with high expectations that my harvest would be the answers to my prayers.

Now. Here's a tool for prayer. If you aren't sure what to pray or how to pray, here's a place to start.  Ephesians 3:14-21. But here's the key!  Every time the passage says "you" or some form of it, substitute the name of the person you are praying for. Even if it's yourself, use your name instead. 
Ephesians 3:14-21: "For this reason I kneel before the Father, ¹⁵ from whom every family^[a] in heaven and on earth derives its name. ¹⁶ I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen {insert name} with power through his Spirit in {insert name}'s inner being, ¹⁷ so that Christ may dwell in {insert name}'s hearts through faith. And I pray that {insert name}, being rooted and established in love, ¹⁸ may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, ¹⁹ and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that {insert name} may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
²⁰ Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, ²¹ to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."

This is such a powerful prayer. Pray it over your husband daily, for 30 days and see for yourself. It will move mountains and change hearts and minds. Pray it over yourself. Pray it over your children. Other prayers in the Bible work the same way, but this is a good place to start.

So these are your tools. This is my interpretation of being a Helper and Suitable for him.
1. Read the word of God daily, from now on until the end of your days.
2. Pray. Pray until something happens.
3. Plant seeds while you wait on the Lord to answer your prayer (reap a harvest).

What do you think? Have you experienced any of these things and seen remarkable results? Tell me about it. I love to hear what God has done.