Prepare Her Heart

For as long as I can remember, my mother has prayed the same prayer for me everyday. It includes petitions for my protection and that I would always serve the Lord and work for Him. But the part of the prayer that has always stood out was towards the end, when she prays "prepare her heart for a young man, and a young man's heart for her." Now at ten years old I had no idea what that meant. At 20 years old I figured it meant that she knew that whom ever I ended up with was going to be ready to deal with me. But now, at 26 years old, I think I finally see what she was driving at. This revelation occurred to me when I began to think on the oft-quoted Psalm 37:4, which says "Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart." Often times this verse is contorted to read as "God will give you whatever you want." But that isn't what it means at all. Generally when this scripture is discussed, the first half is left off. When you read it in context you start to see that what the Psalmist is actually saying is that when you find your delight in the Lord, what you want begins to change, your desires shift.

So with the knowledge of what the verse actually means, my mom's prayer took on new meaning. The prayer of preparing my heart was less about getting ready for a commitment, and more about desiring the right things in my mate. There was a time when my biggest concern was finding someone who made a lot of money, had an impressive career, and could provide the best for me. But as time moved on, my desires began to change. I saw that just because someone spends money on you, it doesn't mean they will be there for you, and having that great job could mean less time together, and the guarantee of providing an extravagant lifestyle often comes at the costs of emotional stability. As the Lord began to open more doors for me in ministry, I saw that the kind of person I need for my spouse will have to possess an entirely different set of characteristics than what I had once sought and that the changes in my wants had occurred because the Lord knew what I would need.

Often times we think we know exactly what we want, but delighting in the Lord means that our desires will change. It may seem scary to abandon what you have always wanted, but He knows what you need, so find your joy in Him and see how He changes your heart.