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2 Blessed s the wfe whose husband offers prayers on her behalf such as those n ths book. Blessed s the man who prays them, for by Case s example he wll learn how to pray through a passage of Scrpture for anythng, not just for matters regardng hs wfe. DONALD S. WHITNEY author of Sprtual Dscplnes for the Chrstan Lfe For husbands, or men desrng to fll God's noble callng to love ther wves as Chrst loved the church and gave hmself up for her, Water of the Word provdes not only a bblcal framework, replete wth verses to focus one s attenton and catalyze one s sprtual thnkng, but also beautful prose to str the soul of devotonal prayer. More than a gudebook, t s rather a sprngboard to a deepenng love relatonshp wth God and wth one s wfe. I have used ths book personally, as well as for a devotonal gude for the Marrage Enrchment class here at Southern Semnary. A book to savor, reflect on, and then offer prayers from a pure heart and clear conscence. WILLIAM R. CUTRER M.D. Gheens professor of Chrstan Mnstry, SBTS author of Sexual Intmacy n Marrage Andrew Case has provded an ngenous and glorous tool for Chrstan husbands, one that has the potental of bndng husbands and wves ever closer together whle these prayers seek more ntmate relatonshp between ther wves and ther God. By employng themes, prncples, promses, and pleas from Scrpture tself, Case has crafted hundreds of rch and meanngful prayers that any and every Chrstan husband can pray for hs own wfe. What power and nsght one fnds n these prayers, along wth beauty and varety. Husbands here are led not only nto specfc prayers for ther wves that focus on the central and most sgnfcant needs they have as women, but they are led also to cultvate better the habt of prayng for ther wves, and through ths assstng the sprtual growth of those closest to them n all of lfe. BRUCE A. WARE Professor of Chrstan Theology The Southern Baptst Theologcal Semnary author of God s Greater Glory

3 A wfe of noble character s far more valuable than rubes, and a prayng man s one of the prmary means that God uses to develop such vrtuous women. The book n your hands s of nestmable value for helpng husbands persevere n ths lovng labor. DAVID KOTTER Executve Drector The Councl on Bblcal Manhood and Womanhood Many belevers feel paralyzed when t comes tme to pray. What should be the content of our prayers? Andrew Case's prayers for a wfe llustrate practcally and devotonally how scrpture should be the fuel for our prayers. Read, medtate, and pray! THOMAS R. SCHREINER James Buchanan Professor of New Testament Interpretaton The Southern Baptst Theologcal Semnary author of Run to Wn the Prze Andrew Case s orgnal book of prayers can be an enormous help. Ths volume of prayers helps orent the supplcant to desrng God s wll for hs wfe and hs lfe, and rases n the course of ths orentaton some of the key ssues that need to be consdered n or before the altogether joyous covenant of marrage. Andrew Case s to be commended for ths rch labor of love that wll be of beneft to so many. MICHAEL A. G. HAYKIN Professor of Church Hstory & Bblcal Sprtualty The Southern Baptst Theologcal Semnary author of The Chrstan Lover

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5 Based on The Holy Bble, Englsh Standard Verson copyrght 2001 by Crossway Bbles, a publshng mnstry of Good News Publshers. Used by permsson. All rghts reserved. Andrew Case, Water of the Word 2 nd edton 2008, 2010 by Andrew Case All rghts reserved. Any part of ths publcaton may be shared, provded that you do not charge for or alter the content n any way. For the free PDF please vst ISBN

6 Water of the Word s Husbands, love your wves, as Chrst loved the church and gave hmself up for her, that he mght sanctfy her, havng cleansed her by the washng of water wth the Word. ~Ephesans 5:25-26

7 Contents Preface 7 Instructons to the Reader: Make t Your Own 10 Prayers 15 Appendx: Books Quoted 243 Further Readng on the Subject of Prayer 244 Further Readng on the Subject of Marrage 244 Index: Prayers by Bblcal Book & Chapter 245 Water of the Word 6

8 Preface Let Us Imtate Chrst as He Prays for Hs Brde Chrst Jesus s the one who ded more than that, who was rased who s at the rght hand of God, who ndeed s ntercedng for us (Rom 8:34). He s able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through Hm, snce He always lves to make ntercesson for them (Heb 7:25). Jesus Chrst prays for us. He prays for Hs Brde. He sets the glorous example of the husband who never tres n makng ntercesson for her. It s a breathless wonder, a staggerng and stupefyng truth. Are you a husband lke Jesus? Do you want to be? Every earthly marrage has been ordaned to pont to the perfect unon n the age to come to reflect, albet dmly, the ntmacy and ecstasy of knowng our Savour face to face. And f we are to be obedent to the command, Love your wves as Chrst loved the church (Eph 5:25) we must not only show a crucform, sacrfcal love, but must also follow Chrst s precedent of contnual ntercesson for our wves, pleadng constantly for ther sanctfcaton (Eph 5:26). When we pray lke ths we mtate Jesus beautful example of prayng for Hs Brde. On the other hand, we are not God. There are many thngs a husband cannot do for hs wfe that only God can do. We are very small, very weak. We cannot ultmately delver her from evl, be her everlastng joy, or turn her mournng nto dancng. But God can. Therefore, prayng for her s not optonal. She needs God more than she Water of the Word 7

9 needs us. Often we neglect ths duty of prayer out of slothfulness or forgetfulness. Many of us are prone to foolshness, carelessness, and lack of dscplne n prayer. Sadly, n the words of Alexander Whyte, numerous husbands are sleepy and lazy and stupd when t comes to prayer, even prayer for the woman closest to ther heart. May the LORD teach us, humble us, and sustan us n ths responsblty. May He rescue us from robbng ourselves and our wves of a joy and prvlege full of splendd reward. Of what good s t to do everythng for your wfe but the best thng? To brng all knds of earthly goods before her for sustenance and honor s commendable, but to what end f you do not brng her before God? Wll lftng her up by words of kndness and complment suffce f you fal to lft her up before her Creator wth supplcatons and thanksgvngs? Why should you prase her for her beauty when you omt to exalt her Father for such matchless handwork? You are not enough for her. Your strength s not strong enough for her. You are powerless to change her heart. Therefore pray. Pray wth all zeal and all knowledge for her. Show forth Chrst to her and to the fallen world n ths way. And when you do, use Hs Word. O what a treasure trove of prayer s afforded to us n the Bble! Seze ts wsdom of petton and exultaton, and learn to be a condut of ts perfect ntercesson, entrustng who s flesh of your flesh and bone of your bone to her Maker, the Supreme Ruler of all the world. Not untl after ten years of waverng prayers dd George Mueller learn the value of prayng Scrpture. What follows s hs descrpton of ths marvelous dscovery: Water of the Word 8

10 The dfference then between my former practce and my present one s ths. Formerly, when I arose, I began to pray as soon as possble. But what was the result? I often spent a quarter of an hour, or half an hour, or even an hour on my knees before beng conscous to myself of havng derved comfort, encouragement, humblng of soul, &c.; and often, after havng suffered much from wanderng of mnd for the frst ten mnutes, or a quarter of an hour, or even half an hour, I only then began really to pray. I scarcely ever suffer now n ths way. My practce had been, at least for ten years prevously, as an habtual thng, to gve myself to prayer, after havng dressed myself n the mornng. Now the frst thng I dd, after havng asked n a few words the Lord's blessng upon Hs precous word, was, to begn to medtate on the word of God, searchng, as t were, nto every verse, to get blessng out of t. The result I have found to be almost nvarably ths, that after a very few mnutes my soul has been led to confesson, or to thanksgvng, or to ntercesson, or to supplcaton; so that, though I dd not, as t were, gve myself to prayer, but to medtaton, yet t turned almost mmedately more or less nto prayer. When thus I have been for awhle makng confesson, or ntercesson, or supplcaton, or have gven thanks, I go on to the next words or verse, turnng all, as I go on, nto prayer for myself or others, as the Word may lead to t. 1 Ths book s meant to be a help and gude for that knd of prayng. It conssts of lttle else than the Word of God turned more or less nto prayer. And more specfcally t s a means toward one part of prayer prayer for the good wfe God has gven you. We would do well to heed the councl of Thomas Manton: plead the promse of God n prayer, show Hm Hs handwrtng; God s tender of Hs Word. 1George Mueller, A Narratve of Some of the Lord's Dealng wth George Mueller, Wrtten by Hmself, Jehovah Magnfed. Addresses by George Mueller Complete and Unabrdged, 2 vols. (Muskegon, Mch.: Dust and Ashes Publcatons, 2003), 1: Water of the Word 9

11 Instructons to the Reader Make It Your Own Jesus Chrst s emphatcally the foundaton for every prayer to the Father. But the reader wll notce that not all of these prayers put ths precous truth nto words, smply because they are meant to be sprngboards that launch us nto other specfc and more personal prayer. You are encouraged to use them as a means of centerng your mnd on the Bble, so that what follows n your own ndvdual supplcatons wll be sweetened and guded by the Word and Sprt of God. Therefore many tmes I have left t to you, the reader, to be mndful that we pray n Chrst s name alone. Indeed, as He Hmself sad, No one comes to the Father except through me (John 14:6). Thus we are to come to the Father n prayer always through Chrst and only through Chrst. Only because He s our great hgh prest can we wth confdence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receve mercy and fnd grace to help n tme of need (Heb 4:16). And we are to gve thanks always and for everythng to God the Father n the name of our Lord Jesus Chrst (Eph 5:20). These prayers are also not ntended to be merely read alone. To the marred man I commend frequent use of these prayers wth hs wfe, prayng them over her from hs heart, usng her name. Ths should be the rule and not the excepton, so that she s regularly remnded that Chrst ntercedes for her n the same way, that her husband loves her, and that the Word of God abounds wth sanctfyng Water of the Word 10

12 power. For ths reason a short exhortaton or encouragement for her s ncluded n many of the prayers, usually begnnng wth O beloved. Take these as occasons to lft her sprt, to strengthen her soul, to nstruct her mnd, to gladden her heart, to put a rock of confdence under her feet, to tenderly and humbly correct, and most of all, to pont her to God as her all-satsfyng joy. As wth all prayer, these must be employed n a sprt of humlty, consderng her better and more sgnfcant than yourself (Phl 2:3). Be ever conscous of your broken condton that you are a snful man who s n need of contnual renewal by whch you are beng conformed to the mage of Chrst (Rom 8:29). Therefore pray strongly, as one who knows he s weak. Pray boldly, as one who knows he has no ablty or confdence of hmself. Pray sweetly, as one well aware of the heart wthn hm stll tnged wth the btter frut of wckedness. And pray mndful of the truth that you are n need of just as much ntercesson as she. Ths s the one to whom I wll look: he who s humble and contrte n sprt and trembles at My word (Isa 66:2). The Apostle Peter warns us that t s possble to lve toward our wves n such a way that our prayers become futle and unproftable. God turns a deaf ear to the arrogant husband who dshonors hs wfe. Husbands, lve wth your wves n an understandng way, showng honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, snce they are hers wth you of the grace of lfe, so that your prayers may not be hndered (I Pet 3:7). The unrepentant, proud husband wll use ths book n van. For God opposes the proud, but gves grace to the humble (James 4:6). Fnally, I solemnly charge you before the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Chrst to never neglect the joy and Water of the Word 11

13 prvlege of ntercedng for your wfe. He who fnds a wfe fnds a good thng and obtans favor from the LORD (Prov 18:22). And a prudent wfe s from the LORD (Prov 19:14). God has shown marvelous favor to you, therefore pray for her wth all your mght whle you lve. Show Chrst to her and to the fallen world n ths way. Whatever you do for her, do not fal or forget to do the best thng. She s a gft too wonderful for you to care for alone; Soveregn Grace must guard, gude, and govern her heart and lfe. Water of the Word 12

14 Be encouraged, dear Chrstan reader, wth fresh earnestness to gve yourself to prayer, f you can only be sure that you ask for thngs whch are for the glory of God. ~George Mueller Water of the Word 13

15 Prayer, at ts best, s the noblest, the sublmest, the most magnfcent, and stupendous act that any creature of God can perform on earth or n heaven. Prayer s far too prncely a lfe for most men. It s hgh, and they are low, and they cannot attan t. ~Alexander Whyte Water of the Word 14

16 O Keeper of Your elect, It s better to take refuge n You than to trust n man. It s better to take refuge n You than to trust n prnces. Therefore cause my sweet wfe to take refuge n You alone. Be her strength and her song; be her great salvaton. Let her lft up the cup of salvaton and call on Your Name. Open to her the gates of rghteousness, that she may enter through them and gve thanks to You. Rase her eyes to the hlls to see from where her help comes. For her help comes from You, who made heaven and earth. Do not let her foot be moved; keep her and do not slumber. Please keep her and nether slumber nor sleep. Keep her from all evl; keep her lfe. Keep her gong out and her comng n from ths tme forth and forevermore. O gft of heaven, do you know who keeps you? The LORD s your keeper; the LORD s your shade on your rght hand. The sun shall not strke you by day, nor the moon by nght. Lord Jesus, keep my wfe. We wat eagerly for Your appearng. Hasten the wonderful day of Your return the weddng supper of the Lamb. Amen (Psalm 118, 116, 121). Water of the Word 15

17 Precous Provder, Your testmones are wonderful; therefore my soul keeps them. May my precous wfe keep them also. The unfoldng of Your word gves lght; t mparts understandng to the smple. May she open her mouth and pant, because she longs for Your commandments. Turn to her and be gracous to her, as s Your way wth those who love Your name. Keep steady her steps accordng to Your promse, let no nquty get domnon over her. Redeem her from man s oppresson, that she may keep Your precepts. Make Your face shne upon her, Your beautful servant, and teach her Your statutes. May her eyes shed streams of tears, because people do not keep Your law (Psalm 119). A man cannot lve unless he takes hs breath, nor can the soul, unless t breathes forth ts desres to God. ~Thomas Watson Water of the Word 16

18 O LORD God of heaven, The great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love wth those who love Hm and keep Hs commandments, let Your ear be attentve and Your eyes open, to hear the prayer of Your servant that I now pray before You day and nght for my beautful wfe. Grant her contnual patence and forbearance to lve wth me, a wcked husband. For I have snned aganst You; I have acted very corruptly aganst You by forsakng my responsblty to lead my home n rghteousness and the fear of You; I have not kept Your commandments, Your statutes, or the rules that You commanded Your servant Moses. Gve her boldness and wsdom to rebuke and exhort me when I am unfathful to Your Word, when I neglect prayer, fal to redeem the tme, speak carelessly, walk foolshly, fal to hope n You, seek great thngs for myself, become anxous about tomorrow. Do not let her cease prayng for me when I am beset wth the fear of man, the cares of the world, or the love of money. May she never lose confdence that, n spte of my many nqutes and shortcomngs, I am Your servant whom You have redeemed by Your great power and by Your strong hand. O Lord, let Your ear be attentve to the prayer of Your servant, and to the prayers of my wfe who delghts to fear Your name, and gve success to her today, and grant her mercy (Nehemah 1). Water of the Word 17

19 Mercful Master, Look on her afflcton and delver her, and let her not forget Your law. Plead her cause and redeem her; gve her lfe accordng to Your promse! Salvaton s far from the wcked, for they do not seek Your statutes. Great s Your mercy, O LORD; gve her lfe accordng to Your rules. Even when her persecutors and adversares are many, let her not swerve from Your testmones. May she look at the fathless wth pty, because they do not keep Your commands. Consder how she loves Your precepts! Gve her lfe accordng to Your steadfast love. The sum of Your word s truth, and every one of Your rghteous rules endures forever (Psalm 119). To begn the day wth prayer s but a formalty unless t go on n prayer, unless for the rest of t we pray n deed what we began n word. One has sad that whle prayer s the day s best begnnng t must not be lke the handsome ttle-page of a worthless book. ~ P. T. Forsyth Water of the Word 18

20 Soveregn Preserver, Let my dear wfe stand up and bless You our God from everlastng to everlastng. Blessed be Your glorous name, whch s exalted above all blessng and prase. You are the LORD, You alone. You have made her. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, wth all ther host, the earth and all that s on t, the seas and all that s n them; and You preserve all of them; and the host of heaven worshps You. Thank You for preservng my wfe, for keepng her as Your chosen, for drectng her steps on the narrow way. Please contnue to preserve her lfe! For You are the LORD, the God who chose her and brought her out of darkness and made her heart fathful before You. Thank You that You have kept the promses that are hers n Chrst Jesus, for You are rghteous. I prase You that You are a God ready to forgve, gracous and mercful, slow to anger and aboundng n steadfast love, and have not departed from her. Even when she strays and her heart grows dull, You n Your great merces have not forsaken her. Therefore, keep on makng a name for Yourself through her, and nstruct her wth Your good Sprt. Amen (Nehemah 9). Water of the Word 19

21 Thou Great Beng who made and rules the world, Put Your Sprt n my wfe wth perfect power and bear Hs fruts from her lfe. May she be a lovng woman; a joyful, peaceful woman; a patent, knd, good wfe. Make her soul and actons abound wth fathfulness, gentleness, and self-control, for aganst such thngs there s no law. By Chrst Jesus crucfy her flesh wth ts passons and desres. Let her not grow weary n dong good, for n due season she wll reap f she does not gve up. And may she never boast except n the cross of our Lord Jesus Chrst, by whch the world has been crucfed to her, and she to the world (Galatans 5 & 6). Prayer seem d to be natural to me; as the breath, by whch the nward burnngs of my heart had vent. ~Jonathan Edwards Water of the Word 20

22 Great God, May my beautful wfe be a woman nclned to pour herself out for the hungry and satsfy the desre of the afflcted, so that her lght wll rse n the darkness and her gloom be as the noonday. Then gude her contnually and satsfy her desre n scorched places. Make her bones strong, so that she s lke a watered garden, lke a sprng of water, whose waters do not fal. May she be radant; her heart thrlled to say, I wll greatly rejoce n the LORD; my soul shall exult n my God, for He has clothed me wth the garments of salvaton; He has covered me wth the robe of rghteousness. Make her count the garments of salvaton as suffcent clothng, valued by her as more precous and worthy of care than the adornments of a queen. May her robes of rghteousness be ever prevalent, outshnng worldly dress. Amen (Isaah 58 & 61). Water of the Word 21

23 Rghteous are You, O LORD, and rght are Your rules. You have apponted Your testmones n rghteousness and n fathfulness. May zeal consume my wfe when her foes forget Your words. Your promse s well tred; may she love t. Even when she s small and despsed, let her not forget Your precepts. Your rghteousness s rghteous forever, and Your law s true. When trouble and angush fnd her out, make Your commandments her delght. Your testmones are rghteous forever; gve her understandng that she may lve. Wth my whole heart I cry for her; answer me, O LORD! Cause her to keep Your statutes. I call to You; save her, that she may observe Your testmones. I rse before dawn and cry for help; may she hope n Your words. Awaken her eyes before the watches of the nght, that she may medtate on Your promse. Hear my voce accordng to Your steadfast love; O LORD, accordng to Your justce gve her lfe. When they draw near who persecute her wth evl purpose, who are far from Your law, assure her that You are near, O LORD, and all Your commandments are true. Long have I known from Your testmones that You have founded them forever (Psalm 119). What makes a heart uprght and what makes prayers pleasng to God s a felt awareness of our tremendous need for mercy. ~John Pper Water of the Word 22

24 My Gracous Master, Cause my delghtful wfe to work out her own salvaton wth fear and tremblng, knowng all the whle that t s You who work n her, both to wll and to work for Your good pleasure. May she rejoce n You always, and let her reasonableness be known to everyone. Please let her not be anxous about anythng, but n everythng by prayer and supplcaton wth thanksgvng may she make known her requests to You. And all ths so that Your peace, whch surpasses all understandng, wll guard her precous heart and mnd n Chrst Jesus. Fnally Father, make her thnk on whatever s true, whatever s honorable, whatever s just, whatever s pure, whatever s lovely, whatever s commendable, on anythng of excellence, and anythng worthy of prase. Through Your Son and for Your glory I ask these thngs. Amen (Phlppans 2 & 4). Couples who do not pray are as badly off as those who stop sleepng together. Lke lovemakng, prayer requres, n a sense, takng off the clothes, removng the shoes to touch holy ground. ~Mke Mason Water of the Word 23

25 Heavenly Father, As for me, my prayer s to You. At an acceptable tme, O God, n the abundance of Your steadfast love answer me n Your savng fathfulness. And my prayer s ths: delver my wfe from snkng n the mre of sn; let her be delvered from the deep waters of vanty. Let not the flood sweep over her, or the deep swallow her up, or the pt of despar close ts mouth over her. Answer me, O LORD, for Your steadfast love s good; accordng to Your abundant mercy turn to her. Draw near to her soul, redeem her; ransom her because of her fralty. When she s afflcted and n pan, let Your salvaton, O God, set her on hgh! Then may she prase Your Name wth a song, and magnfy You wth thanksgvng. May she seek You, and rejoce and be glad n You! O beloved, because we love Hs salvaton, let us say together evermore, God s great! Hasten to us, O God! You are our help and our delverer; O LORD, do not delay! Save us for Your marvelous Name (Psalm 69 & 70). Water of the Word 24

26 Blessed God, Although prnces may persecute her wthout cause, may my precous wfe s heart stand n awe of Your words. Mght she, by the power of Your Sprt, rejoce at Your word lke one who fnds great spol. Make her hate and abhor falsehood, but love Your law. Cause her to prase You seven tmes a day for Your rghteous rules. Great peace have those who love Your law; nothng can make them stumble. May she hope for Your salvaton, O LORD, and do Your commandments. Cause her soul to keep Your testmones and love them exceedngly. Help her to keep Your precepts and testmones, for all her ways are before You. Let my cry come before You, O LORD; gve her understandng accordng to Your word! Let my plea come before You; delver her accordng to Your word. May her lps pour forth prase, for You teach her Your statutes. May her tongue sng of Your word, for all Your commandments are rght. Let Your hand be ready to help her, for she has chosen Your precepts. Create n her a longng for Your salvaton, O LORD, and a delght n Your law. Let her soul lve and prase You, and let Your rules help her. When she goes astray lke a lost sheep, seek her, Your servant, for she does not forget Your commandments. Amen (Psalm 119). Water of the Word 25

27 You often feel that your prayers scarcely reach the celng; but, oh, get nto ths humble sprt by consderng how good the Lord s, and how evl you all are, and then prayer wll mount on wngs of fath to heaven. The sgh, the groan of a broken heart, wll soon go through the celng up to heaven, aye, nto the very bosom of God. ~Charles Smeon Even skeptcal Dan prayed, hs skeptcsm fallng away from hm lke a dscarded garment n ths valley of the shadow, whch sfts out hearts and tres souls, untl we all, grown-up or chldren, realze our weakness, and, fndng that our own puny strength s as a reed shaken n the wnd, creep back humbly to the God we have vanly dreamed we could do wthout. ~L.M. Montgomery Water of the Word 26

28 Lord Jesus, It s by Your undyng death and wllng sacrfce that I come to my Father who has loved me wth an everlastng love for no reason but Hs own purpose and glory. And so I ask, LORD and Soveregn, that my wfe would be blessed because her way s blameless; that she would walk n the law of the LORD! Cause her to keep Your testmones and seek You wth her whole heart, dong no wrong but walkng n Your ways. May she keep Your precepts dlgently for love of Your great Name. Oh, that her ways may be steadfast n keepng Your statutes! May her blessed eyes be fxed unswervngly on all Your commandments. Please gnte such joy n her that she must prase You wth an uprght heart when she learns Your rghteous rules. And cause her to keep Your statutes; do not utterly forsake her! Keep her way pure by teachng her to guard t accordng to Your word. I ask that she be made nto such a woman who seeks You wth her whole heart, cryng out, Let me not wander from Your commandments. May she store up Your word n her heart that she mght not sn aganst You. Blessed are You, O LORD; teach her Your statutes! May her lps be not only consecrated to me, but all the more to declarng the rules of Your mouth. And wth all my mght I plead that n the way of Your testmones she would delght as much as n all rches as much as n all frends more so than any worldly lust and pleasure. Qucken her mnd to medtate on Your precepts and fx her eyes on Your ways. I desre lttle else for her than that she Water of the Word 27

29 delght n Your statutes and not forget Your word (Psalm 119). How much my father s prayers at ths tme mpressed me I can never explan, nor could any stranger understand. When, on hs knees and all of us kneelng around hm n Famly Worshp, he poured out hs whole soul wth tears for the converson of the Heathen world to the servce of Jesus, and for every personal and domestc need, we all felt as f n the presence of the lvng Savor, and learned to know and love hm as our Dvne frend. ~John G. Paton Water of the Word 28

30 Ineffable Lover, Only by the Cross do I brng these prayers to You for my treasured wfe. Do not let her adornng be merely external the bradng of har, the wearng of gold, or the puttng on of clothng but let her adornng be the hdden person of the heart wth the mpershable beauty of a gentle and quet sprt, whch n Your sght s very precous. Gve her unty of mnd, sympathy, ssterly love, a tender heart, and humlty. The end of all thngs s at hand; therefore let her be self-controlled and sobermnded for the sake of her prayers. Above all, keep her lovng others earnestly, snce love covers a multtude of sns. As she has receved a gft, may she use t to serve others, as a good steward of Your vared grace. When she speaks, let t be as one who speaks the oracles of God; when she serves, as one who serves by the strength that You supply n order that n everythng You may be glorfed through Jesus Chrst. To You belong glory and domnon forever and ever. Amen (I Peter 3 & 4). Water of the Word 29

31 God of my end, Deal bountfully wth my wfe, Your servant, that she may lve and keep Your word. And ths I ask wth mportunate reverence: open her eyes, that she may behold wondrous thngs out of Your law. O that her eyes would sparkle wth pure and deep delght when Your Truth s shone nto them out of grace. For she s a mere sojourner on ths earth; hde not Your commandments from her! Consume her soul wth longng for Your rules at all tmes, for You rebuke the nsolent, accursed ones, who wander from Your commandments. Take away from her scorn and contempt, for she has kept Your testmones. Cause her to medtate on Your statutes even when prnces st plottng aganst her. May t be readly on her lps, Your testmones are my delght; they are my counselors. When her soul clngs to the dust please gve her lfe accordng to Your word! When she tells You of her ways, answer her; teach her Your statutes! Make her understand the way of Your precepts and medtate on Your wondrous works. When her soul melts away for sorrow for she wll be well-acquanted wth gref f she s Yours strengthen her accordng to Your word! She s ever surrounded by false ways n ths age; teach her Your law! She has chosen the way of fathfulness; may she set Your rules ever before her. When she clngs to Your testmones, O LORD, let her not be put to shame! Enlarge her heart so that she may run n the way of Your commandments! (Psalm 119). Water of the Word 30

32 How easly we convnce ourselves that we are prayng to the Lord when n realty we are locked n our own thoughts. We need to ask: If I m happy, am I really rejocng n Hm, or am I rejocng n my own self-satsfacton? If I m worred or afrad, am I truly and humbly askng Hm for help, or s my mnd busy tryng to work out some plan (however sprtual t may seem) for gettng myself out of trouble? ~Mke Mason Water of the Word 31

33 Almghty God, Please teach my wonderful wfe the way of Your statutes; may she keep t to the end, as her reward. Gve her understandng that she may keep Your law and observe t wth her whole heart. Lead her n the path of Your commandments, because she delghts n t O Father, cause her to delght n Your path! Inclne her heart to Your testmones, and not to selfsh gan! Turn her eyes from lookng at worthless thngs; and gve her lfe n Your ways. Confrm to her Your promse, that she may fear You fear You wth every fber of her beautful heart. Turn away the reproach that she dreads, for Your rules are good. Behold, may she long for Your precepts; n Your rghteousness gve her lfe! Let Your steadfast love come to her, O LORD, Your salvaton accordng to Your promse; then shall she have an answer for anyone who taunts her, for she trusts n Your word. Soveregn LORD, may she trust the Bble wth all her mght! And take not the word of truth utterly out of her mouth, for her hope s n Your rules. May she keep Your law contnually, forever and ever, and may she walk n a wde place, for she has sought Your precepts. Make her also speak of Your testmones before kngs and be not put to shame, for she fnds her delght n Your commandments, whch she loves. May she lft up her hands toward Your commandments, and medtate on Your statutes. Amen, come Lord Jesus (Psalm 119). Water of the Word 32

34 Father of Wsdom, Let me never cease to pray for my beautful wfe, askng that she may be flled wth the knowledge of Your wll n all sprtual wsdom and understandng, so as to walk n a manner worthy of You, bearng frut n every good work and ncreasng n the knowledge of You. May she be strengthened wth all power, accordng to Your glorous mght, for all endurance and patence wth joy, gvng thanks to You, who have qualfed her to share n the nhertance of the sants n lght. Do you remember, my beloved, that He has delvered you from the doman of darkness and transferred you to the kngdom of Hs beloved Son, n whom you have redempton, the forgveness of sn? Yes, prase Hm wth me for Hs marvelous grace! O LORD God, make her contnue n the fath, stable and steadfast, not shftng from the hope of the gospel that she heard, whch has been proclamed n all creaton under heaven. Keep her! Keep her n the love of Chrst. Amen (Colossans 1). Anyone who would have power n prayer must be mercless n dealng wth hs own sns. ~R.A. Torrey Water of the Word 33

35 Gver of all, Remember Your word to Your servant, n whch You have made me hope. May my wfe s comfort n her afflcton be ths: that Your promse gves her lfe. The nsolent mght utterly derde her, but do not let her turn away from Your law. When she thnks of Your rules from of old, let her take comfort, O LORD. O that hot ndgnaton mght seze her because of the wcked, who forsake Your law. And I ask that Your statutes would be her songs n the house of her sojournng. Cause her to remember Your Name n the nght, O LORD, and keep Your law. Ths blessng has fallen to her, that she has kept Your precepts. When she kneels to pray, let her say, You are my porton; I promse to keep Your words. I entreat Your favor wth all my heart; be gracous to her accordng to Your promse. When she thnks on her ways, let her turn her feet to Your testmones; may she hasten and not delay to keep Your commandments. Though the cords of the wcked ensnare her, allow her not to forget Your law. And ths I plead wth fervent hope that at mdnght she would rse to prase You, because of Your rghteous rules, for only by a mracle of Your hand wll t be so wth her. Make her the companon of all who fear You, of those who keep Your precepts. The earth, O LORD, s full of Your steadfast love; teach her Your statutes! (Psalm 119). Water of the Word 34

36 O God, Blessed s the woman who fears You, who greatly delghts n Your commandments! Please contnue to mold my wnsome wfe nto such a woman. Make lght dawn n the darkness for her; You are gracous, mercful, and rghteous. Grant that she deal generously and lend, conductng her affars wth justce. Let her never be moved; remember her forever. May she be not afrad of bad news, but make her heart frm, trustng n You. Gve her a steady heart, so that from the rsng of the sun to ts settng she wll prase Your glorous Name. O sweet bone of my bone, trust n the LORD! He s your help and your sheld. O wonderful flesh of my flesh, trust n the LORD! He s your help and your sheld. You who fear the LORD, trust n Hm! He s your help and your sheld. May you be blessed by the LORD, who made heaven and earth! We wll bless You, O God, from ths tme forth and forevermore. Prase the LORD! (Psalm 112, 113, 115). We are not so foolsh as to thnk we can learn a trade wthout the dlgent use of helps. Shall we thnk that we may become sprtually sklful and wse n the understandng of ths mystery wthout makng any real effort to use the helps God has gven us? The most mportant of them s fervent prayer. Pray wth Paul that the eyes of your understandng may be enlghtened to behold the glory of God n Chrst. Pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Chrst, the Father of glory, may gve to you the sprt of wsdom and revelaton n the knowledge of hm. Fll your mnds wth sprtual thoughts of Chrst. Lazy souls do not get the tnest sght of ths glory. The lon n the way deters them from makng the slghtest effort. ~John Owen Water of the Word 35

37 O Great Upholder of all thngs, Please deal wth my wfe, Your servant, accordng to Your word. Teach her good judgment and knowledge, for she beleves Your commandments. Let her not go astray before her afflcton; assst her now to keep Your word. You are good and do good; teach her Your statutes. Although the nsolent may smear her wth les, help her to keep Your precepts wth her whole heart. Even though ther heart s unfeelng, let her delght n Your law. Assure her that t s good for her to be afflcted, that she mght learn Your statutes. May the law of Your mouth be better to her than thousands of gold and slver peces. Be exalted, for Your hands have made and fashoned her; gve her understandng that she may learn Your commandments. May those who fear You see her and rejoce, because she has hoped n Your word. Remnd her, O LORD, that Your rules are rghteous, and that n fathfulness You afflct her. Let Your steadfast love comfort her accordng to Your promse to Your servant. Let Your mercy go to her, that she may lve; for Your law s her delght. Let the nsolent be put to shame, because they have wronged her wth falsehood; as for her, may she medtate on Your precepts. Let those who fear You turn to her, that they may know Your testmones. May her heart be blameless n Your statutes, that she may not be put to shame! (Psalm 119). Water of the Word 36

38 O tmeless Lght of lghts, Eternal Father, Make my wfe s soul long for Your salvaton; may she hope n Your word. Be the cause of her eyes longng for Your promse; of her askng, When wll You comfort me? Let her seek the deepest of comfort n Your steadfast love and fathfulness. When she becomes lke a wneskn n the smoke, let her not forget Your statutes. How long must Your servant endure? When wll You judge those who persecute her? The nsolent have dug ptfalls for her; they do not lve accordng to Your law. All Your commandments are sure; they persecute her wth falsehood; help her! When they have almost made an end of her on earth, let her not forsake Your precepts. In Your steadfast love gve her lfe, that she may keep the testmones of Your mouth. Forever, O LORD, Your word s frmly fxed n the heavens. Your fathfulness endures to all generatons; You have establshed the earth and t stands fast. By Your appontment they stand ths day, for all thngs are Your servants. If Your law s not made to be my wfe s delght, she wll surely persh n her afflcton. Oh, that she would never forget Your precepts, for by them You have gven her lfe. She s Yours, save her, for she has sought Your precepts. When the wcked le n wat to destroy her, may she consder Your testmones. I have seen a lmt to all perfecton, but Your commandment s exceedngly broad. Gve her lfe n Your ways. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus (Psalm 119). Water of the Word 37

39 It s very apparent from the word of God, that he s wont often to try the fath and patence of hs people, when cryng to hm for some great and mportant mercy, by wthholdng the mercy sought, for a season; and not only so, but at frst to cause an ncrease of dark appearances. And yet he, wthout fal, at last succeeds those who contnue nstant n prayer, wth all perseverance, and wll not let hm go except he blesses. ~Jonathan Edwards What a blessed thng s the marrage of two belevers, of one hope, one dscplne, servants of the same Master!... Together they offer up ther prayers - together they le n the dust, and keep ther fasts, teachng each other, exhortng each other, bearng up each other. They are together n God's Church, together at God's feast, together n strats, persecutons, consolatons; freely the sck are vsted and the ndgent supported; there are alms wthout trouble; sacrfces wthout scruple; daly unmpeded dlgence. Chrst sees t and rejoces. ~Tertullan Water of the Word 38

40 Changeless God, May my beautful wfe never forget all Your benefts. Help me to remnd her relentlessly of the One who forgves all her nquty, who heals all her dseases, who redeems her lfe from the pt, who crowns her wth steadfast love and mercy, who satsfes her wth good so that her youth s renewed lke the eagle s. Please work rghteousness and justce for her when she s oppressed. Make known Your ways to her, Your acts to Your precous daughter. O gft of heaven, hear agan of our marvelous God! The LORD s mercful and gracous, slow to anger and aboundng n steadfast love. He wll not always chde, nor wll He keep Hs anger forever. He does not deal wth you accordng to your sns, nor repay you accordng to your nqutes. For as hgh as the heavens are above the earth, so great s Hs steadfast love toward those who fear Hm; as far as the east s from the west, so far does He remove your transgressons from you. O LORD, as a father shows compasson to hs chldren, please show compasson to her. For You know her frame; You remember that she s dust. Come quckly, Lord Jesus! Amen, we long and wat for You (Psalm 103). There s nothng n whch we need to take so many lessons as n prayer. There s nothng of whch we are so utterly gnorant when we frst begn; there s nothng n whch we are so helpless. ~Alexander Whyte Water of the Word 39

41 Soveregn Creator and Sustaner, Oh how I love Your law! May t be my wfe s medtaton all the day. Your commandment makes her wser than her enemes, for t s ever wth her. Grant her more understandng than all her teachers by makng Your testmones her medtaton. May she understand more than the aged, because she keeps Your precepts. Assst her to hold back her feet from every evl way, n order to keep Your word. May she not turn asde from Your rules, for You have taught her. Please cause her to say, How sweet are Your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Through Your precepts make her get understandng, and so hate every false way. Your word s a lamp to her feet and a lght to her path. May she swear an oath and confrm t, to keep Your rghteous rules. When she s severely afflcted please gve her lfe, O LORD, accordng to Your word! Accept her free offerngs of prase, O LORD, and teach her Your rules. Though she may hold her lfe n her hand contnually, let her not forget Your law. When the wcked lay a snare for her, may she not stray from Your precepts. Make Your testmones her hertage forever, and the joy of her heart. Inclne her heart to perform Your statutes forever, to the end. Amen (Psalm 119). Water of the Word 40

42 Sweet Sustaner and Rock of Salvaton, I do not ask that You take my dear wfe out of the world, but that You keep her from the evl one. Sanctfy her n the truth; Your word s truth. Father, I desre that she also, whom You have gven to Chrst, may be wth Hm where He s, to see Hs glory that You have gven Hm because You loved Hm before the foundaton of the world. I gve thanks to You always for my lovely wfe because of Your grace that has been gven her n Chrst Jesus, and I ask that n every way she may be enrched n You n all speech and all knowledge even that the testmony about Chrst mght be confrmed n her so that she wll not be lackng n any sprtual gft, as she wats for the revealng of our Lord Jesus Chrst, who wll sustan her to the end, gultless n the day of Chrst. O God, be the source of her lfe n Chrst Jesus, whom You made her wsdom and her rghteousness and sanctfcaton and redempton. Therefore, let her boast solely n You. For the dsplay of Your wonderful wnsomeness, Amen (John 17 & I Cornthans 1). Desre gves fervor to prayer. The soul cannot be lstless when some great desre fxes and nflames t Strong desres make strong prayers The neglect of prayer s the fearful token of dead sprtual desres There can be no true prayng wthout desre. ~E. M. Bounds Water of the Word 41

43 O Father of my dearest Lord Jesus, May my wfe hate the double-mnded, but love Your law. Be her hdng place, and her sheld; make her hope n Your word. Cause evldoers to depart from her, that she may keep the commandments of her God. Uphold her accordng to Your promse, that she may lve, and let her not be put to shame n her hope! Hold her up, that she may be safe and have regard for Your statutes contnually! You spurn all who go astray from Your statutes, for ther cunnng s n van. All the wcked of the earth You dscard lke dross, therefore may she love Your testmones. Mght she say n her heart, My flesh trembles for fear of You, and I am afrad of Your judgments. She has done what s just and rght; do not leave her to her oppressors. Gve her a pledge of good; let not the nsolent oppress her. May her eyes long for Your salvaton and for the fulfllment of Your rghteous promse. Deal wth my wfe, Your servant, accordng to Your steadfast love, and teach her Your statutes. She s Your servant; gve her understandng, that she may know Your testmones! It s tme for You to act, for Your law has been broken. Therefore, may she cry n her heart, I love Your commandments above gold, above fne gold. Therefore I consder all Your precepts to be rght; I hate every false way. Amen, Come Lord Jesus (Psalm 119). Water of the Word 42

44 Our Father n heaven, Hallowed be Your Name. Please keep Your Name holy n the lfe of my beautful wfe. Cause her to consder t reverently n her mnd and heart, treatng t as sacred by her words and conduct. May Your kngdom come, and may she long for the day of Your fullness far more than anythng else n ths lfe. Str her heart to seek frst Your kngdom. Your wll be done on earth as t s n heaven. Perform Your good pleasure n her use her as a vessel to magnfy the beauty of Your Son. Gve her ths day her daly bread, provdng for her physcal needs, for You are a lovng, mercful Father who gves good gfts to Hs chldren. Teach her to trust You, beng not anxous about whether she wll have enough for tomorrow. Forgve her her debts, as she also forgves her debtors. Forgve her when she falls short of Your glory. And form n her a pardonng heart, forbearng n everythng. Lead her not nto temptaton, but delver her from evl. Rescue her from the decetfulness of sn. By Your undeserved mercy keep her heart from beng darkened and led nto foolshness. For Yours s the kngdom, the power, and the glory forever! Amen (Matthew 6). Gvng God good advce, and abusng the devl sn t prayng. ~L.M. Montgomery Water of the Word 43

45 My Exceedng Joy, Help me never cease to gve thanks for my dear wfe, rememberng her n my prayers, that You, the God of my Lord Jesus Chrst, the Father of glory, may gve her a sprt of wsdom and of revelaton n the knowledge of You, havng the eyes of her heart enlghtened, that she may know what s the hope to whch You have called her, what are the rches of Your glorous nhertance n the sants, and what s the mmeasurable greatness of Your power toward us who beleve, accordng to the workng of Your great mght. O LORD, she cannot know and delght n the mystery and beauty of Your gospel unless Your Sprt ntervenes, brngng about frut n her for rghteousness. For ths reason I bow my knees before You, Father, from whom every famly n heaven and on earth s named, that accordng to the rches of Your glory You may strengthen her wth power through Your Sprt n her nner beng, so that Chrst may dwell n her heart through fath that she, beng rooted and grounded n love, may have strength to comprehend wth all the sants what s the breadth and length and heght and depth, and to know the love of Chrst that surpasses knowledge, that she may be flled wth all of Your fullness. Now to You who are able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or thnk, accordng to the power at work wthn us, to You be glory n the church and n Chrst Jesus throughout all generatons, forever and ever Amen (Ephesans 1 & 3). Water of the Word 44

46 Mercful LORD, I know that t s Your good pleasure to gve of Yourself to those who ask; therefore I pray that my precous wfe s delght would be n Your law. May she medtate on t day and nght. Teach her what t s to serve You wth fear and rejoce wth tremblng. O LORD, be a sheld about her, her glory, and the lfter of her head. Assst her to put her trust n You so that her heart exults, sayng, You have put more joy n my heart than they have when ther gran and wne abound. In peace make her both le down and sleep; for You alone, O LORD, make her dwell n safety. Lead her, O LORD, n Your rghteousness because of her enemes; make Your way straght before her. Let her take refuge n You and rejoce; let her ever sng for joy, and spread Your protecton over her, that she who loves Your Name may exult n You. For You bless the rghteous, O LORD; You cover her wth favor as wth a sheld. May she gve to You the thanks due to Your rghteousness, and sng prase to Your Name, Most Hgh. O beloved, gve thanks to the LORD wth your whole heart; recount all of Hs wonderful deeds! Be glad and exult n God; sng prase to Hs Name, the Most Hgh. For those who know Your Name, O LORD, put ther trust n You, for You have not forsaken those who seek You. Remnd her that she s but a woman, wholly dependent upon You for lfe and breath and everythng else. I commt her to You. Amen (Psalm 2, 4, 5, 9). Water of the Word 45

47 Thou Great I Am, You are rghteous; You love rghteous deeds; the uprght shall behold Your face. Therefore cause my lovely wfe to walk uprghtly so that she mght do what she was made for behold Your wonderful face! May she trust n Your steadfast love; may her heart rejoce n Your salvaton. And then let her sng to You, because You have dealt bountfully wth her. Agan I ask that she be constraned to walk blamelessly and do what s rght and speak the truth n her heart. O that she would say and contnue to say to You, You are my Lord; I have no good apart from You. You are my chosen porton and my cup; You hold my lot. May she set You always before her; trustng that because You are at her rght hand, she shall not be shaken. Please make known to her the path of lfe; that n Your presence there s fullness of joy; at Your rght hand are pleasures evermore. Wondrously show Your steadfast love to her, O Savor of those who seek refuge from ther adversares at Your rght hand. Keep her as the apple of Your eye; hde her n the shadow of Your wngs. As for her, may she behold Your face n rghteousness; when she awakes, may she be satsfed wth Your lkeness. Prase the LORD! (Psalm 11, 13, 16, 17). No prayer s more powerful than the prayer of powerlessness, of lttleness, of not knowng. Isn t ths what t means to be poor n sprt? ~Mke Mason Water of the Word 46

48 O trune God, I love You, O LORD, my strength. May You be to my wnsome wfe her rock and her fortress and her delverer, her God, her rock, n whom she takes refuge, her sheld, and the horn of her salvaton, her stronghold. You alone are worthy to be prased. By Your mercy brng her out nto a broad place; rescue her, because You delght n her. Put all Your rules before her, and may she never put Your statutes away from her. For t s You who lght her lamp; O LORD my God, lghten her darkness. Make her abde n ths precous promse: Ths God Hs way s perfect; the word of the LORD proves true; He s a sheld for all those who take refuge n Hm. Gve her the sheld of Your salvaton, and wth Your rght hand support her, and wth Your gentleness make her great. Wth Your perfect law, O LORD, revve her soul. Wth Your sure testmony make her wse. By Your rght precepts cause her heart to rejoce. And may Your pure commandment enlghten her eyes. Keep her, Your servant, also from presumptuous sns; let them not have domnon over her! Let the words of her mouth and the medtaton of her heart be pleasng n Your sght, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer (Psalm 18 & 19). Water of the Word 47

49 Infnte Father, It s my plea by the Name of Chrst, that You hear me on behalf of my sweet wfe. Snce she s one of Your holy and beloved chosen, then put on her compasson, kndness, humlty, meekness, and patence. And f one has a complant aganst her, let her forgve as You have forgven her. And above all these put on her love, whch bnds everythng together n perfect harmony. And let the peace of Chrst rule n her heart, to whch ndeed she was called. And may she be thankful. Let the word of Chrst dwell n her rchly, as she teaches and admonshes others n all wsdom, sngng psalms and hymns and sprtual songs, wth thankfulness n her heart to You. And whatever she does, n word or deed, may everythng be n the Name of the Lord Jesus, gvng thanks to You, her Father, through Hm. O beloved, contnue steadfastly n prayer, beng watchful n t wth thanksgvng. I commt you to our dearest and farest Lord Jesus. He wll sustan you. Amen (Colossans 3 & 4). Water of the Word 48

50 All-suffcent Kng, May You answer my dear wfe n the day of trouble! May Your great Name, God of Jacob, protect her! Grant her heart s desre and fulfll all her plans! May she shout for joy over Your salvaton, and n the name of her God set up her banners! May You fulfll all her pettons. Some trust n charots and some n horses, but let her trust n the name of the LORD her God. Make her glad wth the joy of Your presence. Be exalted, O LORD, n Your strength! Let her sng and prase Your power. When trouble s near and there s none to help, be not far from her. For You, O LORD, are her shepherd; she shall not want. Please make her to le down n green pastures. Lead her besde stll waters. Restore her soul. And by grace, lead her n paths of rghteousness for Your Name s sake. Even when she walks through the valley of the shadow of death, let her fear no evl, for You are wth her; wth Your rod and Your staff comfort her. May goodness and mercy follow her all the days of her lfe, that she may dwell n Your house forever (Psalm 20 & 23). For my part, f I cannot pray, I would rather know t, and groan over my soul s barrenness tll the Lord shall agan vst me wth frutfulness of devoton. ~Charles Spurgeon Water of the Word 49

51 Lfe-gvng God, O that the breathtakng wfe You have provded for me would have clean hands and a pure heart! Guard her so that she does not lft up her soul to what s false or swear decetfully. Gude her so that she mght receve blessngs from You and rghteousness from the God of her salvaton. Cause her to seek You, to seek the face of the God of Jacob. To You, O LORD, I lft up her soul. O my God, n You I trust; let her not be put to shame; let not her enemes exult over her. Make her to know Your ways, O LORD; teach her Your paths. Lead her n Your truth and teach her, for You are the God of her salvaton; for You she wats all the day long. Accordng to Your steadfast love remember her, for the sake of Your goodness, O LORD! Lead her n humlty and what s rght; teach her Your way. Instruct her n the way You should choose. Your frendshp, O LORD, s for those who fear You, and You make known to them Your covenant. And so I ask mportunately that You would fll her wth the fear of You so that she mght be Your frend. Cause her eyes to be ever toward You. Turn to her and be gracous to her when she s lonely and afflcted. O guard her soul and delver her! Let her not be put to shame, for she takes refuge n You. May ntegrty and uprghtness preserve her, for she wats for You (Psalm 24 & 25). Water of the Word 50

52 Lord of Heaven, Cause my wfe the delght of my eyes to walk n ntegrty. May she trust n You wthout waverng. Prove her, O LORD, and try her; test her heart and her mnd. Manfest Your steadfast love before her eyes that she may walk n Your fathfulness. Redeem her and be gracous to her. You are her lght and her salvaton; whom shall she fear? You are the stronghold of her lfe; of whom shall she be afrad? O LORD, I love how You have made her Your habtaton and a place where Your glory dwells. I pray that she would earnestly say wth the Psalmst, One thng have I asked of the LORD, that wll I seek after: that I may dwell n the house of the LORD all the days of my lfe, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to nqure n hs temple. Let her heart also cry, Your face, LORD, do I seek. Hde not Your face from her. Cast her not off; forsake her not, O God of my salvaton! O my exquste beloved, wat for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wat for the LORD! (Psalm 26 & 27). Prayer often avals where everythng else fals. ~R.A. Torrey Water of the Word 51

53 Soveregn Commander of the unverse, You are my wfe s only true strength and sheld; n You may her heart trust and be helped; let her heart exult, and wth her song gve thanks to You. You are the strength of Your people; be the savng refuge of my precous wfe. May You gve strength to her! When she s mournng, turn t nto dancng; loose her sackcloth and clothe her wth gladness, that her glory may sng Your prase and not be slent. O LORD my God, I wll gve thanks to You forever! In You, O LORD, may she take refuge; let her never be put to shame; n Your rghteousness delver her! Cause her to rejoce and be glad n Your steadfast love. Make Your face shne on her; save her n Your steadfast love! O my beloved earthly treasure, the LORD preserves the fathful; be strong and let your heart take courage, you who wat for the LORD! Keep her, Father; I commt her wholly to Your Hand (Psalm 28, 30, 31). Water of the Word 52

54 O Fountan of all good, Instruct my chershed wfe and teach her n the way she should go; counsel her wth Your eye upon her. May Your steadfast love surround her because she trusts n You. Make her glad n You; make her rejoce as a rghteous one, shoutng for joy as one uprght n heart! Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the nhabtants of the world stand n awe of You! For You spoke, and she came to be; You commanded, and she stands frm. Behold, how good t s that Your eye s on those who fear You, on those who hope n Your steadfast love. O that her soul would wat for You; be her help and her sheld. Together, may our hearts be glad n You, because we trust n Your holy Name. Let Your steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us, even as we hope n You. Cause her to bless You at all tmes; may Your prase contnually be n her mouth. Let her say, My soul makes ts boast n the LORD; let the humble hear and be glad. Dearest among women, oh magnfy the LORD wth me, and let us exalt Hs Name together! (Psalm 32, 33, 34). A godly man s carred on the wngs of delght. He s never so well as when he s prayng. He s not forced wth fear but fred wth love. I wll make them joyful n my house of prayer (Isa. 56:7). ~Thomas Watson Water of the Word 53

55 Searcher of hearts, I ask wth reverent joy and tremblng that my wfe my ncomparable dvne gft would taste and see that You are good! Blessed s the woman who takes refuge n You! Be near to her when she s brokenhearted, savng her when she s crushed n sprt. Say to her soul, I am your salvaton! Then her soul wll rejoce n You, exultng n Your salvaton. May all her bones say, O LORD, who s lke You, delverng the poor from hm who s too strong for hm, the poor and needy from hm who robs hm? You have seen, O LORD; be not slent! O Lord, be not far from her! Then her tongue shall tell of Your rghteousness and of Your prase all the day long. Make her feast on the abundance of Your house, and gve her drnk from the rver of Your delghts. For wth You s the fountan of lfe; n Your lght do we see lght. O contnue Your steadfast love toward her, and Your rghteousness to the uprght of heart! Let not the foot of arrogance come upon her, nor the hand of the wcked drve her away. Please fll her wth grace daly, that her lfe mght be a fountan of sweet water. Amen (Psalm 34, 35, 36). Water of the Word 54

56 O God who hears the prayers of Your chldren, Only You can brng my wfe to trust n You and do good; to dwell n the land and befrend fathfulness. Only Your Hand can turn her heart lke a stream of water to delght herself n You so that You wll gve her the desres of her heart. O beloved, lsten to my entreaty: commt your way to the LORD; trust n Hm, and He wll act. He wll brng forth your rghteousness as the lght, and your justce as the noonday. Father, let her be stll before You and wat patently for You; not frettng herself over the one who prospers n hs way, over the man who carres out evl devces. For her steps are establshed by You, when You delght n her way; though she fall, she wll not be cast headlong, for You uphold her hand. It s my humble plea that her soul would take hope n Your words through Davd: I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the rghteous forsaken or her chldren beggng for bread. May her mouth utter wsdom, and her tongue speak justce. May the law of her God be n her heart so that her steps do not slp (Psalm 37). Water of the Word 55

57 Necessty! I hardly lke to talk of that, let me rather speak of the delcousness of prayer the wondrous sweetness and dvne felcty whch come to the soul that lves n the atmosphere of prayer. John Fox sad, The tme we spend wth God n secret s the sweetest tme, and the best mproved. Therefore, f thou lovest thy lfe, be n love wth prayer. The devout Mr. Hervey resolved on the bed of sckness If God shall spare my lfe, I wll read less and pray more. John Cooke, of Madenhead, wrote The busness, the pleasure, the honour, and advantage of prayer press on my sprt wth ncreasng force every day. A deceased pastor when drawng near hs end, exclamed, I wsh I had prayed more ; that wsh many of us mght utter. ~Charles Spurgeon Water of the Word 56

58 LORD of the cloud and fre, The salvaton of my wfe s from You; You are her stronghold n the tme of trouble. You help her and delver her; please delver her from the wcked and save her, because she takes refuge n You. Do not forsake her, O LORD! O my God, be not far from her! Make haste to help her, O Lord, my salvaton! O LORD, make her know her end and what s the measure of her days; let her know how fleetng she s! Behold, You have made her days a few handbreadths, and her lfetme s as nothng before You. Surely all manknd stands as a mere breath! Hear my prayer may she wat patently for You; nclne to her and hear her cry. Draw her up from the pt of destructon, out of the mry bog, and set her feet upon a rock, makng her steps secure. Put a new song n her mouth, a song of prase to her God. May many see her and fear, and put ther trust n You. Blessed s the woman who makes the LORD her trust. As for You, O LORD, do not restran Your mercy from her; Your steadfast love and Your fathfulness wll ever preserve her! O beloved, hope n God! Amen (Psalm 37, 39, 40). Water of the Word 57

59 O God most hgh, most glorous, Be pleased to delver her! O LORD, make haste to help her! Let those be put to shame and dsapponted altogether who seek to snatch away her lfe. But may she seek You and rejoce and be glad n You; may she love Your salvaton and say contnually, Great s the LORD! You are her help and her delverer; do not delay, O my God! As the deer pants for flowng streams, so may her soul pant for You. May her soul thrst for God, for the lvng God. When her soul s cast down and n turmol wthn her, let her hope n You and prase You her salvaton and her God. By day You command Your steadfast love, and at nght may Your song be wth her, a prayer to the God of her lfe. Send out Your lght and Your truth; let them lead her; let them brng her to Your dwellng! Then take her to Your altar; let her delght n You as her exceedng joy and prase You wth the lyre, O God, my God. Why are you cast down, O my beloved, and why s your soul n turmol wthn you? Hope n God; for He s worthy of prase, your salvaton and your God! (Psalm 40, 42, 43). Only he who s hmself secure and happy n the Lord can pray effectvely for others. ~Mke Mason Water of the Word 58

60 Elector of Sants, May my dear wfe boast contnually n You, and gve thanks to Your Name forever. Please redeem her for the sake of Your steadfast love! Be her refuge and strength, a very present help n trouble. Therefore we wll not fear though the earth gves way, though the mountans be moved nto the heart of the sea. O God, be near her so that she wll not be moved; help her when mornng dawns. Make her to be stll and know that You are God. And then let her clap her hands, shoutng to You wth loud songs of joy! Know, my dearest, that the LORD, the Most Hgh, s to be feared, a great kng over all the earth. Sng prases to God, sng prases! Sng prases to our Kng, sng prases! For God s the Kng of all the earth; sng prases wth a psalm! Cause her to thnk on Your steadfast love, O God. Your prase reaches to the ends of the earth. Your rght hand s flled wth rghteousness. Let her be glad! Let ths daughter of Judah rejoce because of Your judgments! Ransom her soul from the power of Sheol, and out of her the perfecton of beauty shne forth. O beloved, shne forth the shmmerng beauty of our Lord Chrst! (Psalm 46, 47, 48, 49). Water of the Word 59

61 O Lvng God, Inclne my wfe s heart to offer You a sacrfce of thanksgvng. Have mercy on her accordng to Your steadfast love; accordng to Your abundant mercy blot out her transgressons. Wash her thoroughly from her nquty, and cleanse her from her sn! Make her know her transgressons and n humlty have her sn ever before her. Purge her wth hyssop, and she shall be clean; wash her, and she shall be whter than snow. Let her hear joy and gladness; let the bones that You have broken rejoce. Hde Your face from her sns, and blot out all her nqutes. Create n her a clean heart, O God, and renew a rght sprt wthn her. Cast her not away from Your presence, and take not Your Holy Sprt from her. Restore unto her the joy of Your salvaton, and uphold her wth a wllng sprt. Then her tongue wll sng aloud of Your rghteousness. O Lord, open her lps, so that her mouth wll declare Your prase. O my gft of heaven, the sacrfces of God are a broken sprt; a broken and contrte heart He wll not despse (Psalm 50 & 51). Why are we called adulteresses n prayng for somethng to spend on our pleasures? Because God s our husband and the world s a prosttute lurng us to gve affectons to her that belong only to God. Ths s how subtle the sn of worldlness can be. It can emerge not aganst prayer, but n prayer and fastng. We begn to pray and fast even ntensely not for God as our all-satsfyng husband, but only for hs gfts n the world so that we can make love wth them. ~John Pper Water of the Word 60

62 Holy LORD, Make my treasured wfe trust n Your steadfast love forever and ever. May she thank You forever, because You are savng her. O that she would wat for Your Name, for t s good. Save her, by Your Name, and vndcate her by Your mght. O God, hear my prayer; gve ear to the words of my mouth. Hde not Yourself from my plea for mercy! Sustan her as she casts her burden upon You; when she s afrad let her trust n You. In You, whose word we prase, n You we trust; we shall not be afrad. What can flesh do to us? Ths we know, that You are for us. O beloved, do not be afrad, for what can man do to you? God s for you! You need not fear. Delver her soul from death, yes, her feet from fallng, that she may walk before You n the lght of lfe. Be mercful to her, O God, be mercful to her, for n You her soul takes refuge; n the shadow of Your wngs let her take refuge, tll the storms of destructon pass by. Fulfll Your purpose for her and be exalted above the heavens. Let Your glory be over all the earth! Dearest beloved, sng and make melody wth me! We gve thanks to You, O Lord, among the peoples; we wll sng prases to You among the natons. For Your steadfast love s great to the heavens, Your fathfulness to the clouds (Psalm 52, 54, 56, 57). Water of the Word 61

63 O Changeless God, Delver my prceless wfe from her enemes; protect her from those who rse up aganst her. Then she shall sng of Your strength; make her sng aloud of Your steadfast love n the mornng. For You have been to her a fortress and a refuge n the day of her dstress. O my Strength, we wll sng prases to You, for You, O God, are our fortress, the God who shows us steadfast love. Hear my cry, lsten to her prayer; from the end of the earth may she call to You when her heart s fant. Lead her to the rock that s hgher than she, for You are a refuge, a strong tower aganst the enemy. Let her dwell n Your tent forever! Let her take refuge under the shelter of Your wngs! Appont steadfast love and fathfulness to watch over her! May she wat for You alone n slence; from You comes salvaton. You alone must be her rock and her salvaton, her fortress; let her not be greatly shaken. Her hope must come from You. Trust n Hm at all tmes, my beloved; pour out your heart before Hm; God s a refuge for us. Amen (Psalm 59, 61, 62). Water of the Word 62

64 My Father, May my wonderful wfe earnestly seek You; mght her soul thrst for You; make her flesh fant for You, as n a dry and weary land where there s no water. Let her look upon You contnually, beholdng Your power and glory. And because she knows wth every fber of her beng that Your steadfast love s better than lfe, may her lps prase You. Form her nto a woman who wll bless You as long as she lves, lftng up her hands n Your Name. Satsfy her soul as wth fat and rch food. And I ask that she remember You even upon her bed, and medtate on You n the watches of the nght, her mouth prasng You wth joyful lps. For You have been her help, and n the shadow of Your wngs she wll sng for joy. O beloved, let your soul clng to God, for Hs rght hand upholds you! (Psalm 63). How, then, do you pray? Do you ask God for your daly bread? Do you thank God for your converson? Do you pray for the converson of others? If the answer s no, I can only say that I do not thnk you are yet born agan. But f the answer s yes well, that proves that, whatever sde you may have taken n debates on ths queston n the past, n your heart you beleve n the soveregnty of God no less frmly than anyone else. On our feet we may have arguments about t, but on our knees we are all agreed. ~J.I. Packer Water of the Word 63

65 Lord and Kng, Let my wnsome wfe rejoce n You and take refuge n You! Let her uprght heart exult! Prase s due to You, O God You who hear prayers. Blessed s the one You choose and brng near, to dwell n Your courts! Please secure her place among such chosen. Shout for joy to God, my beloved; sng the glory of Hs Name; gve to Hm glorous prase! Say to God, How awesome are Your deeds! So great s Your power that Your enemes come crngng to You. All the earth worshps You and sngs prases to You; they sng prases to Your Name. May she rejoce n You, who rule by Your mght forever. Test her and try her as slver s tred. Please, please do not reject her prayer or remove Your steadfast love from her! Instead be gracous to her and bless her and make Your face shne upon her, that Your way may be known on earth, Your savng power among all the natons. May she be glad, exultng before You, jublant wth joy! (Psalm 64, 66, 68). Water of the Word 64

66 God of Grace, Make my wfe sure of ths: that You who began a good work n her wll brng t to completon at the day of Chrst Jesus. For You alone are my wtness, how I yearn for her wth the affecton of Chrst Jesus, and when I do not, assst me to yearn for her as I ought. It s my prayer that her love may abound more and more, wth knowledge and all dscernment, so that she may approve what s excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Chrst, flled wth the frut of rghteousness that comes through Jesus Chrst, to the glory and prase of Your name. Wth specal grace I ask that You would enable her to count whatever gan she has as loss for the sake of Chrst. Indeed, make her count everythng as loss because of the surpassng worth of knowng Chrst Jesus her Lord. May she suffer along wth me the loss of all thngs and count them as rubbsh, n order that she may gan Chrst and be found n Hm, not havng a rghteousness of her own that comes from the law, but that whch comes through fath n Chrst, the rghteousness from You that depends on fath that she may know Chrst and the power of Hs resurrecton, and may share n Hs sufferngs, becomng lke Hm n Hs death (Phlppans 1 & 3). Water of the Word 65

67 Almghty God, Be to my dear wfe a rock of refuge, to whch she may contnually come. For You, O Lord, are her hope. May her mouth be flled wth Your prase, and wth Your glory all the day. O God, be not far from her; O my God, make haste to help her! May she hope contnually and prase You yet more and more. Let her mouth tell of Your rghteous acts, of Your deeds of salvaton all the day, for ther number s past knowledge. So even to old age and gray hars, O God, do not forsake her, untl she proclams Your mght to another generaton, Your power to all those to come (Psalm 71). Among all the formatve nfluences whch go to make up a man honoured of God n the mnstry, I know of none more mghty than hs own famlarty wth the mercy-seat. All that a college course can do for a student s coarse and external compared wth the sprtual and delcate refnement obtaned by communon wth God. Whle the unformed mnster s revolvng upon the wheel of preparaton, prayer s the tool of the great potter by whch he moulds the vessel. All our lbrares and studes are mere emptness compared wth our closets. We grow, we wax mghty, we preval n prvate prayer. ~Charles Spurgeon Water of the Word 66

68 Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous thngs. Blessed be Your glorous Name forever; may the whole earth be flled wth Your glory! I come before You wth ths petton: that my exquste wfe would be contnually wth You may You hold her rght hand. Gude her wth Your counsel, for t s perfect, wse, and good. Cause these mraculous, marvelous words to pour from her soul: Whom have I n heaven but You? And there s nothng on earth that I desre besdes You. I know that her heart and her flesh may fal, therefore be the strength of her heart and her porton forever. As for my wfe, t s good for her to be near You; let her make You her refuge, that she may tell of all Your works. Contnue to mold her nto a woman who fears You, for who can stand before You once Your anger s roused? O beloved, remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, remember Hs wonders of old. Ponder all Hs work, and medtate on Hs mghty deeds. Your way, O God, s holy. What god s great lke our God? You are the God who works wonders; You have made known Your mght among the peoples. O please work wonders on her behalf, and wth Your arm redeem her (Psalm 72, 73, 76, 77). Water of the Word 67

69 God of peace, It s my request that my wfe would set her hope n You and not forget Your works, but keep Your commandments. Let her not be lke ths stubborn and rebellous generaton, a generaton whose heart s not steadfast, whose sprt s not fathful to You. Make her heart steadfast toward You and fathful to Your covenant. Thank You for beng compassonate, atonng for her nquty, and not destroyng her; You restraned Your anger from her and dd not str up all Your wrath. Remember that she s but flesh, a wnd that passes and comes not agan. Restore her, O God of hosts; let Your face shne, that she may be saved! O beloved, call to Hm who alone s your salvaton! Wth all your mght seek Hs wonderful, matchless face! (Psalm 78 & 80). God has desgned not only that prayer come to be, but that prayer sometmes be a necessary means for accomplshng the ends he has ordaned. In other words, God purposely desgned how thngs would work so that some of what he accomplshes can only be accomplshed as people pray. ~Bruce Ware Water of the Word 68

70 Blessed Father, My wfe needs to need You. O that her soul would long, yes, fant for Your courts; that her heart and flesh would sng for joy to You, the lvng God. Gve her a thankful heart, ever sngng Your prase! Bless her wth a grateful soul, exaltng Your Name forever. O treasured wfe, sng aloud to God your strength; shout for joy to the God of Jacob! Rase a song; sound the tambourne, the sweet lyre wth the harp. LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer; gve ear, O God of Jacob! Brng her nto Your presence, for a day n Your courts s better than a thousand elsewhere. May she rather be a doorkeeper n Your house than dwell n the tents of wckedness. Be her sun and her sheld; bestow on her favor and honor. Wthhold no good thng from her, because she walks uprghtly. O LORD of hosts, blessed s the one who trusts n You! (Psalm 84). Water of the Word 69

71 O Thou Gvng God, Be gracous to my wonderful wfe, for to You do I cry all the day. Gladden the soul of Your servant, for to You, O Lord, do I lft up her soul. Teach her Your way that she may walk n Your truth; unte her heart to fear Your Name. Turn to her and be gracous to her; gve her strength, and save her. O beloved, sng wth me of the steadfast love of the LORD forever; wth your mouth make known Hs fathfulness to all generatons! Make her walk n the lght of Your face, exultng n Your Name all the day, exalted n Your rghteousness. Teach her to number her days that she may get a heart of wsdom. Satsfy her n the mornng wth Your steadfast love, that she may rejoce and be glad all her days. Make her glad for the days You have afflcted her, and for as many years as she has seen evl. Let Your work be shown to her, and Your glorous power to her chldren. Amen (Psalm 86 & 89). Water of the Word 70

72 Glorous God, Let Your favor be upon my sweetest of wves. Establsh the work of her hands. Be her dwellng place, Most Hgh, and be her refuge, so that no evl shall be allowed to befall her. Command Your angels concernng her to guard her n all her ways. Because You hold fast to her n love, please delver her; protect her because she knows Your Name. When she calls to You, answer her; be wth her n trouble; rescue her and honor her. Wth long lfe satsfy her, and show her Your salvaton. Satsfy her wth Your beauty. Hear, my beloved, whle I admonsh you! Lsten to me: there shall be no strange god before you; you shall not bow down to a foregn god. Go to the LORD! Open your mouth wde, and He wll fll t. He wll feed you wth the fnest of wheat, and wth honey from the rock He wll satsfy you (Psalm 90, 91, 81). Prayer s the process of crouchng down and makng ourselves small before God. Ths downszng s not an opton; t s the only way to enter the kngdom of heaven. To grow n the Sprt s to become lttle n relaton to more and more areas of lfe marrage, famly, church, work untl eventually t s possble to be lttle and chldlke even n the presence of Satan and all hs demons. For t s God, not you or I, who s bgger than evl. ~Mke Mason Water of the Word 71

73 Fathful Creator, May grace and peace be multpled to my matchless wfe n the knowledge of You and of Jesus our Lord. May she grow n the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savor Jesus Chrst. When she suffers accordng to Your wll, let her entrust her soul to a fathful Creator whle dong good. Let her not love the world or the thngs n the world, and may she keep herself from dols. O beloved, do not love what s passng away more than your God! Instead buld yourself up n your most holy fath; pray n the Holy Sprt; keep yourself n the love of God, watng for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Chrst that leads to eternal lfe. Now to Hm who s able to keep you from stumblng and to present you blameless before the presence of Hs glory wth great joy, to the only God, our Savor, through Jesus Chrst our Lord, be glory, majesty, domnon, and authorty, before all tme and now and forever. Amen (II Peter 3, I John 2, Jude). Water of the Word 72

74 Glorous and Holy God, You have made me glad by Your work; at the works of Your hands I sng for joy. How great are Your works, O LORD, for You have made my beautful wfe! Your thoughts are very deep! Therefore keep her n Your care, and dscplne her, and teach her out of Your law. For blessed s the woman whom You dscplne, to gve her rest from days of trouble. Do not forsake her or abandon her as Your hertage. If You are not her help, her soul would soon lve n the land of slence. When her foot slps, hold her up, O LORD, wth Your steadfast love. When the cares of her heart are many, cheer her soul wth Your consolatons. Become her stronghold, and her rock of refuge. Oh come, my beloved, and let us sng to the LORD; let us make a joyful nose to the rock of our salvaton! Let us come nto Hs presence wth thanksgvng; let us make a joyful nose to Hm wth songs of prase! For You, O LORD, are a great God, and a great Kng above all gods (Psalm 92, 94, 95). If we do not learn to pray, t wll not be for want of nstructons and examples. Look at Abraham, takng t upon hm to speak unto the Lord for Sodom. Look at Isaac, who goes out to medtate n the feld at the eventde. Look at Jacob, as he wrestles untl the breakng of the day at the Jabbok. Look at Hannah, as she speaks n her heart. Look at Davd, as he prevents now the dawnng of the day, and now the watches of the nght, n a hundred psalms. Look at our Lord. And then, look at Paul, as great n prayer as he s n preachng, or n wrtng Epstles. No, f you never learn to pray, t wll not be for want of the clearest nstructons, and the most shnng examples. ~Alexander Whyte Water of the Word 73

75 Lord Chrst, Only by Your blood and mputed rghteousness do I approach the Father wth confdence concernng my prceless wfe. Therefore, Father, as she receved Chrst Jesus the Lord, may she so walk n Hm, rooted and bult up n Hm and establshed n the fath, just as she was taught, aboundng n thanksgvng. O beloved, f then you have been rased wth Chrst, seek the thngs that are above, where Chrst s, seated at the rght hand of God. Set your mnd on thngs that are above, not on thngs that are on earth. For you have ded, and your lfe s hdden wth Chrst n God. Father, help her to walk n her new self, whch s beng renewed n knowledge after the mage of ts creator. Assst her to put to death what s earthly n her: sexual mmoralty, mpurty, passon, evl desre, and covetousness, whch s dolatry. Let her put them all away: anger, wrath, malce, slander, and obscene talk from her mouth. You are the great healer and refner. Purfy my wonderful wfe by whatever means are necessary. Make her wholly Yours. Amen (Colossans 2 & 3). Water of the Word 74

76 LORD God Almghty, Grant that my wfe declare Your glory among the natons; Your marvelous works among all the peoples. For great are You LORD, and greatly to be prased; You are to be feared above all gods. Splendor and majesty are before You; strength and beauty are n Your sanctuary. May my wfe ascrbe to You glory and strength! Let her ascrbe to You the glory due Your Name, worshpng You n the splendor of holness. Make her say among the natons, The LORD regns! Let her hear of Your rghteousness and be glad, rejocng wth the daughters of Judah because of Your judgments, O LORD. May she hate evl, for You preserve the lves of Your sants; You delver them from the hand of the wcked. O beloved come, let us worshp and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker! For He s our God, and we are the people of Hs pasture, and the sheep of Hs hand (Psalm 96 & 95). Resolved, never to count that a prayer, nor to let that pass as a prayer, nor that as a petton of a prayer, whch s so made, that I cannot hope that God wll answer t; nor that as a confesson, whch I cannot hope God wll accept. ~Jonathan Edwards Water of the Word 75

77 Eternal Father, Wth Your rght hand and Your holy arm please work salvaton for my dearest wfe. Remember Your steadfast love and fathfulness to Your daughter so that all the ends of the earth wll see the salvaton of her God. Make a joyful nose to the LORD, my beloved; break forth nto joyous song and sng prases! Jon wth the sea as t roars, wth the world and those who dwell n t, wth the rvers as they clap ther hands, wth the hlls sngng for joy together before the LORD. O God, may she ponder the way that s blameless, and walk n ntegrty of heart. Let her not set before her eyes anythng that s worthless, keepng a perverse heart far from her. Do not hde Your face from her n the day of her dstress! Inclne Your ear to her; answer speedly when she calls! And by Your nfnte mercy grant her heart to pour forth n song, Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that s wthn me, bless Hs holy Name (Psalm 98, 102, 103). It s crucal that we not be more fascnated, more grpped, by the prayers of a man than by the pleasures of God. How easy t s to be more thrlled by radcal devoton than by dvne beauty. ~John Pper Water of the Word 76

78 Bless the LORD, O my soul! O LORD my God, You are very great! You are clothed wth splendor and majesty, coverng Yourself wth lght as wth a garment. And by the blood and mercy of Your perfect Son I appeal to Your wse power on behalf of my wfe. May her medtaton be pleasng to You, for she rejoces n You. Let her thank You for Your steadfast love, for Your wondrous works to the chldren of men! Satsfy her longng soul; when her soul hungers fll t wth good thngs. Send out Your word and heal her, and delver her from destructon. Let her sng and make melody wth all her beng! Awake, my beloved! Let us awake the dawn! Gve thanks wth me to the LORD among the peoples; we wll sng prases to Hm among the natons. For Your steadfast love, O God, s above the heavens; Your fathfulness reaches to the clouds. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let Your glory be over my wfe! Amen (Psalm 104, 107, 108). Water of the Word 77

79 O LORD, Grant my wfe help aganst the foe, for van s the salvaton of man! Wth You she shall do valantly. O GOD my Lord, deal on her behalf for Your Name s sake; because Your steadfast love s good, delver her! Wth her mouth let her gve great thanks to You, prasng You n the mdst of sorrow. For You stand at the rght hand of the needy, to save her from those who condemn her soul to death. Prase be to You, LORD! I wll gve thanks to You wth my whole heart, n the company of the uprght, n the congregaton. Great are Your works, studed by all who delght n them. Therefore help me to study my wfe dlgently, for she s Your wonderful handwork. Her beauty exalts You and proves true Your word, for she s full of splendor and majesty. Show her the power of Your works that they are fathful and just; all Your precepts are trustworthy; they are establshed forever and ever, to be performed wth fathfulness and uprghtness. O beloved, fear the LORD, for t s the begnnng of wsdom; all those who practce ths fear have a good understandng. Hs prase endures forever! (Psalm 108, 109, 111). Water of the Word 78

80 O Dvne Comforter, When my dear wfe sows n tears, let her reap wth shouts of joy. Grant her assurance n the God of her salvaton, hopng n You and Your steadfast love. May she wat for You, and hope n Your word. Contnually make her nto a woman whose soul wats for You more than watchmen for the mornng. O beloved, hope n the LORD! For wth the LORD there s steadfast love, and wth Hm s plentful redempton. Hope n the LORD from ths tme forth and forevermore. Lord God, make her lke a frutful vne wthn my house, and bless her wth chldren lke olve shoots around our table. Your blessng be upon her! I bless her n the Name of the LORD! I prase You, LORD, for You are good; I sng to Your Name for t s pleasant! For You have chosen my wfe for Yourself; she s Your own possesson. Do as You please wth her; deal wth her accordng to Your soveregn purpose. For I know that You are great, and that You are above all gods (Psalm 126, 130, 128, 135). True relgon makes us want to spend tme alone n medtaton and prayer. We read that ths was true for Isaac (Gen. 24:63). Even more mportant, we read n the Gospels that Chrst too needed to be alone wth Hs Father. Concealng deep feelng s dffcult, and yet grace-flled feelng s often more slent and prvate than that whch s counterfet. ~Jonathan Edwards Water of the Word 79

81 Lvng God, Remember my wonderful wfe even n her low estate, for Your steadfast love endures forever. Though she walks n the mdst of trouble, preserve her lfe; stretch out Your hand aganst the wrath of her enemes and delver her. Please fulfll Your purposes for her; Your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of Your hands. O LORD, search her and know her! Hem her n, behnd and before, and lay Your hand upon her. I prase You, for she s fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are Your works; my soul knows t very well. Her frame was not hdden from You, when she was beng made n secret, ntrcately woven n the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw her unformed substance; n Your book were wrtten, every one of them, the days that were formed for her, when as yet there were none of them. Therefore take confdence, my beloved! The Almghty LORD of heaven and earth wll accomplsh for you what s best as Hs daughter. Fant not; be not downcast but sleep n Hs gracous provdence, for when you awake He s stll wth you (Psalm 138 & 139). I myself have seen ths rare beauty on the face of a young woman at prayer, one who most lkely had no dea that she was beng seen by human eyes. Her countenance was ncomparably more lovely than anythng Hollywood s cosmetology s able to acheve. Indeed, dvne grace workng n a receptve soul does produce what St. Paul calls God s work of art (Eph 2:10). ~Thomas Dubay Water of the Word 80

82 Author of Salvaton, Beng affectonately desrous of my wonderful wfe, make me ready to share wth her not only the gospel of God but also my own self, because she has become very dear to me. Now may You and the Lord Jesus drect her way, and make her ncrease and abound n love for all, so that You may establsh her heart blameless n holness before Yourself at the comng of our Lord Jesus wth all Hs sants. To ths end I also pray for her: that You may make her worthy of Your callng and may fulfll every resolve for good and every work of fath by Your power, so that the Name of our Lord Jesus may be glorfed n her, and her n Hm, accordng to Your grace and the grace of the Lord Jesus Chrst. I ought always to gve thanks to You for her, because You chose her to be saved, through sanctfcaton by the Sprt and belef n the truth. O beloved, to ths He called you through our gospel, so that you may obtan the glory of our Lord Jesus Chrst. So then, wonderful gft of heaven, stand frm and hold to the tradtons that you were taught by Hs word. Now may the Lord Jesus Chrst Hmself, and You, Father, who loved her and gave her eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort her heart and establsh t n every good work and word. Amen (I Thessalonans 3 & II Thessalonans 1 & 2). Water of the Word 81

83 God of hosts, Restore my wfe; let Your face shne, that she may be saved! Search her, O God, and know her heart. Try her and know her thoughts. And see f there be any grevous way n her, and lead her n the way everlastng. Set a guard, O LORD, over her mouth; keep watch over the door of her lps! Do not let her heart nclne to any evl, to busy herself wth wcked deeds. Let a rghteous word strke her t s a kndness; let t rebuke her t s ol for her head; let her head not refuse t. May she cry out to You, O LORD and say, You are my refuge, my porton n the land of the lvng. Attend to her cry, especally when she s brought very low. Cause her to remember the days of old, medtate on all that You have done, and ponder the work of Your hands. Let her stretch out her hands to You when her soul thrsts for You lke a parched land. Hde not Your face from her, lest she be lke those who go down to the pt. Let her hear n the mornng of Your steadfast love, for n You she trusts. Make her know the way she should go, for to You I lft up her soul. Amen (Psalm 80, 141, 142, 143). Water of the Word 82

84 Radant Redeemer, Teach her to do Your wll, for You are her God! Let Your good Sprt lead her on level ground! For Your Name s sake, O LORD, preserve her lfe! In Your rghteousness brng her soul out of trouble. I confess that she and I deserve none of these merces, but only death and wrath. For what s man that You regard hm, or the son of man that You thnk of hm? Man s lke a breath; hs days are lke a passng shadow. But prase be to You, Chrst Jesus, for Your rghteous obedence and perfect atonement. O beloved, do you know Hs greatness? He s great and greatly to be prased, and Hs greatness s unsearchable. Extol Hm as Your God and Kng. Every day bless Hm and prase Hs name forever and ever. Grant, Lord God, that she be a woman who medtates on the glorous splendor of Your majesty and on Your wondrous works. A woman who speaks of the mght of Your awesome deeds, and declares Your greatness. A woman who pours forth the fame of Your abundant goodness and sngs aloud of Your rghteousness. Amen (Psalm 143, 144, 145). The magnfcence of God s the source and measure of the magnfcence of prayer. Thnk magnfcently of God. ~Alexander Whyte Water of the Word 83

85 Kng of Kngs, I appeal to Your testmony concernng Yourself: that You are gracous and mercful, slow to anger and aboundng n steadfast love. You are good to all, and Your mercy s over all that You have made. Therefore, be eternally knd towards my dear wfe. Keep her n the love of Chrst, and let her gve thanks to You and bless You always. May she speak of the glory of Your kngdom and tell of Your power. Let her make known to the chldren of man Your mghty deeds, and the glorous splendor of Your kngdom. For Your kngdom s an everlastng kngdom, and Your domnon endures throughout all generatons. My sweet beloved, know ths God! He s rghteous n all Hs ways and knd n all Hs works. Trust ths God, for He s near to all who call on Hm, to all who call on Hm n truth. Love ths God, for He fulflls the desre of those who fear Hm, and preserves all who love Hm. Let her mouth speak Your prase, O LORD, and let all flesh bless Your holy Name forever and ever (Psalm 145). In our Lord's prayer, he told us to pray, Your kngdom come, your wll be done, on earth as t s n heaven (Matt. 6:10). Ths ndcates that the perfect wll of God precedes my prayng and yours. We are not told to pray, your wll be formed, but your wll be done. ~Bruce Ware Water of the Word 84

86 Prnce of Peace, Let my wnsome wfe prase You as long as she lves; let her sng prases to her God whle she has beng. Let her be glad n her Maker, rejocng n her Kng! Let her prase Your Name wth dancng, makng melody to You wth her voce. Please take pleasure n her song and adorn her wth salvaton. Let her exult n glory; let her sng for joy on her bed. Let Your hgh prases be n her throat and Your word n her hands. May she prase You n Your sanctuary; prase You n Your mghty heavens! Make her prase You for Your mghty deeds; prase You accordng to Your excellent greatness! Put not your trust n prnces, my beloved, n a son of man, n whom there s no salvaton. But blessed s she whose help s the God of Jacob, whose hope s n the LORD her God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that s n them, who keeps fath forever; who executes justce for the oppressed, who gves food to the hungry. Everythng that has breath prase the LORD! Prase the LORD! (Psalm 146, 149, 150). Water of the Word 85

87 Wse Counselor, I ask that my wfe would hear Your nstructon and not forsake Your teachng, for they are a graceful garland for her head and pendants for her neck. All good thngs come from You, O God, therefore make her ear attentve to wsdom and nclne her heart to understandng; yes, let her call out for nsght and rase her voce for understandng, seekng t lke slver and searchng for t as for hdden treasures. Gve her such fervor so that she mght understand the fear of You and fnd the knowledge of God. Let not steadfast love and fathfulness forsake her; bnd them around her neck; wrte them on the tablet of her heart. Trust n the LORD wth all your heart, my beloved! And lean not on your own understandng. In all your ways acknowledge Hm, and He wll make straght your paths. Be not wse n your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evl. Lord God, may she honor You wth her wealth and wth the frstfruts of all her produce; then her barns wll be flled wth plenty, and her vats wll be burstng wth wne. Let her not despse Your dscplne or be weary of Your reproof, for You reprove her whom You love, as a father the daughter n whom he delghts. Fnally, I am wholly dependent on You to keep me as hers alone. Make me serve her wth all fdelty, drnkng water from my own cstern, flowng water from my own well. For why should my sprngs be scattered abroad, streams of water n the streets? Water of the Word 86

88 Keep her also fathful to me. Cause my fountan to be blessed; may I rejoce n the wfe of my youth, a lovely deer, a graceful doe. Let her breasts fll me at all tmes wth delght, that I may be ntoxcated always n her love. Amen (Proverbs 1, 2, 3, 5). Better be somewhat too bold and somewhat unseemly than altogether to neglect and forget Almghty God. Better say that so bold sayng, "I wll not let Thee go," than pray wth such lazness and sleepness and stupdty as we now pray. ~Alexander Whyte Water of the Word 87

89 Father of our Lord Jesus, May You drect the heart of my wfe to Your love and to the steadfastness of Chrst. Work ths mracle of grace n her: that she would count t all joy when she meets trals of varous knds. If she lacks wsdom, let her ask You, who gve generously to all wthout reproach, so that t wll be gven her. Cause her to be a doer of the word, and not a hearer only, decevng herself. Though she has not seen You, let her love You. Though she does not now see You, let her beleve n You and rejoce wth joy that s nexpressble and flled wth glory, obtanng the outcome of her fath, the salvaton of her soul. O beloved, t s my greatest joy and prvlege to remnd you that you are of a chosen race, a royal presthood, a holy naton, a people for God s own possesson, that you may proclam the excellences of Hm who called you out of darkness nto Hs marvelous lght. O remember! Once you were an orphan, but now you are God s chld; once you had not receved mercy, but now you have receved mercy! To You alone, Lord God, be glory forever! Amen (James 1 & I Peter 1 & 2). Water of the Word 88

90 God of Truth, Please be my lovely wfe s confdence, and keep her foot from beng caught. May she keep hold of nstructon and not let t go; let her guard t, for t s her lfe. Make her commt her work to You so that her plans may be establshed. O beloved, better s a lttle wth the fear of the LORD than great treasure and trouble wth t. The fear of the LORD s a fountan of lfe, that you may turn away from the snares of death. Father, mportunately I ask that she would fnd wsdom and get understandng, for the gan from t s better than gan from slver and ts proft better than gold. May she consder wsdom as more precous than jewels, for long lfe s n her rght hand; n her left hand are rches and honor. Let her not lose sght of these sound wsdom and dscreton, for they wll be lfe for her soul and adornment for her neck (Proverbs 3, 16, 15). There s no true prayer wthout agony. Perhaps ths s the problem n many of our churches. What lttle prayer we have s shallow, tmd, carefully censored, and full of oratorcal flourshes and hot ar. There s lttle agony n t, and therefore lttle honesty or humlty. We seem to thnk that the Lord s lke everyone else we know, and that He cannot handle real honesty. So we put on our Sunday best to vst Hm, and when we return home and take off our fancy duds we are left alone wth what s underneath: the drty underwear of hypocrsy. ~Mke Mason Water of the Word 89

91 Maker of Lfe, An excellent wfe who can fnd? O, but I have found one or more truly, You have gven one to me. She s far more precous than jewels. My heart trusts her, and I wll have no lack of gan. She does me good, and not harm. Thank You that she works wth wllng hands. Thank You that she rses whle t s yet nght and provdes food for her household. Only by Your grace does she dress herself wth strength and make her arms strong. I prase You that she opens her hand to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy. May she open her mouth wth wsdom, and put the teachng of kndness on her tongue. Thank You that she looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of dleness. May my chldren rse up and call her blessed. O beloved, many women have done excellently, but by grace you surpass them all! You fear the LORD, therefore I wll prase Hm for you! Prase the LORD all the earth! Sng the glory of Hs Name; gve to Hm glorous prase! Let everythng that has breath prase the LORD, for He commanded, and my wfe my greatest and most beautful earthly good was created! (Proverbs 31 & Psalm 150). Water of the Word 90

92 Lord and Father, Thank You for callng my dear wfe to belong to Jesus Chrst. I prase You for lovng her and callng her to be among the sants! Grant that we may be mutually encouraged by each other s fath. And let her never be ashamed of the gospel, for t s the power of God for salvaton to everyone who beleves. For n t Your rghteousness s revealed from fath for fath. Indeed, when she was outsde of Chrst she faled to please You; she could not. She was not rghteous, and there was no fear of You before her eyes. O beloved, remember your depravty the low estate from whch He saved you! You have snned and fallen short of Hs glory, and are justfed by Hs grace as a gft, through the redempton that s n Chrst Jesus, whom God put forward as a proptaton by Hs blood. And ths was to show Hs rghteousness, so that He mght be just and the justfer of the one who has fath n Jesus. Therefore she cannot boast, O LORD, for all that she has s of grace through Chrst! May she lve and breathe and eat and drnk by grace alone, for Your glory alone (Romans 1 & 3). God has made the spread of hs fame hang on the preachng of hs Word; and he has made the preachng of hs Word hang on the prayers of the sants. Ths s the awesome place of prayer n the purposes of God for the world. The trumph of the Word wll not come wthout prayer. ~John Pper Water of the Word 91

93 Holy Father, Your servant Davd exults by sayng, Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgven, and whose sns are covered. Therefore, please do not count the sn of my dear wfe aganst her! I know that there wll be trbulaton and dstress for every human beng who does evl, and my wfe has been wcked, as have I. We have had hard and mpentent hearts, thus storng up wrath for ourselves on the day of wrath when Your rghteous judgment wll be revealed. We have dshonored You by breakng Your wonderful law. Your name has been blasphemed among the Gentles because of us. But thank You that for Your namesake You mpute to my wfe the rghteousness of Your Son. By Your Holy Sprt keep her trustng n Chrst s perfecton alone, for You rased Hm from the dead for our justfcaton after He had been delvered up for our trespasses. Therefore, my beloved, snce you have been justfed by fath, you have peace wth God through our Lord Jesus Chrst! O embrace and kss Hm! For through Hm you have also obtaned access by fath nto ths grace n whch you stand. Let us, therefore, together rejoce n hope of the glory of God. More than that, Father, help us to rejoce n our sufferngs, knowng that sufferng produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because Your love has been poured nto our hearts through the Holy Sprt who has been gven to us. Amen (Romans 2 & 5). Water of the Word 92

94 Incomparable God, I prase You that whle my wfe was stll weak and ungodly, Chrst ded for her. For one wll scarcely de for a rghteous person, but You have shown Your love for her n that whle she was stll a snner, Chrst ded for her. O beloved, snce therefore you have been justfed by Hs blood, much more shall you be saved by Hm from the wrath of God. Rejoce! Rejoce n God through our Lord Jesus Chrst, through whom you have now receved reconclaton. Father, let her not contnue n sn so that grace may abound. May t never be! Do not allow her to lve n sn once she has ded to t. Cause her to consder herself dead to sn and alve to You n Chrst Jesus. Let not sn regn n her mortal body, to make her obey ts passons. Keep her from presentng her members to sn as nstruments for unrghteousness. For sn wll have no domnon over her, snce she s not under law but under grace. Just as she once presented her members as slaves to mpurty and to lawlessness leadng to more lawlessness, so now may she present her members as slaves to rghteousness leadng to sanctfcaton. Instll ths truth ever deeply wthn her: the wages of sn s death, but Your free gft s eternal lfe n Chrst Jesus our Lord. Restran her from earnng deadly wages. And come quckly, Lord Jesus. We long for You. Amen (Romans 5 & 6). Water of the Word 93

95 Delcously Gracous Master, When my wfe fnds herself dvded n her desres, help her. There wll be tmes when she delghts n Your law n her nner beng, but she sees n her members another law wagng war aganst the law of her mnd and makng her captve to the law of sn that dwells n her members. And when she cres, Wretched woman that I am! Who wll delver me from ths body of death? make her hope n You through Jesus Chrst her Lord! O beloved, t s my joy to remnd you that there s therefore now no condemnaton for those who are n Chrst Jesus. For the law of the Sprt of lfe has set you free n Chrst Jesus from the law of sn and death. O God, cause her to exult n the knowledge that You have done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sendng Your own Son n the lkeness of snful flesh and for sn, You condemned sn n the flesh, n order that the rghteous requrement of the law mght be fulflled n us who walk not accordng to the flesh but accordng to the Sprt. Although her body s dead because of sn, gve her lfe by the Sprt because of rghteousness! Amen (Romans 7 & 8). Pray often, for prayer s a sheld to the soul, a sacrfce to God, and a scourge for Satan. ~John Bunyan Water of the Word 94

96 Abba, Father, I ask on behalf of my darlng wfe, that Your Sprt would bear wtness wth her sprt that she s Your chld. For she dd not receve a sprt of slavery to fall back nto fear, but You granted her the Sprt of adopton as a daughter. Cause her to lve accordng to Your Sprt and not accordng to the flesh. For f she lves accordng to the flesh she wll de, but f by the Sprt she puts to death the deeds of the body she wll lve. Please be fathful to bear wtness wth her sprt that she s Your chld, and f a chld, then an her Your her and fellow her wth Chrst, provded she suffer wth Hm n order that she may also be glorfed wth Hm. Therefore grant her the grace of strength to consder that the sufferngs of ths present tme are not worth comparng wth the glory that s to be revealed to her. O beloved, be not dscouraged when you groan nwardly as we wat eagerly for adopton as sons, the redempton of our bodes. For n ths hope we were saved. Wat for t wth patence. O LORD, we long for the return of Your beautful Son. Come quckly, Chrst Jesus. Amen (Romans 8). Water of the Word 95

97 Beloved God, By Your Sprt, help my precous wfe n her weakness. For she does not know what to pray for as she ought, therefore may Your Sprt be fathful to ntercede for her wth groanngs too deep for words. For You, who search hearts, know what s the mnd of the Sprt, because the Sprt ntercedes for the sants accordng to Your wll. O my beautful wfe, know for certan that for those who love God all thngs work together for good, for those who are called accordng to Hs purpose. For those whom He foreknew he also predestned to be conformed to the mage of Hs Son, n order that He mght be the frstborn among many brothers. Father, thank You for Your soveregn choce; for lovng her nto fath n Chrst, for predestnng her to be conformed to Hs blessed mage! Be magnfed and lfted hgh for Your perfect work n her. Amen (Romans 8). There s a general knd of prayng whch fals for lack of precson. It s as f a regment of solders should all fre off ther guns anywhere. Possbly somebody would be klled, but the majorty of the enemy would be mssed. ~Charles Spurgeon Water of the Word 96

98 Almghty Infnte Father, If You are for my beloved wfe, who can be aganst her? You who dd not spare Your own Son but gave Hm up for us all, how wll You not also wth Hm gracously gve her all thngs? Who shall brng any charge aganst her as Your elect? It s You who justfy. Who s to condemn? Assure her wth the truth that Chrst Jesus s the one who ded more than that, who was rased who s at Your rght hand, who ndeed s ntercedng for her. I prase You that no one shall separate her from the love of Chrst. Even trbulaton, or dstress, or persecuton, or famne, or nakedness, or danger, or sword shall not preval over Hs love. Do you trust Hs grasp, my beloved? Do you hope n the trumph of God alone, even when you are klled all the day long and regarded as a sheep to be slaughtered? For n all these thngs we are more than conquerors through Hm who loved us. You can be sure that nether death nor lfe, nor angels nor rulers, nor thngs present nor thngs to come, nor powers, nor heght nor depth, nor anythng else n all creaton, wll be able to separate us from the love of God n Chrst Jesus our Lord (Romans 8). I have been drven many tmes to my knees by the overwhelmng convcton that I had absolutely no other place to go. ~ Abraham Lncoln Water of the Word 97

99 Effectual Lover, Your purpose of electon must stand, for t s beautful and wse to choose a people not because of works but because of Your call. May my dear wfe learn to rejoce and tremble at Your words, Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated. Let her not charge You wth njustce because You are free. For You say to Moses, I wll have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I wll have compasson on whom I have compasson. So then make her exult that t depends not on human wll or exerton, but on You, who have mercy. Let her love and fear the truth that You have mercy on whomever You wll, and You harden whomever You wll. Keep her from beng a woman who questons You wth arrogance, or sets her ways of justce above You, or demands You to account for what she fnds nequtable. May she not queston her molder, sayng, Why have You made me lke ths? For You are the Lord and potter, and to You belongs the rght to make one vessel for honored use and another for dshonorable use. O beloved, my sweetest vessel of mercy, come, let us adore Hs goodness! In order to make known to us the rches of Hs glory He endured wth much patence vessels of wrath prepared for destructon, to show Hs wrath and to make known Hs power. Father, may Your Son be her greatest good forever. Amen (Romans 9). Water of the Word 98

100 Great Shepherd of Your sheep, My heart s desre and prayer s that my wfe may be saved. Let her never be a woman who has a zeal for God, but not accordng to knowledge. Keep her from beng gnorant of the rghteousness that comes from You, and seekng to establsh her own, thus falng to submt to Your rghteousness. For Your Son s the end of the law for rghteousness to everyone who beleves. Let ths assurance rng afresh n her heart: that f she confesses wth her mouth that Jesus s Lord and beleves n her heart that You rased Hm from the dead, she wll be saved. O beloved, adore the free goodness of our Lord s salvaton! For the Scrpture says, Everyone who beleves n Hm wll not be put to shame. For there s no dstncton between Jew and Greek; the same Lord s Lord of all, bestowng Hs rches on all who call on Hm. For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord wll be saved. Father, You have told us that fath comes through hearng, and hearng through the word of Chrst. Therefore use my wfe to proclam the good news so that her feet mght be called beautful. Amen (Romans 10). Water of the Word 99

101 Wse Husbandman, Thank You for choosng my wfe by grace. And f t s by grace, t s no longer on the bass of works; otherwse grace would no longer be grace. Thank You for sparng her from hardenng, from a sprt of stupor, from eyes that cannot see and ears that cannot hear. Make her humbly grateful that some of the natural branches were broken off, and she, although a wld olve shoot, was grafted n among the others and now shares n the nourshng root of the olve tree. Let her never be arrogant toward the branches, rememberng that t s not she who supports the root, but the root that supports her. Do not allow her to become proud, but cause her to stand n awe. For f You dd not spare the natural branches, nether wll You spare her. My beloved, note then the kndness and the severty of God: severty toward those who have fallen, but God s kndness to you, provded you contnue n Hs kndness. Otherwse you too wll be cut off. LORD God, lest we be wse n our own concets, help us to understand ths mystery: a partal hardenng has come upon Israel, untl the fullness of the Gentles has come n. May we tremble before Your soveregn hand that has consgned all to dsobedence, that You may have mercy on all. Oh, the depth of Your rches and wsdom and knowledge! How unsearchable are Your judgments and how nscrutable Your ways! For who has known Your mnd, or who has been Your counselor? Or who has gven a gft to You that he mght be repad? For from You and Water of the Word 100

102 through You and to You are all thngs. To You be glory forever. Amen (Romans 11). When thou prayest, rather let thy heart be wthout words, than thy words wthout a heart. ~John Bunyan Water of the Word 101

103 Magnfcent God, I appeal to You by Your merces, to receve my lovely wfe s body as a lvng sacrfce, holy and acceptable to You. And grant her the wllngness to present her body n ths way, as her sprtual worshp. Let her not be conformed to ths world, but transform her by the renewal of her mnd, that by testng she may dscern what s Your wll, what s good and acceptable and perfect. May she not thnk of herself more hghly than she ought to thnk, but rather thnk wth sober judgment, accordng to the measure of fath that You have assgned. Enable her to use her gfts accordng to the grace gven her: f prophecy, n proporton to her fath; f servce, n her servng; f she teaches, n her teachng; f she exhorts, n her exhortaton; f she contrbutes, n generosty; f she leads, wth zeal; f she does acts of mercy, wth cheerfulness. O beloved, let your love be genune. Abhor what s evl; hold fast to what s good. Love wth ssterly affecton. Let us outdo one another n showng honor. Do not be slothful n zeal, be fervent n sprt, serve the Lord. Lord God, only by Your soveregn grace wll she be able to rejoce n hope, be patent n trbulaton, and be constant n prayer. Assst us together as we strve to contrbute to the needs of the sants and seek to show hosptalty. Amen (Romans 12). Water of the Word 102

104 Awesome LORD, Only by Your unmerted favor wll my sweet wfe grow n lkeness to Chrst Jesus. So I entreat Your mercy on her behalf to enable her to bless those who persecute her; to bless and not curse them. Let her rejoce wth those who rejoce, weep wth those who weep, and lve n harmony wth her heavenly famly. May she not be haughty, but assocate wth the lowly, gvng herself to humble tasks. Let her never be conceted, nor repay anyone evl for evl. Instead grant that she gve thought to do what s honorable n the sght of all. If possble, so far as t depends on her, make her lve peaceably wth all. O beloved wfe, never avenge yourself, but leave t to the wrath of God, for t s wrtten, Vengeance s mne, I wll repay, says the LORD. To the contrary, f your enemy s hungry, feed hm; f he s thrsty, gve hm somethng to drnk; for by so dong you wll heap burnng coals on hs head. Holy God, do not let her be overcome by evl, but assst her to overcome evl wth good; to cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of lght. Let her walk properly as n the daytme, not n orges and drunkenness, not n sexual mmoralty and sensualty, not n quarrelng and jealousy. But cause her to put on the Lord Jesus Chrst, and make no provson for the flesh, to gratfy ts desres. Come, Lord Jesus. We yearn for the day of Your unveled beauty. Amen (Romans 12 & 13). Water of the Word 103

105 O Thou who art fathful when we are fathless, Let my dear wfe not lve to herself. If she lves, may she lve to You, and f she des, may she de to You. So that whether she lves or whether she des, she mght be Yours. For to ths end Chrst ded and lved agan, that He mght be Lord both of the dead and of the lvng. O beloved, do not pass judgment on your sster, or despse your brother. For we wll all stand before the judgment seat of God; for t s wrtten, As I lve, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then we wll both gve an account of ourselves to God. Therefore Father, let her not pass judgment on her brothers and ssters any longer, but rather decde never to put a stumblng block or hndrance n ther way. Cause her to pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuldng. Remnd her of her oblgaton as a woman of strength to bear wth the falngs of the weak, and not to please herself. I ask, for the sake of Your Name, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scrptures she mght have hope. May You enable us to lve n such harmony wth others, n accord wth Chrst Jesus, that together we may wth one voce glorfy You, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Chrst (Romans 14 & 15). Water of the Word 104

106 God of Hope, May You fll my lovely wfe wth all joy and peace n belevng, so that by the power of the Holy Sprt she may abound n hope. Fll her also wth goodness and wth all knowledge, enablng her to nstruct others. I appeal to you, my beloved, by our Lord Jesus Chrst and by the love of the Sprt, to strve wth me n your prayers to God on my behalf, that I may be delvered from my propensty to wander from the narrow road, so that by God s wll I may serve you wth joy and be refreshed n your company. I appeal to You, Lord God, to gve my wfe dscernment and vglance to watch out for those who cause dvsons and create obstacles contrary to the doctrne that she has been taught; may she avod them. Safeguard her from ther smooth talk and flattery by whch they deceve the hearts of the naïve. For her obedence s known to all, so that I rejoce over her, but I want her to be wse as to what s good and nnocent as to what s evl. Now to You who are able to strengthen her accordng to the gospel and the preachng of Jesus Chrst, accordng to Your command, to brng about the obedence of fath to You, the only wse God, be glory forevermore through Jesus Chrst! Amen (Romans 15 & 16). Pray, and let God worry. ~Martn Luther Water of the Word 105

107 Chrst Jesus, I prase You that n these last days God has spoken to us by You, Hs Son, whom He apponted her of all thngs, through whom also He created the world. Father, may my precous wfe take pleasure n beholdng Your Son as the radance of Your glory and the exact mprnt of Your nature, as He upholds the unverse by the word of Hs power. May she exalt Hm as much superor to angels as the name He has nherted s more excellent than thers. O beloved, jon wth me n sayng, Your throne, Lord Chrst, s forever and ever, the scepter of uprghtness s the scepter of Your kngdom. You have loved rghteousness and hated wckedness; therefore God, Your God, has anonted You wth the ol of gladness beyond Your companons. You, Lord, lad the foundaton of the earth n the begnnng, and the heavens are the work of Your hands; they wll persh, but You reman; they wll all wear out lke a garment, lke a robe You wll roll them up, lke a garment they wll be changed. But You are the same, and Your years have no end. Father, cause her to adore Your magnfcent Son ncessantly and abound n thanksgvng for every glmpse of Hs beauty. We long to see Hm face to face. Amen (Hebrews 1). Water of the Word 106

108 Gracous Father, I bow through Chrst n prayer for the good wfe You have granted me. I have deserved death, but You have gven me beauty. I have earned hell, but You have provded a helper sutable for me. And for ths I offer prase to Your great Son. May my wfe, who shares n my heavenly callng, consder Jesus, the apostle and hgh prest of our confesson, who was fathful to You who apponted Hm, just as Moses also was fathful n all Your house. For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses as much more glory as the bulder of a house has more honor than the house tself. Now Moses was fathful n all Your house as a servant to testfy to the thngs that were to be spoken later, but Chrst s fathful over Your house as a son. O beloved, we are Hs house f ndeed we hold fast our confdence and our boastng n our hope. Therefore Father, today, f she hears Your voce, let her not harden her heart as n the rebellon. Take care of her, lest there be n her an evl, unbelevng heart, leadng her to fall away from the lvng God. Help us to exhort one another every day, as long as t s called today, that nether of us may be hardened by the decetfulness of sn. For we share n Chrst, f ndeed we hold our orgnal confdence frm to the end. Enable us to endure steadfastly! Enable us so that we mght gan Your glorous Son! Amen, come quckly Lord Jesus (Hebrews 3). Water of the Word 107

109 God of the lvng word, Only through Chrst, the great hgh prest, who s better than angels and greater than Moses only through Hm do I ntercede for my wfe. So I pray that whle the promse of enterng Your rest stll stands she would fear lest she should seem to have faled to reach t. May Your good news meet wth fath n her as she hears t. I prase You that there remans a Sabbath rest for Your people, for whoever has entered Your rest has also rested from her works as You dd from Yours. As the Scrptures say, And God rested on the seventh day from all Hs works. Let my chershed wfe therefore strve to enter that rest, so that she may not fall by the same sort of dsobedence that overtook all those who left Egypt led by Moses. For Your word s lvng and actve, sharper than any two-edged sword, percng to the dvson of soul and of sprt, of jonts and of marrow, and dscernng the thoughts and ntentons of the heart. And no creature s hdden from Your sght, but all are naked and exposed to Your eyes. And to You we must gve an account. O beloved, snce we have a great hgh prest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confesson. For we do not have a hgh prest who s unable to sympathze wth our weaknesses, but one who n every respect has been tempted as we are, yet wthout sn. Let us then wth confdence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receve mercy and fnd grace n our tme of need (Hebrews 4). Water of the Word 108

110 Splendd Savour, It s my joy to trust and exalt You as the perfect source of eternal salvaton to all who obey You. Father, through Your Son I ask that my wonderful wfe would never become dull of hearng, but nstead crave sold food, developng skll n the word of rghteousness. For sold food s for the mature. Therefore, please tran her powers of dscernment by constant practce to dstngush good from evl. My beloved, let us leave the elementary doctrne of Chrst and go on to maturty, not layng agan a foundaton of repentance from dead works and of fath toward God. And ths we wll do f God permts. Therefore, Father, please be wllng! Please permt her to go on to maturty. Keep her, and may she never be one who s enlghtened, tastes the heavenly gft, shares n the Holy Sprt, tastes of the goodness of Your word, and then falls away. May t never be! (Hebrews 5 & 6). I must secure more tme for prvate devotons. I have been lvng far too publc for me. The shortenng of devotons starves the soul, t grows lean and fant. I have been keepng too late hours. ~Wllam Wlberforce Water of the Word 109

111 God of boundless mercy, May my dear wfe lve as land that has drunk the ran that often falls on t, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake t s cultvated, so that she mght receve a blessng from You. But have mercy on her lest she bear thorns and thstles, for such land s worthless and near to beng cursed, and ts end s to be burned. Assure her of better thngs thngs that belong to salvaton. For You are not so unjust as to overlook her work and the love that she has shown for Your sake n servng the sants, as she stll does. And I desre Your work n her, causng her to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope untl the end, so that she may not be sluggsh, but an mtator of those who through fath and patence nhert the promses. Convnce her by the unchangeable character of Your purpose that she s an heress of the promse made to Abraham, that she mght have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before her. O beloved, flee for refuge to Chrst! For God has sworn by Hmself and we have ths promse as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters nto the nner place behnd the curtan, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, havng become a hgh prest forever after the order of Melchzedek. Lord Jesus, we exalt You as our hope and hgh prest! Please do not tarry n Your return (Hebrews 6). Water of the Word 110

112 O lofty Lover of broken men, I come to You on behalf of my wfe through Jesus, the guarantor of a better covenant. Instll wthn her the wondrous assurance that Chrst holds Hs presthood permanently, because He contnues forever. Consequently, He s able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to You through Hm, snce He always lves to make ntercesson for them. May she entrust herself wholly to Hm, for t s fttng that she should have such a hgh prest, holy, nnocent, unstaned, separated from snners, and exalted above the heavens. May she exalt Hm, for He has no need, lke other hgh prests, to offer sacrfces daly, frst for Hs own sns and then for those of the people, snce He dd ths once for all when he offered up Hmself. For the law apponts men n ther weakness as hgh prests, but the word of the oath, whch came later than the law, apponts a Son who has been made perfect forever. Let her clng to Hm all the more! O beloved, be assured that you have a better husband than I n Chrst! For I pray for you n weakness, mortalty, and wth a wcked heart, but He s holy and perfect, and always lves to make ntercesson for you. 7). Father, assst us to love the Son s appearng (Hebrews There s not n the world a knd of lfe more sweet and delghtful than that of a contnual conversaton wth God. ~Brother Lawrence Water of the Word 111

113 O God, my wealth and my salvaton, Snk deep wthn my prceless wfe the understandng that she has a perfect and powerful hgh prest, one who s seated at the rght hand of the throne of the Majesty n heaven, a mnster n the holy places n the true tent that You set up, not man. For Chrst has obtaned a mnstry that s as much more excellent than the old as the covenant He medates s better, snce t s enacted on better promses. Cause her to trust Chrst s sacrfce alone, who through the eternal Sprt offered Hmself wthout blemsh to You. By Hs blood purfy her conscence from dead works to serve You. Take heart, my beloved, for Chrst, havng been offered once to bear the sns of many, wll appear a second tme, not to deal wth sn but to save those who are eagerly watng for Hm. Father, grant her such eagerness, that she may look forward to the day when her glorfed Savour returns. May she exult n Hs sacrfce, offered once for all tme for sns, after whch He sat down at Your rght hand, watng for that tme untl Hs enemes should be made a footstool for Hs feet. O let her prase and prze Hm! For by a sngle offerng He has perfected for all tme those who are beng sanctfed (Hebrews 8, 9, 10). Prayer s as much a tool of our sanctfcaton, by God s grace, as t s a tool of mnsterng God s grace to others. ~Bruce Ware Water of the Word 112

114 Fearful Judge, Snce my adorable wfe now has confdence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and lvng way that He opened for her through the curtan, that s, through Hs flesh, and snce she has a great hgh prest over Your house, let her draw near to You wth a true heart n full assurance of fath, wth her heart sprnkled clean from an evl conscence and her body washed wth pure water. May she hold fast the confesson of her hope wthout waverng, for You who promsed are fathful. O beloved, let us consder how to str one another to love and good works, not neglectng our tme together, as s the habt of some, but encouragng one another, and all the more as we see the Day drawng near. Father, keep her from gong on snnng delberately after recevng the knowledge of the truth, for f she does there no longer remans a sacrfce for sns, but a fearful expectaton of judgment, and a fury of fre that wll consume the adversares. Please, please prevent her from spurnng Your Son, or profanng the blood of the covenant by whch she was sanctfed, or outragng the Sprt of grace! For I know that vengeance s Yours; You wll repay. The Lord wll judge Hs people. Sustan her! For t s a fearful thng to fall nto the hands of the lvng God (Hebrews 10). Water of the Word 113

115 Self-suffcent God, Only by Your worthy Son do I come to petton transformng and supportng grace for my wfe. Because n You are all thngs good nfntely, I ask that she would grow n kndness and sympathy. Make her a woman who has compasson on those n prson, and who joyfully accepts the plunderng of her property, knowng that she has a better possesson and an abdng one. Let her not throw away her confdence, whch has a great reward. For she has need of endurance, so that when she has done Your wll she may receve what s promsed. I thank You that she s not of those who shrnk back and are destroyed, but of those who have fath and preserve ther souls. Rase her up as a woman of fath, havng the assurance of thngs hoped for, the convcton of thngs not seen. For wthout fath t s mpossble to please You, for whoever would draw near to You must beleve that You exst and that You reward those who seek You. Make her lke Sarah, who by fath receved power to conceve, even when she was past the age, snce she consdered You fathful to Your promse. O beloved, even though men and women lke Sarah were commended through ther fath, they dd not receve what was promsed, snce God had provded somethng better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect. And now we have the Lord Jesus Chrst! Bless Hs name wth me! Father, we long to see Your matchless Son. Let us prase Hs name forever, to Your glory. Amen (Hebrews 10 & 11). Water of the Word 114

116 Dscplnng Father, Assst my lovely wfe to lay asde every weght, and sn whch clngs so closely, and let her run wth endurance the race that s set before her, lookng to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of her fath, who for the joy that was set before Hm endured the cross, despsng the shame, and s seated at the rght hand of Your throne. O beloved, consder Hm who endured from snners such hostlty aganst Hmself, so that you may not grow weary or fanthearted. In our struggle aganst sn we have not yet ressted to the pont of sheddng our blood. Great Father, remnd her of the exhortaton that addresses her as a daughter: My daughter, do not regard lghtly the dscplne of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by Hm. For the Lord dscplnes the one He loves, and chastses every daughter whom He receves. Assure her that t s for dscplne that she has to endure that You are treatng her as a daughter. For f she s left wthout dscplne, n whch all have partcpated, then she s an llegtmate chld and not a daughter. May she not begrudge Your correcton, but respect You and be subject to You, understandng that You dscplne her for her good, that she may share n Your holness. When Your dscplne seems panful rather than pleasant, make her confdent that later t yelds the peaceful frut of rghteousness to those who have been traned by t (Hebrews 12). Water of the Word 115

117 Gentle and fearful Healer, I bow through the mert of my Lord Chrst, askng that You would lft my wfe s beautful droopng hands and strengthen her weak knees, and make straght paths for her feet, so that what s lame may not be put out of jont but rather be healed. Cause her to strve for peace wth everyone, and for the holness wthout whch no one wll see You. May t never be that she fal to obtan Your grace! Protect her from any root of btterness that sprngs up, causes trouble, and defles many. Look after and guard her ways, that she may not be sexually mmoral or unholy lke Esau, who sold hs brthrght for a sngle meal. Have mercy! For I know that afterward, when he desred to nhert the blessng, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought t wth tears. O beloved, take refuge n Jesus, the medator of a new covenant. See that you do not refuse the warnngs of Hs Father. Flee to Chrst, and you need not fear. Father, help us as we strve to offer to You acceptable worshp, wth reverence and awe. For You are a consumng fre. Amen (Hebrews 12). Satan trembles when he sees The weakest sant upon hs knees. ~Wllam Cowper Water of the Word 116

118 Fathful Helper, Under the supreme sacrfce of Your Son I come on behalf of my beautful wfe. Please form her nto a woman who does not neglect to show hosptalty to strangers, for thereby some have entertaned angels unawares. May she remember those who are n prson, as though n prson wth them, and those who are mstreated. Let marrage be held n honor by us both, and keep our marrage bed undefled, for You wll judge the sexually mmoral and adulterous. Mantan her lfe free from the love of money, and make her content wth what she has, for You have sad, I wll never leave you nor forsake you. Therefore, my beloved, you can confdently say, The Lord s my helper; I wll not fear; what can man do to me? Father, remnd her of her leaders, those who spoke to her Your word. May she consder the outcome of ther way of lfe, and mtate ther fath, for Jesus Chrst s the same yesterday and today and forever. Guard her from beng led away by dverse and strange teachngs, for t s good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by the food of carnal wsdom, whch has not benefted those devoted to t. Hasten the day of Your Son s appearng, we pray. Amen (Hebrews 13). Water of the Word 117

119 My dazzlng Delght, Through Chrst Jesus I ask that You would put a wllngness n my wfe s heart to bear the reproach Your Son endured. May she grow to love the world less and love You more; to love me less and love You more. For here we have no lastng cty, but we seek the cty that s to come. Through Chrst then let her contnually offer up a sacrfce of prase to You, that s, the frut of lps that acknowledge Hs name. Let her not neglect to do good and to share what she has, for such sacrfces are pleasng to You. Cause us to obey our leaders and submt to them, for they are keepng watch over our souls, as those who wll have to gve an account. O my best beloved on earth, adore wth me the God that gves you worth! He has made you ever precous n my eyes. Therefore, may the God of peace who brought agan from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equp you wth everythng good that you may do Hs wll, workng n you that whch s pleasng n Hs sght, through Jesus Chrst, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen (Hebrews 13). Yes, love her, love her, more than lfe; O, love the woman called your wfe. Go love her as your earthly best. Beyond ths venture not. But, lest Your love become a fool's facade, Be sure to love her less than God. ~John Pper Water of the Word 118

120 My Soveregn Joy, By Your beautful Son and n Hs words I pray for my delghtful wfe. May she be counted among the poor n sprt, for thers s the kngdom of heaven. Make her of those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Bless her wth meekness so that she wll nhert the earth. Create wthn her a hunger and thrst for rghteousness, for such women shall be satsfed. Let her be mercful so that she may receve mercy. Gve her a pure heart so that she mght see You. Number her among the peacemakers, for they shall be called Your chldren. When she s persecuted for rghteousness sake, may she be heartened that she s blessed and that hers s the kngdom of heaven. O beloved, let me humbly remnd you that you are blessed when others revle you and persecute you and utter all knds of evl aganst you falsely on Chrst s account. Rejoce and be glad, for your reward s great n heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. LORD, please be ever at work n her, moldng her to be lke Your Son. Amen (Matthew 5). Water of the Word 119

121 My gracous Father, Through Jesus I kneel and ask that You would make my prceless wfe a brllant lght to the world. Let her lght shne before others, so that they may see her good works and glorfy You. May she do Your commandments and teach them so that she wll be called great n the kngdom of heaven. For unless her rghteousness exceeds that of the scrbes and Pharsees, she wll never enter the kngdom of heaven. Keep her from becomng angry wth her brother, from murderng hm n her heart, and thus becomng lable to judgment. Keep her from lookng at a man wth lustful ntent, from commttng adultery wth hm n her heart. If her rght eye causes her to sn, let her tear t out and throw t away. For I would rather her lose one of her members than have her whole body thrown nto hell. Instll wthn her a healthy fear of eternal fre. Grant her humble longsufferng so as not to resst the person who s evl. But f anyone slaps her on the rght cheek, let her turn to hm the other also. And f anyone would sue her and take her tunc, may she let hm have her cloak as well. And f anyone forces her to go one mle, let her go wth hm two mles. Make her a woman who gves to the one who begs from her, and who does not refuse the one who would borrow from her (Matthew 5). Water of the Word 120

122 Lovng Shepherd, Please lsten to my prayer because of Your Son s rghteousness. I ask that You would nclne the heart of my sweet wfe to obey Hs commands. May she love her enemes and pray for those who persecute her, so that she may be Your daughter. For You make Your sun rse on the evl and the good, and send ran on the just and on the unjust. O dear gft of heaven, f you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Does not even the world do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father s perfect. Lord, by Your Sprt contnually work Your perfecton n her! Help her to abstan from practcng her rghteousness before other people n order to be seen by them, for then she wll have no reward from You. When she gves to the needy, do not let her left hand know what her rght hand s dong, so that her gvng may be n secret. For then You who see n secret wll reward her. And when she prays, keep her from beng lke the hypocrtes who love to be seen and heard by others. Instead, cause her to go nto her room and shut the door and pray to You who see n secret. Then, for what You see n secret please reward her. Amen (Matthew 5 & 6). Water of the Word 121

123 Fathful Father, Through Your Son I ask that You would keep my gentle wfe obeyng Hs words. May she not lay up for herself treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where theves break n and steal, but make her lay up for herself treasures n heaven, where nether moth nor rust destroys and where theves do not break n and steal. For where her treasure s, there her heart wll be also. And I long for her heart to love You unswervngly as ts Treasure. She cannot serve two masters; she cannot serve You and money. Therefore keep her always as Your joyful, loyal servant. Let her not be anxous about her lfe, what she wll eat or what she wll drnk, nor about her body, what she wll put on. For lfe s more than food, and the body more than clothng. Turn her eyes to the brds of the ar and remnd her they nether sow nor reap nor gather nto barns, and yet You feed them. And she s of much more value than they! Remnd her that she cannot add a sngle hour to her span of lfe by beng anxous. Guard her from beng anxous about clothng, for the lles of the feld nether tol nor spn, yet even Solomon n all hs glory was not arrayed lke one of them. My sweet beloved, trust your Master, lest He say, O you of lttle fath. For f He clothes the grass of the feld, whch today s alve and tomorrow s thrown nto the oven, wll He not much more clothe you? Therefore do not be anxous, sayng, What shall we eat? or What shall we drnk? or What shall we wear? For everyone seeks after all these thngs, and your heavenly Father knows that you Water of the Word 122

124 need them all. But seek frst the kngdom of God and Hs rghteousness, and all these thngs wll be added to you. Therefore, Father, may she not be anxous about tomorrow, for tomorrow wll be anxous for tself. Suffcent for the day s ts own trouble (Matthew 6). I would exhort those who have entertaned a hope of ther beng true converts and who snce ther supposed converson have left off the duty of secret prayer, and ordnarly allow themselves n the omsson of t to throw away ther hope. If you have left off callng upon God, t s tme for you to leave off hopng and flatterng yourselves wth an magnaton that you are the chldren of God. Probably t wll be a very dffcult thng for you to do ths. It s hard for a man to let go a hope of heaven, on whch he hath once allowed hmself to lay hold, and whch he hath retaned for a consderable tme. True converson s a rare thng; but that men should be brought off from a false hope of converson after they are once settled and establshed n t, and have contnued n t for some tme s much more rare. ~Jonathan Edwards Water of the Word 123

125 Everlastng Kng, I bow through Chrst for the sake of the fne and delcate wfe You have granted me. May she judge not, that she be not judged. For wth the judgment she pronounces she wll be judged, and wth the measure she uses t wll be measured to her. Gude her away from hypocrsy, to frst take the log out of her own eye, so that then she wll see clearly to take the speck out of her sster s eye. Make her wse to avod gvng dogs what s holy, and to not throw her pearls before pgs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack her. Cause her to ask, so that t wll be gven to her; to seek, so that she wll fnd; to knock, so that t wll be opened to her. Thank You for Your promse that everyone who asks receves, and the one who seeks fnds, and to the one who knocks t wll be opened. Remnd her that f she, who s evl, knows how to gve good gfts to her chldren, how much more wll her Father who s n heaven gve good thngs to those who ask Hm! Whatever she wshes that others would do to her, help her do also to them, for ths s the Law and the Prophets. May she enter by the narrow gate. For the gate s wde and the way s easy that leads to destructon, and those who enter by t are many. For the gate s narrow and the way s hard that leads to lfe, and those who fnd t are few. Keep her steadfast on the hard way! May she never stray from t! For Your namesake let her foot not slp. Amen (Matthew 7). Water of the Word 124

126 Rghteous Father, Please protect my wfe from false prophets, who come n sheep s clothng but nwardly are ravenous wolves. Make her wse to recognze them by ther fruts. Help her to dscern the healthy tree by ts good frut, and the dseased tree by ts bad frut. May she not be a dseased tree, for every such tree s cut down and thrown nto the fre. Therefore, help her to bear much good frut. Let the warnng of Your Son safeguard and preserve her when He says, Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, wll enter the kngdom of heaven, but the one who does the wll of my Father who s n heaven. May He not say to her, I never knew you; depart from me, you worker of lawlessness. No! Instead, please let her hear the words, Well done, good and fathful servant. Through Jesus and by Your wonderful Sprt I ask these thngs. Amen (Matthew 7 & 25). The Sprt has much to do wth acceptable prayer, and Hs work n prayer s too much neglected. He enlghtens the mnd to see ts wants, softens the heart to feel them, quckens our desres after sutable supples, gves clear vews of God's power, wsdom, and grace to releve us, and strs up that confdence n Hs truth whch excludes all waverng. Prayer s, therefore, a wonderful thng. In every acceptable prayer the whole Trnty s concerned. ~J. Angell James Water of the Word 125

127 Revealer of Truth, Through Chrst I ask that You would make my darlng wfe hear Hs words and do them, so that she may be lke a wse man who bult hs house on a rock. Keep her from merely hearng Hs words and not dong them, for then she wll be lke the foolsh man who bult hs house on the sand. When the ran falls, and the floods come, and the wnds blow and beat aganst her, I do not wsh her to fall! Your Word alone stands frm. May she buld her lfe upon t. Let her never despse or neglect tax collectors and snners. But nstead fll her wth tenderness and compasson for them, and the humlty to eat wth them. For those who are well have no need of a physcan, but those who are sck. Contnue to teach her what ths means: I desre mercy, and not sacrfce. For Your great Son came not to call the rghteous, but snners (Matthew 7 & 9). Water of the Word 126

128 My Supreme and Everlastng Joy, In ths world my wnsome wfe s as a sheep n the mdst of wolves, so please help her to be wse as a serpent and nnocent as a dove. Prepare her for the persecuton that les along her pathway to heaven. Strengthen her to stand fast when men delver her over to courts and flog her n ther churches. O beloved, when you are dragged before governors and kngs for Chrst s sake, do not be anxous how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say wll be gven to you n that hour. For t s not you who speak, but the Sprt of your Father speakng through you. Lord God, make ready her heart for that dreadful tme when brother wll delver brother over to death, and the father hs chld, and chldren wll rse up aganst parents and have them put to death, and she wll be hated by all for the sake of Chrst s name. May she endure to the end and so be saved! Keep her! For Your hand s mghter than my own. Amen (Matthew 10). Prayer secret, fervent, belevng prayer les at the root of all personal godlness. ~Wllam Carey Water of the Word 127

129 Delectable God, Grant my dear wfe the grace to love Chrst more than her father or mother, more than her son or daughter. For Your Son has sad that f she fals to love Hm supremely, she s not worthy of Hm. And f she does not take her cross and follow Hm, she s not worthy of Hm. Therefore, because of Your grace and steadfast love, enable her to do so! May she not fnd her lfe n ths world and so lose t, but make her a woman who gladly loses her lfe for Jesus sake so that she mght fnd t. Father, I know that t pleases You well to hde thngs from the wse and understandng and reveal them to lttle chldren. Therefore please grow her n chldlkeness, show her Your matchless Son, and may He choose to reveal You ncreasngly to her. O beloved of my heart, you who labor and are heavy laden, go to Chrst, and He wll gve you rest. Take Hs yoke upon you, and learn from Hm, for He s gentle and lowly n heart, and you wll fnd rest for your soul. Lord Chrst, we prase and thank You that Your yoke s easy, and Your burden s lght! Amen (Matthew 10 & 11). Water of the Word 128

130 Great Covenant Keeper, My wfe cannot speak good f she s evl. For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. Therefore fll her wth good treasure so that she mght brng forth good. Make Chrst her Treasure, so that she mght speak Hs prase. For on the day of judgment she wll gve account for every careless word she speaks; so please do not let her be condemned by her words. I prase You that to her t has been gven to know the secrets of the kngdom of heaven, for to many t has not been gven. Let her never be among those of whom t s sad, Seeng they do not see, and hearng they do not hear, nor do they understand. Keep her heart from growng dull. Help her to see wth her eyes and hear wth her ears and understand wth her heart and turn, that You may heal her. O beloved, your master Jesus has sad that blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. Truly, I say to you, many prophets and rghteous people longed to see what you see, and dd not see t, and to hear what you hear, and dd not hear t. Father, t s You who have opened her eyes to behold the wonders of Your word and the glores of Your Son. Keep her vglant. Amen (Matthew 12 & 13). No man can do me a truer kndness n ths world than to pray for me. ~Charles Spurgeon Water of the Word 129

131 Self-exaltng God, May my precous wfe never prove herself to be as one who, when she hears the word of the kngdom and does not understand t, the evl one comes and snatches away what has been sown n her heart. Guard her from the evl one! And let her not be lke the one who hears the word and mmedately receves t wth joy, yet she has no root n herself, but endures for a whle, and when trbulaton or persecuton arses on account of the word, mmedately she falls away. Do not let her fall! Please grow her roots strong and deep n You. Save her from beng a woman who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the decetfulness of rches choke the word, and t proves unfrutful. Instead, make her heart good sol, so that she hears the word and understands t, and bears frut and yelds a hundredfold (Matthew 13). Water of the Word 130

132 Soveregn Ruler and Kng, Your Kngdom s lke treasure hdden n a feld, whch a man found and covered up. Therefore, may my elegant wfe be lke that man, who, n hs joy went and sold all that he had and bought the feld. Agan, make her lke the merchant n search of fne pearls, who, on fndng one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought t. Let her count Chrst her greatest treasure, her most valuable pearl, her ultmate source of joy. And may she stop at nothng to have Hm. Keep her from breakng Your commandments for the sake of tradton. May she never, for the sake of tradton, make vod Your word. Indeed, unless You preserve her wth grace she wll be numbered among the hypocrtes who honor You wth ther lps, but ther heart s far from You; who worshp You n van, teachng as doctrnes the commandments of men. Let her take heart, and not be afrad, for t s You who keep her. Let her not doubt, for truly Jesus, the Son of God, s her rghteousness (Matthew 13, 14, 15). No prayng man or woman accomplshes so much wth so lttle expendture of tme as when he or she s prayng. ~A.E. McAdam Water of the Word 131

133 Lord of the heavens and the earth, I come to You now pettonng more grace for my wonder-nsprng wfe. Her heart needs contnual cleansng, as does mne, because what proceeds from t s what defles a person. For out of the heart come evl thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual mmoralty, theft, false wtness, slander. These are what defle a person, therefore please create n her a clean heart. O beloved, guard your heart. Watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharsees and Sadducees, of the sophstry of ths age, of the false teachers who speak sweetly and humbly. Blessed are you f you know the truth of Chrst. For flesh and blood has not revealed Hm to you, but your Father who s n heaven. O God, may she set her mnd on the thngs of You, and not on the thngs of man. All ths I ask n the name of the Chrst, the Son of the lvng God. Amen (Matthew 15 & 16). Water of the Word 132

134 My Mghty Fortress, Thank You for gvng me a magnfcent wfe who follows Your Son so fathfully. Assst her to contnue gong after Hm, to deny herself and take up her cross and follow Hm. May she not strve to save her lfe and so lose t, but let her lose her lfe for Jesus sake so that she mght fnd t. O beloved, what wll t proft you f you gan the whole world and forfet your lfe? Or what shall you gve n return for your lfe? For the Son of man s gong to come wth Hs angels n the glory of Hs Father, and then He wll repay you accordng to what you have done. Therefore, Father, cause her to contnually consder Chrst as more precous than lfe tself. For ndeed He s! Remnd her that unless she turns and becomes lke a chld, she wll never enter the kngdom of heaven. Help her to constantly humble herself lke a chld, for such who do so are greatest n the kngdom of heaven. Amen (Matthew 16 & 18). All hell s vanqushed when the belever bows hs knee n mportunate supplcaton. Beloved brethren, let us pray. We cannot all argue, but we can all pray; we cannot all be leaders, but we can all be pleaders; we cannot all be mghty n rhetorc, but we can all be prevalent n prayer. I would sooner see you eloquent wth God than wth men. Prayer lnks us wth the Eternal, the Omnpotent, the Infnte, and hence t s our chef resort.... Be sure that you are wth God, and then you may be sure that God s wth you. ~Charles Spurgeon Water of the Word 133

135 Holy Lord, Compared to the rest of the world my wfe s astonshngly rch. And only wth dffculty wll a rch person enter the kngdom of heaven. Therefore, f she wll be saved, You must do what s mpossble wth man gve her a heart that chershes You more than money, possessons, or comfort. Help her! For t s easer for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rch person to enter Your kngdom. Prase be to Your name that wth You all thngs are possble that she and I can be saved! Grant her the grace to leave houses or brothers or ssters or father or mother or chldren or lands, for the sake of Chrst s name, so that she mght receve a hundredfold and nhert eternal lfe. Amen (Matthew 19). Water of the Word 134

136 Soul-Satsfyng God, I desre true greatness for my lovely wfe. May she seek to be a servant and slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to gve Hs lfe as a ransom for many. Please keep her lovng You wth all her heart and wth all her soul and wth all her mnd. For that s the great and frst commandment. And contnue strrng her to love her neghbor as herself. O Father, even as You grant her grace to adore You more, protect her from becomng a woman who preaches, but does not practce. May she never te up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people s shoulders, and then be unwllng to move them wth her fnger. Instead, enable her to humbly offer herself as ther servant. Amen (Matthew 20 & 23). I have so much busness I cannot get on wthout spendng three hours daly n prayer. ~Martn Luther Water of the Word 135

137 Rghteous Father, There are so many ptfalls of hypocrsy that threaten to destroy my wonderful wfe. You alone can guard her footsteps from strayng from the narrow path. Let her never become one who does all her deeds to be seen by others, lovng the place of honor at feasts and the admraton of churches and greetngs n the marketplaces and beng called wse by others. O beloved, do not glory n your wsdom, for all you have s because of Jesus. For you have an nstructor, the Chrst. Whoever exalts herself wll be humbled, and whoever humbles herself wll be exalted. Agan, Father, may she never shut the kngdom of heaven n people s faces. Spare her from becomng a chld of hell! Have mercy and save her from such woe (Matthew 23). Water of the Word 136

138 O Thou who art beauty s farest pleasure, Protect my elegant wfe. She dwells n a decetful world; guard her mnd. Keep her safe from blnd gudes and blnd fools. Save her from followng those who tthe generously and have neglected the weghter matters of the law: justce and mercy and fathfulness. May she not neglect these thngs, lest she be lke the blnd gudes who stran out a gnat and swallow a camel! Sheld her also from the snare of merely external rghteousness, lke those who clean the outsde of the cup and plate, but nsde they are full of greed and selfndulgence. Please make her clean nsde, that her outsde also may be clean. Agan, preserve her from becomng lke a whtewashed tomb, whch outwardly appears beautful, but wthn s full of dead people s bones and all uncleanness. Woe to her f You do not rescue her from beng one who outwardly appears rghteous to others, but wthn s full of hypocrsy and lawlessness (Matthew 23). Prayer s desgned by God to dsplay hs fullness and our need. Prayer glorfes God because t puts us n the poston of the thrsty and God n the poston of the all-supplyng fountan. ~John Pper Water of the Word 137

139 Mghty Ruler, Please, because of Chrst, hear my prayer, and see that no one leads my precous wfe astray. For many wll come n Jesus name, sayng, I am the Chrst, and they wll lead many astray. And when she hears of wars and rumors of wars, see that she s not alarmed. O beloved, do not be surprsed or afrad when kngdoms delver us up to trbulaton and put us to death. For the Son has warned us that we wll be hated by all natons for Hs name s sake. O Father, when many then fall away and betray one another and hate one another, let her not be one of them! Protect her from the many false prophets that wll arse and lead many astray. And when lawlessness ncreases, do not let her love grow cold. But help her to endure to the end and be saved, and proclam the gospel of the kngdom throughout the whole world as a testmony to all natons. Amen (Matthew 24). Water of the Word 138

140 Wnsome Lord, May my joy-nstllng wfe be lke one of the wse vrgns, who took flasks of ol wth ther lamps. So that when the cry comes at mdnght, Here s the brdegroom! Come out to meet Hm, she may be ready to rse and go wth Hm to the marrage feast. Please keep her from beng lke the foolsh vrgns who took no ol, and so came late to the marrage feast. And fndng the door shut, they were not allowed to enter. O beloved, watch therefore, for you know nether the day nor the hour. Agan, Father, make her lke the servants who doubled that wth whch ther master had entrusted them before he went on a long journey. May she deal wsely wth what You have gven her, so that when You return You wll say, Well done, good and fathful servant. You have been fathful over a lttle; I wll set you over much. Enter nto the joy of your master. Keep her from beng lke the worthless, wcked, slothful servant who was cast nto the outer darkness where there wll be weepng and gnashng of teeth. Please preserve her by grace and wsdom. Come quckly, Brdegroom and Master! (Matthew 25). You cannot smply manpulate God by the power of beng confdent n what you ask. There are moral gudelnes. Ths s what Jesus s sayng wth the condton, If... my words abde n you, ask whatever you wsh, and t wll be done for you (John 15:7). The words of Jesus shape the atttude and content of our prayers. ~John Pper Water of the Word 139

141 O Lover of the sheep, Only You can keep my wfe for Jesus Chrst when He comes n Hs glory and sts on Hs glorous throne. So I ask that You would preserve her as one of Your sheep, to whom the Son of Man wll say on that day, Come, you who are blessed by my Father, nhert the kngdom prepared for you from the foundaton of the world. May she be a woman who feeds the hungry, gves drnk to the thrsty, welcomes the stranger, clothes the naked, and vsts the sck and mprsoned. O beloved, truly, I say to you, as you do t to one of the least of these, you do t to Chrst. Father, t s my fervent desre that she be such a rghteous woman so that she mght enter nto eternal lfe. Thank You for the promse that, as she strves to enter by the narrow gate, Chrst s wth her always, to the end of the age. Our great Savour and Kng, we long for Your return. Amen (Matthew 25 & 28). Water of the Word 140

142 Lord and Husband, When my beloved wfe strays from Your love, however wcked her waywardness proves to be, please draw her back! Even when she forgets You, allure her, and brng her nto the wlderness, and speak tenderly to her. Make the Valley of Trouble a door of hope for her. May she answer You as n the days of her youth, as at the tme when she came out of the land of bondage. And let her call You My Husband. Make her le down n safety and remnd her that You have betrothed her to Yourself forever. O beloved, forsake not your Husband! For He has betrothed you to Hmself n rghteousness and n justce, n steadfast love and n mercy. He has betrothed you to Hmself n fathfulness. And you have known Hm! Father, be pleased to guard her from abandonng fathfulness, steadfast love, and the knowledge of You. Save her from beng destroyed for lack of knowledge, from forsakng You to chersh whoredom, wne, and new wne, whch take away the understandng. Preserve us both, for a people wthout understandng shall come to run (Hosea 2 & 4). Prayng s the same to the new creature as cryng s to the natural. The chld s not learned by art or example to cry, but nstructed by nature; t comes nto the world cryng. Prayng s not a lesson got by forms and rules of art, but flowng from prncples of new lfe tself. ~Wllam Gurnall Water of the Word 141

143 Redeemng Lover, I thank You that, even when my wfe played the whore and dd not know You, and even as she stumbled n her gult, You knew her, and her way was not hdden from You. Gracously You tore her that You mght heal her; You struck her down, and You bound her wounds. Then You revved her and rased her up, that she mght lve before You. Prase be to You, LORD God! For You made her acknowledge her gult and seek Your face. You caused her to turn to Yourself and to seek You earnestly n her dstress. O beloved, let us know; let us press on to know the LORD; Hs gong out s sure as the dawn; He wll come to us as the showers, as the sprng rans that water the earth. And now LORD God, let her not resemble Ephram and Judah, whose love was lke the mornng cloud, lke the dew that goes early away. Increase wthn her steadfast love for Your name. For You desre steadfast love and not sacrfce, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerngs. Prevent her from deflng herself wth other lovers. And contnue to restore her. Amen (Hosea 5, 6, 7). Water of the Word 142

144 Most Holy Judge, My precous wfe s not mmune to the subtle decetfulness of sn. Therefore please protect her; ncrease her wsdom. Let her not be lke a dove, slly and wthout sense. Woe to her f she strays from You! Only destructon wll she fnd f You do not keep her. May she never cry falsely, My God, I Your daughter know You, when she has transgressed Your covenant and rebelled aganst Your law. Restran her from makng dols wth her slver and gold. And forbd that she ever become ncapable of nnocence. O beloved, clng to your rghteous Husband! Fear the LORD and turn away from evl, lest you fnd yourself to be a useless vessel, and begn to regard Hs laws as a strange thng. Father, may she not forget her Maker! Let her not grow to love a prosttute s wages. May she consecrate herself always to You and not to anythng shameful, lest she become detestable lke the thng she loves. Preserve her glory and rghteousness, and do not gve her a mscarryng womb and dry breasts. Accept her because she lstens to You, and make her bear much frut n Your house. Show Your love to her, that her chldren may see many days (Hosea 7, 8, 9). Cold prayers always freeze before they reach heaven. ~Thomas Brooks Water of the Word 143

145 Mercful Leader of wayward chldren, Thank You for growng my wfe nto a luxurant vne that yelds ts frut. You have dealt bountfully n gvng her to me. But as her frut ncreases, may she not use t to mprove her pursut of self or foregn altars. Guard her heart from becomng false, sayng, I have no kng, for I do not fear the LORD. Such s the danger f You do not keep her. Unless You contnue wth her she wll utter mere words; wth empty oaths she wll make covenants. Let her not be put to shame! O beloved, He has kndly spared your far neck. Do not make Hm put you to the yoke to plow and harrow for yourself. Instead, sow for yourself rghteousness; reap steadfast love. LORD God, break up her fallow ground and let her seek You, that You may come and ran rghteousness upon her. Have mercy on us, for we have together plowed nquty; we have reaped njustce; we have eaten the frut of les. We have trusted n our own way; do not destroy us! Because of our great evl we appeal to the rghteousness of Chrst, for apart from Hm we should be dashed n peces and utterly cut off. O great Son of Davd, we prase Your Name and bow wth tremblng, thankful hearts. Hasten Your glorous return! Amen (Hosea 10). Water of the Word 144

146 Most Hgh Father, Thank You that, when my exquste wfe was a chld, You loved her, and out of Egypt You called Your daughter. Thank You for persstng, even when the more she was called, the more she went away and kept sacrfcng to the gods of ths world and burnng offerngs to self. Even so t was You who taught her to walk; You took her up by her arms, and now she knows that You healed her. Let her rejoce and sng for joy. For You led her wth cords of kndness, wth the bands of love, and You became to her as one who eases the yoke on her jaws, and You bent down to her and fed her. O beloved, take care, and keep your soul dlgently, lest you forget the thngs that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your lfe. Soveregn LORD, when her heart s bent on turnng away from You, may Your compasson grow warm and tender. On account of Chrst Jesus do not execute Your burnng anger; for You are God and not a man, the Holy One n our mdst, and because of Your great mercy do not come n wrath. If she strays, roar lke a lon, so that when You roar she shall come tremblng; she shall return tremblng lke a brd from Egypt. Then may she walk wth You and reman fathful to the Holy One (Hosea 11 & Deuteronomy 4). I had rather learn what some men really judge about ther own justfcaton from ther prayers than ther wrtngs. ~John Owen Water of the Word 145

147 LORD God of hosts, May my breathtakng wfe, by Your help, hold fast to love and justce, and wat contnually for You. Keep her from ncurrng gult and forsakng Chrst. For f she does she shall be lke the mornng mst or lke the dew that goes early away, lke the chaff that swrls from the threshng floor or lke smoke from a wndow. You are the LORD our God; we know no God but You, and besdes You there s no savor. It was You who knew her n the wlderness, n the land of drought. But now, when she s flled, and her heart s lfted up, let her not forget You. Even when she turns away from her Helper, because of Chrst, do not destroy her. I thank You for Hs sacrfce on her behalf, so that You wll not devour her and rp her open n Your wrath. O beloved, bless the Name of Jesus, for He has ransomed you from the power of Sheol! He has redeemed you from Death. O Death, where are your plagues? O Sheol, where s your stng? The stng of death s sn, and the power of sn s the law. But thanks be to God, who gves us the vctory through our Lord Jesus Chrst. LORD God, let not compasson be hdden from Your eyes toward her. May she floursh among her ssters, and may her fountan never dry up. Amen (Hosea 12, 13, I Cornthans 15). Water of the Word 146

148 LORD God of Israel, Contnue n fathful mercy toward my most treasured wfe. Turn Your anger from her and love her freely. Be lke the dew to her, causng her to blossom lke the lly, and take root lke the trees of Lebanon. Then her shoots shall spread out; her beauty shall be lke the olve, and her fragrance lke Lebanon. Let her dwell beneath Your shadow; may she floursh lke the gran and blossom lke the vne; make her fame be lke the wne of Lebanon. O beloved, what has our LORD God to do wth dols? It s He who answers and looks after you. He s lke an evergreen cypress; from Hm comes your frut. Soveregn LORD, let her be wse and understand these thngs; gve her dscernment to know them; for Your ways are rght, and the uprght walk n them, but transgressors stumble n them (Hosea 14). In God s commands to pray, we are compelled by the force of dvne authorty to come and drnk of the lvng water, to receve bread from heaven, and to realze afresh moment by moment by moment that all that we long for, and everythng that s good, s found n one and only one place: n God. ~Bruce Ware Water of the Word 147

149 LORD of Zon, Thank You that through Chrst my lovely wfe s washed; she s made clean; the evl of her deeds s removed from before Your eyes because He has borne her punshment. Assst her now to cease to do evl, learn to do good, seek justce, correct oppresson, brng justce to the fatherless, plead the wdow's cause. Come now, beloved, let us reason together: though your sns were lke scarlet, they are now whte as snow; though they were red lke crmson, they have now become lke wool. Trust Chrst for your rghteousness! He s a great Savour. Come, LORD God, and lead her up to Your mountan, to the house of the God of Jacob, that You may teach her Your ways and that she may walk n Your paths. O LORD, let her walk n Your lght. Let her stop regardng man n whose nostrls s breath, for of what account s he? Instead, gve her more regard for Chrst, so that on the day of the LORD she wll not need to hde n the dust from before Your terror, and from the splendor of Your majesty. Prepare us together for that day, when the haughty looks of man shall be brought low, and the lofty prde of men shall be humbled, and You alone wll be exalted (Isaah 1 & 2). Water of the Word 148

150 Eternal Source of all good, Please contnue to restran the wcked nclnatons that reman n my wfe s heart. For f You do not, she wll soon become haughty and walk wth an outstretched neck, glancng wantonly wth her eyes. Go on wth Your work of makng her holy, washng away the flth of Your daughter, and cleansng her bloodstans by a sprt of purgng. Thank You for lovng her as a choce vneyard, and plantng her wth choce vnes on a fertle hll. Now let her yeld grapes, and not wld grapes. O beloved, you are the LORD s pleasant plantng. Therefore, do not feast wth tambourne and flute and wne, and dsregard the deeds of the LORD, or turn a blnd eye to the work of Hs hands. LORD of hosts, let her never be found lackng n the knowledge of You, so that she may not condemn herself to exle, hunger, and thrst. For before You man s humbled, and each one s brought low, and the eyes of the haughty are brought low. But You are exalted n justce, and You show Yourself holy n rghteousness (Isaah 3, 4, 5). I have been benefted by prayng for others; for by makng an errand to God for them I have gotten somethng for myself. ~Samuel Rutherford Water of the Word 149

151 LORD of hosts, Guard my tender wfe from those who draw nquty wth cords of falsehood, who draw sn as wth cart ropes. Protect her from those who call evl good and good evl, who put darkness for lght and lght for darkness, who put btter for sweet and sweet for btter! There are many who are wse n ther own eyes, and shrewd n ther own sght; let her not be found among them. Make her stand frm and humble n the mdst of those who are heroes at drnkng wne, who acqut the gulty for a brbe, and deprve the nnocent of hs rght. For they have rejected Your law, and have despsed the word of the Holy One of Israel. Therefore, ther root wll be as rottenness, and ther blossom wll go up lke dust. O beloved, sng wth me the words of the seraphm. Holy, holy, holy s the LORD of hosts; the whole earth s full of Hs glory! Behold, through Chrst your gult s taken away, and your sn atoned for. Therefore, you can now rejoce when your eyes see the Kng, the LORD of hosts. Help her to reman frm n fath, O LORD. For f she s not frm n fath, she wll not be frm at all. And let her not fear what the world fears, nor be n dread. But You, O LORD of hosts may she regard You as holy. May You be her fear, and may You be her dread. Amen (Isaah 5, 6, 7, 8). Water of the Word 150

152 Omnscent Father, Thank You that my dearest wfe who walked n darkness has seen a great lght; she used to dwell n a land of deep darkness, but now on her lght has shned. Please multply her frut; ncrease her joy; may she rejoce before You as wth joy at the harvest, as those who are glad when they dvde great spol. For the yoke of her burden, and the staff for her shoulder, and the rod of her oppressor, You have broken as on the day of Mdan. For to us a chld was born, to her the Son was gven; and the government s upon Hs shoulder, and Hs name s called Wonderful Counselor, Mghty God, Everlastng Father, Prnce of Peace. O beloved, let us adore our great Savour! Of the ncrease of Hs government and of peace there wll be no end. He has establshed t and upholds t wth justce and wth rghteousness from ths tme forth and forevermore. O LORD of hosts, thank You that Your zeal has accomplshed salvaton for her through Chrst. Amen (Isaah 9). In personal relatonshps, f we attempt to fake emotonal ntensty and put on an outward show of emoton that s not consstent wth the feelngs of our hearts, others nvolved wll usually sense our hypocrsy at once and be put off by t. How much more s ths true of God, who fully knows our hearts. Therefore, ntensty and depth of emotonal nvolvement n prayer should never be faked: we cannot fool God. ~Wayne Grudem Water of the Word 151

153 Majestc One, In ths day let my beautful wfe lean on You, the Holy One of Israel, n truth. Please contnue to change her nto the lkeness of the shoot that came forth from the stump of Jesse. May Your Sprt rest upon her, the Sprt of wsdom and understandng, the Sprt of counsel and mght, the Sprt of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. And let her delght be always n the fear of You. Clothe her wth rghteousness as the belt of her wast, and fathfulness as the belt of her lons. I wll gve thanks to You, O LORD, for though You were once angry wth her, Your anger turned away because of Chrst, that You mght comfort her. O beloved, God s your salvaton; trust, and do not be afrad; for the LORD GOD s your strength and your song, and He has become your salvaton! Therefore, O God, cause her to draw water from the wells of salvaton wth joy. And may she gve thanks to You, call upon Your name, make known Your deeds among the peoples, and proclam that Your name s exalted. May she sng prases to You, for You have done glorously; let her make ths known n all the earth. Let us shout together and sng for joy, for great n our mdst are You, O Holy One of Israel (Isaah 10, 11, 12). Water of the Word 152

154 Soveregn, eternal, unchangeable LORD, You are my God; I wll exalt You; I wll prase Your name, for You have done wonderful thngs, plans formed of old, fathful and sure. For You have made my elegant wfe; she s the work of Your hands. Let her glorfy You; let her fear You. May You be to her a stronghold; a stronghold when she s needy and n dstress, her shelter from the storm and her shade from the heat. May she hope and long for the day when You wll make for all peoples a feast of rch food, a feast of well-aged wne, of rch food full of marrow, of aged wne well refned. O beloved, on that day He wll swallow up death forever; and the Lord GOD wll wpe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of Hs people He wll take away from all the earth, for the LORD has spoken. You are our God; we have wated for You, that You mght save us. You are the LORD; together we have wated for You; let us be glad and rejoce n Your salvaton. Keep her n perfect peace because her mnd s stayed on You, because she trusts n You. Help her to trust n You forever, for You are an everlastng rock (Isaah 25 & 26). You should, n Tertullan s phrase, wth a holy conspracy, besege heaven. ~Thomas Manton Water of the Word 153

155 O LORD my God, Please make level the path of my glorous wfe; for You make the way of the rghteous level. In the path of Your judgments, O LORD, let her wat for You; may Your name and remembrance be the desre of her soul. Make her soul yearn for You n the nght; cause her sprt wthn her to earnestly seek You. For when Your judgments are n the earth, the nhabtants of the world learn rghteousness. O LORD, ordan peace for her; do for her all her works. Even though other lords besdes You may rule over her, let her brng Your name alone to remembrance. You have made her a pleasant vneyard, a vneyard of wne; I wll sng of her! Let her trust You, for You, the LORD, are her keeper; every moment You water her. You keep her nght and day; may she lay hold of Your protecton. In the days to come let her blossom and put forth shoots and fll the whole world wth frut. Amen (Isaah 26 & 27). Water of the Word 154

156 LORD of power, Please be to my sweet wfe a crown of glory and a dadem of beauty. For You are the LORD of hosts, wonderful n counsel and excellent n wsdom. Protect her from hypocrsy. May t never be that she draw near wth her mouth and honor You wth her lps, whle her heart s far from You. Let her fear of You be genune, and not a commandment taught by men. O beloved, guard your heart, lest you turn thngs upsde down and regard the Potter as the clay. O LORD, keep her from sayng of her Maker, He dd not make me ; or of You who formed her, He has no understandng. Instead, let her be turned nto a frutful feld. Out of her gloom and darkness cause her to see and obtan fresh joy n You. May she exult n You, the Holy One of Israel, and no more be ashamed. Let her see the work of Your hands and sanctfy Your name; let her sanctfy the Holy One of Jacob and stand n awe of the God of Israel (Isaah 28 & 29). Just as God s Word must reform our theology, our ethcs, and our practces, so also must t reform our prayng. ~D.A. Carson Water of the Word 155

157 Exalted Fountan of Grace, May my delcate wfe fnd her strength n quetness and n trust, for You wat to be gracous to her. Therefore, exalt Yourself to show mercy to her. For You are a God of justce; blessed are all those who wat for You. Gather her nto Your arms so that she wll weep no more. O beloved, He wll surely be gracous to you at the sound of your cry. As soon as He hears t, He answers you. Let her trust Your promse, O LORD, that though You gve her the bread of adversty and the water of afflcton, yet You wll not hde Yourself forever, but her eyes shall see her Teacher. And may her ears hear a word behnd her, sayng, Ths s the way, walk n t, when she turns to the rght or when she turns to the left. Let her also defle her dols of the flesh, and scatter them as unclean thngs, sayng to them, Be gone! Cause her hope to reman rooted and steadfast n You when calamty overtakes her. For soon the lght of the moon wll be as the lght of the sun, and the lght of the sun wll be sevenfold, as the lght of seven days, n the day when You bnd up the brokenness of Your people, and heal the wounds nflcted by Your blow. Wth Your burnng anger devour her enemes, and gve her a song as n the nght when a holy feast s kept, and gladness of heart, as when one sets out to the sound of the flute to go to the mountan of the LORD, to the Rock of Israel. Cause Your majestc voce to be heard by her. Amen (Isaah 30). Water of the Word 156

158 Worker of wonders, Contnue to make my wfe rghteous, so that she may have peace, quetness, and securty forever. O LORD, be gracous to her; I wat for You. Be her arm every mornng, her salvaton n the tme of trouble. For You are exalted, for You dwell on hgh; fll her wth justce and rghteousness, and be the stablty of her days, abundance of salvaton, wsdom, and knowledge; let the fear of You be her treasure. Arse, O LORD, lft Yourself up; be exalted n her. Help her to become a woman who walks rghteously and speaks uprghtly, who despses the gan of oppressons, who shakes her hands, lest they hold a brbe, who stops her ears from hearng of bloodshed and shuts her eyes from lookng on evl. Then she wll dwell on the heghts; her place of defense wll be the fortress of rocks; her bread wll be gven her; her water wll be sure. Let her eyes behold You n Your beauty. Be wth her n majesty, for You are her judge; You are her lawgver; You are her kng; You wll save her (Isaah 32 & 33). One cannot begn to face the real dffcultes of the lfe of prayer and medtaton unless one s frst perfectly content to be a begnner and really experence hmself as one who knows lttle or nothng and has a desperate need to learn the bare rudments. Those who thnk they know from the begnnng wll never, n fact, come to know anythng. ~Thomas Merton Water of the Word 157

159 Beautful LORD, Let my precous wfe be glad as she looks to the day of the Son s return. May she rejoce and blossom lke the crocus; let her blossom abundantly and rejoce wth joy and sngng. And may she long to see Your glory, the majesty of her God. Strengthen her weak hands, and make frm her feeble knees. O beloved, be not anxous of heart. Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God wll come wth vengeance, wth the recompense of God. He wll come and save you. Then the eyes of the blnd shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap lke a deer, and the tongue of the mute sng for joy. Prepare her, O LORD, to set foot on the great hghway, whch shall be called the Way of Holness; for the unclean shall not pass over t. It shall belong to those who walk on the way; let her not go astray. Let her yearn for that day when the redeemed shall walk there, when the ransomed of the LORD shall return and come to Zon wth sngng. Everlastng joy shall be upon ther heads; they shall obtan gladness and joy, and sorrow and sghng shall flee away (Isaah 35). God can pck sense out of a confused prayer. ~Rchard Sbbes Water of the Word 158

160 O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, enthroned above the cherubm, You are the God, You alone, of all the kngdoms of the earth; You have made heaven and earth; You have made my exquste wfe. Inclne Your ear, O LORD, and hear; open Your eyes, O LORD, and see; and hear all the words of those who mock You, the lvng God. Truly, O LORD, there are many who desre to lay waste all the frut of my wfe s hands. In ther wckedness they have destroyed others and cast ther gods nto the fre the work of men s hands, wood and stone. So now, O LORD my God, save her from ther hands, that all the kngdoms of the earth may know that You alone are the LORD. Please defend her to save her, for Your own sake. Please, O LORD, remember her and cause her to walk before You n fathfulness and wth a whole heart, and to do what s good n Your sght. May she trust that t s for her welfare when she has great btterness; let her prase You and hope for Your fathfulness. O beloved, n love He has delvered your lfe from the pt of destructon, for He has cast all your sns behnd Hs back. Let her thank You, O LORD, as I do ths day; let her make known to her chldren Your fathfulness. For t s You who wll save us, and we wll play musc on strnged nstruments all the days of our lves, at the house of the LORD (Isaah 37 & 38). Water of the Word 159

161 Wonderful God, Comfort, comfort my dear wfe. Speak tenderly to her and cry to her that her nquty s pardoned, that because of Chrst she has not receved from Your hand double for all her sns. May she wat patently for the day when Your glory shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see t together, for You have spoken. O beloved, all flesh s grass, and all ts beauty s lke the flower of the feld. The grass wthers, the flower fades when the breath of the LORD blows on t; surely the people are grass. The grass wthers, the flower fades, but the word of our God wll stand forever. Lord GOD, let her behold You comng wth mght; wth Your arm rulng for You. Please tend her lke a shepherd; gather her nto Your arms; carry her n Your bosom, and gently lead her. May she worshp You as the only one who has measured the waters n the hollow of hs hand and marked off the heavens wth a span, enclosed the dust of the earth n a measure and weghed the mountans n scales and the hlls n a balance. We prase You, for no man has drected Your Sprt or shown You hs counsel. Amen (Isaah 40). As hghly as Paul values martal oblgatons, he can envsage a couple self-conscously choosng not to have sex together for a whle, so that the tme they would have spent pleasng each other sexually wll be devoted to prayer. That says somethng about Paul s valuaton of prayer. ~D. A. Carson Water of the Word 160

162 Creator of the ends of the earth, Be exalted n Your wsdom and fullness, for You have never needed anyone. Whom dd You consult, and who made You understand? Who taught You the path of justce, and taught You knowledge, and showed You the way of understandng? Behold, the natons are lke a drop from a bucket, and are accounted as the dust on the scales; behold, You take up the coastlands lke fne dust. Lebanon would not suffce for fuel, nor are ts beasts enough for a burnt offerng. All the natons are as nothng before You, they are accounted by You as less than nothng and emptness. Therefore, let my treasured wfe worshp and adore Your greatness, takng comfort that You are powerful and lack nothng. O beloved, to whom then wll you lken God, or what lkeness compare wth Hm? You have known and heard, and t has been told you from the begnnng, that t s He who sts above the crcle of the earth, and ts nhabtants are lke grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens lke a curtan, and spreads them lke a tent to dwell n; who brngs prnces to nothng, and makes the rulers of the earth as emptness. O Holy One, to whom then wll we compare You, that You should be lke hm? Lft up our eyes on hgh to see: You created the stars You who brng out ther host by number, callng them all by name, by the greatness of Your mght, and because You are strong n power not one s mssng (Isaah 40). Water of the Word 161

163 You who alone are the true God, May my graceful wfe never complan that her way s hdden from You, or that her rght s dsregarded by her God. Instead, assure her that You are the everlastng God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. Instll wthn her a steadfast confdence n You, for You do not fant or grow weary; Your understandng s unsearchable. Gve power to her when she s fant, and when she has no mght ncrease her strength. Even when she fants and becomes weary, when she falls exhausted, let her wat on You. For they who wat for You shall renew ther strength; they shall mount up wth wngs lke eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not fant. Thank You for choosng her, for takng her from the pt, for callng her out of bondage, sayng to her, You are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off. O beloved, fear not, for He s wth you; be not dsmayed, for He s your God; He wll strengthen, He wll help you, He wll uphold you wth Hs rghteous rght hand. O LORD my God, hold her rght hand, and say to her, Fear not, I am the one who helps you (Isaah 40 & 41). Intercesson s more than specfc: t s pondered: t requres us to bear on our heart the burden of those for whom we pray. ~George A. Buttrck Water of the Word 162

164 Kng of Jacob, Defend my prceless wfe from all who are ncensed aganst her; let them be put to shame and confounded; may those who strve aganst her be as nothng and persh. Let the evl ones who war aganst her be as nothng at all. Fear not, beloved, you glorous gft of God! He s the one who helps you; your Redeemer s the Holy One of Israel. O LORD, let her rejoce n You; n the Holy One of Israel let her glory. When she s poor and needy and seeks for water, and there s none, and her tongue s parched wth thrst, please answer her; O God of Israel, do not forsake her. Open rvers on the bare heghts, and fountans n the mdst of the valleys. Make the wlderness a pool of water, and the dry land sprngs of water for her. Put n her wlderness the cedar, the acaca, the myrtle, and the olve. Set n her desert the cypress, the plane and the pne together, that she may see and know, may consder and understand, that Your hand has done t, the Holy One of Israel has created t. Increase her soul s delght n Your Servant, whom You uphold, Your chosen, just as Your soul delghts n Hm. May she hope n Hm, for a brused reed He wll not break, and a fantly burnng wck He wll not quench; He wll fathfully brng forth justce. Hasten the day of Hs return! Amen (Isaah 41 & 42). Water of the Word 163

165 O God, the LORD, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from t, who gves breath to the people on t and sprt to those who walk n t, reassure my adorable wfe that You are the LORD, and have called her n rghteousness. Take her by the hand and keep her. Conform her nto the mage of Hm who s gven as a covenant for the people, a lght for the natons, to open the eyes that are blnd, to brng out the prsoners from the dungeon, from the prson those who st n darkness. O beloved, pursue Chrst! Esteem Chrst! Honor Hs Father, for He s the LORD; that s Hs name; Hs glory He gves to no other, nor Hs prase to carved dols. Let her sng to You a new song, O LORD, Your prase from the end of the earth. Let her lft up her voce along wth the sea, and all that flls t, the coastlands and ther nhabtants, the desert and ts ctes. May she sng for joy, and shout from the top of the mountans. Let her gve glory to You, and declare Your prase n the coastlands. For You go out lke a mghty man, lke a man of war You str up Your zeal; You cry out, You shout aloud, You show Yourself mghty aganst Your foes. Lead her n a way that she does not know, n paths that she has not known please gude her. Turn the darkness before her nto lght, the rough places nto level ground. For these are the thngs that You do, and You wll not forsake her (Isaah 42). Water of the Word 164

166 Holy LORD, Be pleased, for Your rghteousness sake, to magnfy Your law and make t glorous through my wfe. exalted, for You created her, You formed her. May she fear not, for You have redeemed her; You have called her by name, she s Yours. When she passes through the waters, please be wth her; and through the rvers, let them not overwhelm her; when she walks through fre let her not be burned, and may the flame not consume her. For You are the LORD her God, the Holy One of Israel, her Savor. O beloved, because you are precous n Hs eyes, and honored, and He loves you, He gves men n return for you, peoples n exchange for your lfe. Fear not, for He s wth you. He s the LORD, and besdes Hm there s no savor. Let her adore You as the LORD, her Redeemer, her Holy One, the Creator of Israel, her Kng. Gve water to her n the wlderness, rvers when she s n the desert, to gve drnk to Your chosen daughter, the woman whom You formed for Yourself that she mght declare Your prase. Thank You that You are He who blots out her transgressons for Your own sake, and You wll not remember her sns. For she s Your servant whom You have chosen; You made her and formed her from the womb. Help her, and let her not fear. Pour Your Sprt upon her offsprng, and Your blessng on her descendants. Let them sprng up among the grass lke wllows by flowng streams. May one say, I am the LORD s, and another wrte on hs hand, The LORD s, and name hmself by the name of Israel (Isaah 42, 43, 44). Water of the Word 165 Be

167 Kng and Redeemer of Israel, Glory be to Your name, for You are the frst and You are the last; besdes You there s no god. Who s lke You? Therefore, let my wfe not fear, nor be afrad; for You declare what s to come, and what wll happen. May she trust n You, for there s no god besdes You, there s no Rock; I know not any. Let her remember that all who fashon dols are nothng, and the thngs they delght n do not proft, for she s Your servant; You formed her; she s Your servant; let her not be forgotten by You. O beloved, He has blotted out your transgressons lke a cloud and your sns lke mst; clng to Hm, for He has redeemed you! Sng, O heavens, for the LORD has done t; shout, O depths of the earth; break forth nto sngng, O mountans, O forest, and every tree n t! For You, LORD, have redeemed my wfe, and wll be glorfed n her. Through her be pleased to dsplay Your beauty. May she take comfort and rejoce n the knowledge that You formed her n the womb, that You are the LORD, who made all thngs, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by Yourself, who frustrates the sgns of lars and makes fools of dvners, who turns wse men back and makes ther knowledge foolsh, who says to the deep, Be dry; I wll dry up your rvers. Let her love and fear You. Amen (Isaah 44). All progress n prayer s an answer to prayer our own or another s. And all true prayer promotes ts own progress and ncreases our power to pray. ~P. T. Forsyth Water of the Word 166

168 LORD God of Israel, who calls Hs people by name, I come before You on behalf of my dearest wfe because You are the LORD, and there s no other, besdes You there s no God. Please equp her to make known Your mght, that people may know, from the rsng of the sun and from the west, that there s none besdes You; You are the LORD, and there s no other. May she tremble and rejoce at the truth that You form lght and create darkness. Let her worshp and bow down before You as the one who makes well-beng and creates calamty. May she exalt You as the LORD who does all these thngs. O beloved, prase and adore Hm wth me! For He made the earth and created man on t; t was Hs hands that stretched out the heavens, and He commanded all ther host. Str her up, O LORD, n rghteousness, and make all her ways level. May the wealthy and men of stature come to her, sayng, Surely God s n you, and there s no other, no god besdes Hm. Many women make dols and go n confuson together. But I thank You that my wfe s saved by You wth everlastng salvaton; she shall not be put to shame or confounded to all eternty. For You are the LORD and there s no other. You dd not say to her, Seek me n van. You speak truth; You declare what s rght (Isaah 45). Water of the Word 167

169 O God who hears prayer, Let my wfe turn contnually to You for her salvaton. For You are God, and there s no other. Therefore let her say of You, Only n the LORD are rghteousness and strength. Thank You that n You she s justfed and glores. Prase be to Your name, for she has been borne by You from before her brth, carred from the womb; even to her old age You are He, and to gray hars You wll carry her. You have made, and You wll bear; You wll carry and wll save. O beloved, remember wth me that He s God, and there s no other; He s God, and there s none lke Hm, declarng the end from the begnnng and from ancent tmes thngs not yet done, sayng, My counsel shall stand, and I wll accomplsh all my purpose. Therefore, great LORD, may she trust the word that goes out from Your mouth n rghteousness. Let her hope n You as the God who brngs to pass what He speaks; who does what He has purposed. For Your name s sake be gracous to her, for the sake of Your prase make her walk n holness, and do not cut her off. Refne her, and gve her strength as You try her n the furnace of afflcton. For Your own sake, for Your own sake, do ths, for how should Your name be profaned? Your glory You wll not gve to another. Therefore magnfy Yourself n her! Glorfy Yourself through her! Use her to exalt the greatness of Your name. Amen (Isaah 45, 46, 48). Water of the Word 168

170 My Redeemer, Teach my beautful wfe to proft from uprghtness, and lead her n the way she should go. Make her pay attenton to Your commandments so that her peace wll be lke a rver, and her rghteousness lke the waves of the sea; then let her offsprng be lke the sand, and her descendents lke ts grans; may ther name never be cut off or destroyed from before You. Now, even now I shout for joy, for You have redeemed her! Therefore do not let her thrst when You lead her through deserts; make water flow for her even from the rocks, so that her soul s satsfed. Make her mouth lke a sharp sword; n the shadow of Your hand please hde her; make her a polshed arrow; n Your quver hde her away. O beloved, you are the LORD s servant, n whom He wll be glorfed and dsplay Hs beauty. You have not labored n van; you have not spent your strength for nothng. For surely your recompense s wth your God. I wll prase You, O LORD, for You called her from the womb, from the body of her mother You named her name. You formed her from the womb to be Your servant, therefore may she be honored n Your eyes, and may You contnually be her strength. Make her as a lght for the natons, that Your salvaton may reach to the ends of the earth. Let kngs see and arse; may prnces prostrate themselves; because of You, who are fathful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen her (Isaah 48 & 49). Water of the Word 169

171 Ruler of heaven and earth, Please keep my precous wfe. Answer her and help her; let her not hunger or thrst, and may nether scorchng wnd nor sun strke her. Have pty on her and lead her, and by sprngs of water gude her. Sng for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth; break forth, O mountans, nto sngng! for the LORD has comforted my beloved and wll have compasson on her afflcton. I prase You that You have not forsaken her; You have not forgotten her. Even a woman may forget her nursng chld, yet You wll not forget my wfe. Assure her of ths, and let her know that You are the LORD; those who wat for You shall not be put to shame. Fght for her; contend wth those who contend wth her. Then all flesh shall know that You are the LORD her Savor, and her Redeemer, the Mghty One of Jacob (Isaah 49). The artless chld s stll the dvne model for all of us. Prayer wll ncrease n power and realty as we repudate all pretense and learn to be utterly honest before God as well as before men. ~A. W. Tozer Water of the Word 170

172 Forgvng God, Thank You that Your hand s not shortened, that t can redeem my dear wfe. For by Your power and rebuke You dry up the sea, and make the rvers a desert. Please gve her the tongue of those who are taught, that she may know how to sustan wth a word those who are weary. Mornng by mornng awaken her; awaken her ear to hear as those who are taught. When she s struck and spt upon for Your namesake fll her wth hope n You, the Lord GOD. For You wll help her; therefore she wll not be dsgraced. Remnd her that she wll not be put to shame, for You who vndcate her are near. Let her fear You and obey the voce of Your servant, Chrst. And when she walks n darkness and has no lght let her trust n Your name and rely on her God. Cause her to pursue rghteousness and seek You. Make her wlderness lke Eden, her desert lke the garden of the LORD; may joy and gladness be found n her, thanksgvng and the voce of song (Isaah 50 & 51). Prayer s often represented as the great means of the Chrstan lfe. But t s no mere means, t s the great end of that lfe. It s, of course, not untrue to call t a means. It s so, especally at frst. But at last t s truer to say that we lve the Chrstan lfe n order to pray than that we pray n order to lve the Chrstan lfe. ~P. T. Forsyth Water of the Word 171

173 Lovely God, Turn the attenton of my sweet wfe to Yourself. Let her gve ear to the law that has gone out from You, to the justce that You have set for a lght to the peoples. May Your rghteousness draw near to her, let Your salvaton go out to her; make her hope for You, and for Your arm let her wat. Lft up her eyes to the heavens, and cause her to look at the earth beneath and see that the heavens vansh lke smoke, the earth wll wear out lke a garment, and they who dwell n t wll de n lke manner. But remnd her that Your salvaton wll be forever, and Your rghteousness wll never be dsmayed. Lsten to Hm, O beloved, you who know rghteousness; for He says, Fear not the reproach of man, nor be dsmayed at ther revlngs. For the moth wll eat them up lke a garment, and the worm wll eat them lke wool; but my rghteousness wll be forever, and my salvaton to all generatons. Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD; awake, as n days of old, the generatons of long ago, and defend my wfe. You have ransomed her, therefore let her come nto Your presence wth sngng; crown her head wth everlastng joy; grant her gladness and joy, so that sorrow and sghng shall flee away. Teach her to not be afrad of man who des, of the son of man who s made lke grass, for You, You are He who comforts her. Let her take confdence n You, her Maker, who stretched out the heavens and lad the foundatons of the earth, and may she fear not the oppressors who set themselves up to destroy (Isaah 51). Water of the Word 172

174 Lord of the oceans, who strs up the sea so that ts waves roar, please put Your words n my wfe s mouth and cover her n the shadow of Your hand. For You are the LORD of hosts, who establshed the heavens and lad the foundatons of the earth, and say to her, You are my daughter. Thank You for awakenng her from the slumber of death, for clothng her wth strength and beautful garments. For she was sold for nothng, and You have redeemed her wthout money. Therefore make her feet beautful upon the mountans, as one who brngs good news, who publshes peace, who brngs good news of happness, who publshes salvaton, who says, My God regns. Let her lft up her voce wth me, so that together we may sng for joy, and eye to eye awat the return of Your Son. O beloved, let us break forth together nto sngng, for the LORD has comforted Hs people; He has redeemed even us! The LORD has bared Hs holy arm before the eyes of all the natons, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvaton of our God. LORD, please go always before her; O God of Israel, be her rear guard. Amen (Isaah 51 & 52). When our awareness of the greatness of God and the gospel s dm, our prayer lves wll be small. The less we thnk of the nature and character of God, and the less we are remnded of what Jesus dd for us on the Cross, the less we want to pray. ~Donald S. Whtney Water of the Word 173

175 My Father and my God, Grow wthn the heart of my wonderful wfe a deep esteem for Hm who has borne her grefs and carred her sorrows, who was wounded for her transgressons and crushed for her nqutes. May she treasure Hm ncreasngly, desre Hm more fervently, for upon Hm was the chastsement that brought her peace, and wth Hs strpes she s healed. Let her love and chersh Hm as the One strcken for her transgresson. May she prase You wth tremblng for crushng Hm so that she could be accounted rghteous. Str up grattude wthn her for Hs sacrfce, for bearng her nqutes, pourng out Hs soul to death, and for makng ntercesson for her. Sng, O beloved! Break forth nto sngng and cry aloud! For you have been reconcled to your Maker and Husband, to the LORD of hosts; the Holy of One of Israel s your Redeemer! O LORD, thank You for callng her when she was lke a wfe deserted and greved n sprt. And now be exalted for Your great compasson toward her! Keep her n Your soveregn arms. Amen (Isaah 53 & 54). Water of the Word 174

176 God of the whole earth, Do not hde Your beautful face from my wfe or be angry wth her, but wth everlastng love have compasson on her. Even though the mountans may depart and the hlls be removed, let not Your steadfast love depart from her, and do not remove Your covenant of peace, but contnue to have compasson on her. O beloved, although you may be afflcted and stormtossed, take comfort n Hs word! For behold, He wll set your stones n antmony, and lay your foundatons wth sapphres. He wll wall you n wth precous stones. LORD, bless her, and may all her chldren be taught by You, and let the peace of her chldren be great. Establsh her n rghteousness; keep her far from oppresson and fear. Protect her from terror; may t not come near her. I commt her to Your hand, for You guard her so that no weapon that s fashoned aganst her shall succeed (Isaah 54). Medtaton s a mddle sort of duty between the word and prayer, and hath respect to both. The word feedeth medtaton, and medtaton feedeth prayer. These dutes must always go hand n hand; medtaton must follow hearng and precede prayer. To hear and not to medtate s unfrutful. We may hear and hear, but t s lke puttng a thng nto a bag wth holes. It s rashness to pray and not to medtate. What we take n by the word we dgest by medtaton and let out by prayer. These three dutes must be ordered that one may not jostle out the other. Men are barren, dry, and sapless n ther prayers for want of exercsng themselves n holy thoughts. ~Thomas Manton Water of the Word 175

177 Compassonate LORD, When my tender wfe thrsts, draw her to the waters, draw her to Yourself. Keep her from spendng her money for that whch s not bread, and her labor for that whch does not satsfy. Instead, make her lsten dlgently to You, and eat what s good, and delght herself n rch food wne and mlk wthout prce. Inclne her ear, and let her come to You; may she hear, that her soul may lve, because of Your everlastng covenant of steadfast, sure love. O beloved, seek the LORD whle He may be found; call upon Hm whle He s near! Let us forsake our wcked ways and our unrghteous thoughts; and let us turn to the LORD, that He may have compasson on us, and to our God, for He wll abundantly pardon. Holy One of Israel, we bow together before You, for Your thoughts are not our thoughts, nether are Your ways our ways. We worshp and exalt You, for as the heavens are hgher than the earth, so are Your ways hgher than our ways and Your thoughts than our thoughts. Amen (Isaah 55). Water of the Word 176

178 You who are hgh and lfted up, Be pleased to fll my treasured wfe wth joy and lead her forth n peace. May she keep justce, and do rghteousness, for Your salvaton has come, and Your delverance s revealed. Keep her hand from dong any evl, and make her hold on to rghteousness. Thank You for savng her; for gvng her an everlastng name that shall not be cut off. Let the mountans and the hlls break forth nto sngng, and all the trees of the feld clap ther hands! For You have made a name for Yourself; You have redeemed her! Make her joyful n Your house of prayer. Please protect her from blnd watchmen wthout knowledge, from shepherds who have no understandng. Revve her sprt when she s lowly, and revve her heart when she s contrte. May she seek You daly and delght to know Your ways; let her delght to draw near to You. And when she fasts, may t not be merely to quarrel and pursue her own busness. But cause her to fast as You choose: to loose the bonds of wckedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, to share her bread wth the hungry, to brng the homeless poor nto her house, and to clothe the naked. Then may her lght break forth lke the dawn, and make rghteousness go before her, wth Your glory as her rear guard (Isaah 55, 56, 58). A chef object of all prayer s to brng us to God. The chef falure of prayer s ts cessaton. ~P. T. Forsyth Water of the Word 177

179 You who nhabt eternty, When I call to You, please answer. I cry out to You on behalf of my dearest wfe. Keep her from speakng wckedness. But rather, may she pour herself out for the hungry and satsfy the desre of the afflcted, for then shall her lght rse n the darkness and her gloom be as the noonday. Gude her contnually and satsfy her desre n scorched places and make her bones strong; may she be lke a watered garden, lke a sprng of water, whose waters do not fal. Let her take delght n You; feed her wth the hertage of Jacob. O beloved, arse, shne, for your lght has come, and the glory of the LORD has rsen upon you. Although darkness once covered you, now the LORD has rsen upon you, and Hs glory s seen upon you. And natons shall come to your lght, and kngs to the brghtness of Chrst n you! LORD God, may peoples see her and be radant; let ther hearts thrll and exult because of the abundance of her joy n Chrst. Make her declare the good news the prases of Chrst. Beautfy your beautful servant so that the coastlands wll hope for You, for the name of the LORD her God, and for the Holy One of Israel, because You have made her beautful (Isaah 58 & 60). Water of the Word 178

180 O God whose name s Holy, In Your favor be pleased to have mercy on my beautful wfe. Make her majestc forever, and a joy to every age, so that all may know that You, the LORD, are her Savor and her Redeemer, the Mghty One of Jacob. Make her overseers peace and her taskmasters rghteousness. May her clothng be called Salvaton, and the gates to her house Prase. O beloved, trust n the LORD, and He wll be your everlastng lght, and your God wll be your glory! Seek Hs face, and He wll be your beauty. LORD, let her hope n You as her everlastng lght. Clothe her wth rghteousness that You may be glorfed. Use her to dsplay Your beauty. Please comfort her when she mourns; gve her the ol of gladness nstead of mournng, the garment of prase nstead of a fant sprt; that she may be called an oak of rghteousness, the plantng of the LORD, that You may be glorfed. Let her greatly rejoce n You; let her soul exult n her God, for You have clothed her wth the garments of salvaton; You have covered her wth the robe of rghteousness, as a brde adorns herself wth her jewels. As the earth brngs forth ts sprouts, and as a garden causes what s sown n t to sprout up, so cause rghteousness and prase to sprout up before her. Amen (Isaah 60 & 61). Even as the moon nfluences the tdes of the sea, even so does prayer nfluence the tdes of godlness. ~Charles Spurgeon Water of the Word 179

181 Author of all exstence, For my wonderful wfe s sake do not keep slent, and for her sake do not be quet, untl her rghteousness goes forth as brghtness, and her salvaton as a burnng torch. Let men see her rghteousness, and women her glory, because You have called her by a new name that Your mouth has gven. May she be as a crown of beauty n Your hand, and a royal dadem n the hand of her God. Let her be called My Delght Is n Her, for You delght n Your servant. Fll her wth the joyful knowledge that You take pleasure n her, that as the brdegroom rejoces over the brde, so You rejoce over her. Please establsh her and make her a prase n the earth. Let those who eat the gran and drnk the wne of her house prase the LORD, and exult n Your holness. I beloved daughter of Zon, behold, your salvaton has come; behold, Hs reward s Hmself! Rejoce! For you are numbered among The Holy People, The Redeemed of the LORD; and you are called Sought Out, A Woman Not Forsaken. O Mghty One, help her to put her hope n You You who are splendd n Your apparel, marchng n the greatness of Your strength, speakng n rghteousness, mghty to save. Thank You for sparng her lfeblood and brngng to her salvaton by Your powerful arm. Thank You, that when she deserved to be trod n Your anger and trampled n Your wrath, You gave Chrst to bear her punshment! We bless Hs name together, for He s our joy and our salvaton (Isaah 62 & 63). Water of the Word 180

182 Source of all blessedness, Let my wfe be a woman who recounts Your steadfast love, Your prases, accordng to all that You have gven us, and the great goodness to our house that You have granted us accordng to Your compasson, accordng to the abundance of Your steadfast love. Thank You for becomng her Savor; that n Your love and n Your pty You have redeemed her, and lfted her up and carred her. Please contnue to lead her, to make for Yourself a glorous name. O beloved, t s my joy once agan to remnd you that He s your Father, though Abraham does not know you; He, the LORD, s your Father, your Redeemer from of old s Hs name! O LORD, do not make her wander from Your ways and harden her heart, so that she fears You not. Keep her, and let her wat for You. For from of old no one has heard or perceved by the ear, no eye has seen a God besdes You, who acts for those who wat for Hm. You meet her who joyfully works rghteousness her who remembers Your ways. Therefore may she present herself to You as a joyful servant of rghteousness, rememberng the ways of her God (Isaah 63 & 64). If a man loves a woman as Chrst loved the Church, he s gong to do all n hs power he s even gong to gve hs lfe to see that she s made holy. He wll be tender, but he wll also be true. Love s not merely a gentle touch or a pat on the head. It s a refner s fre. It burns to purfy. ~Elsabeth Ellot Water of the Word 181

183 Praseworthy LORD, I am glad and rejoce forever n my matchless wfe whom You have created; for behold, You made her face to be my joy, and her presence to be my gladness. Gve her the assurance that You also rejoce n her and are glad n Your people. Let her lve by fath, hopng for the day when You create a new heavens and a new earth when the sound of weepng and the cry of dstress shall be heard no more, when Your chosen shall not labor n van or bear chldren for calamty, when the wolf and the lamb shall graze together. Guard her from the subtle decetfulness of prde; help her to fght aganst arrogance. For ths s the one to whom You wll look: she who s humble and contrte n sprt and trembles at Your word. Let her see Your glory and declare t among the natons, so that all flesh may know that You are the LORD and come to worshp before You (Isaah 65 & 66). Water of the Word 182

184 Infntely worthy LORD, I wll sng to You, for You have done glorous thngs; You have made my most excellent wfe, You made Yourself her strength and her song, and You have become her salvaton! You are my God, and I wll prase You for her; You are the God of Jacob, and I wll exalt You. Your rght hand, O LORD, glorous n power, Your rght hand, O LORD, shatters her enemes. In the greatness of Your majesty You overthrow her adversares; You send out Your fury; t consumes them lke stubble. Who s lke You, O LORD, among the gods? Who s lke You, majestc n holness, awesome n glorous deeds, dong wonders? You have led n Your steadfast love my wfe whom You have redeemed; You have guded her by Your strength to Your holy abode. You alone wll regn forever and ever. I wll sng to You, for You have trumphed glorously over her enemes; You wll guard and defend her, for You have become her salvaton! (Exodus 15). What s the reason that some belevers are so much brghter and holer than others? I beleve the dfference, nneteen cases out of twenty, arses from dfferent habts about prvate prayer. I beleve that those who are not emnently holy pray lttle, and those who are emnently holy pray much. ~J. C. Ryle Water of the Word 183

185 Most blessed LORD, Let my wfe be a woman who proclams Your name and ascrbes greatness to her God. For You are the Rock, whose work s perfect, for all Your ways are justce. A God of fathfulness and wthout nquty, just and uprght are You. Keep her from becomng unmndful of the Rock that bore her, from forgettng the God who gave her brth. But make her remember and rejoce that You, even You, are her help, and there s no god besde You. You kll and You make alve; You wound and You heal; and there s none that can delver out of Your hand. Rejoce wth Hm, O beloved; bow down to Hm, for He avenges the blood of Hs chldren and takes vengeance on Hs adversares. Most Hgh God, let her dwell n safety; surround her all day long, and dwell between her shoulders. May she be blessed by You wth favor, and be full of the blessng of the LORD. For there s none lke You, who rdes through the heavens to her help, through the skes n Your majesty. Be her dwellng place, and keep Your everlastng arms underneath her. Amen (Deuteronomy 32 & 33). Water of the Word 184

186 O Lord GOD, Who am I, and what s my house, that You have gven me such a marvelous wfe? And yet ths was a small thng n Your eyes, O Lord GOD. Accordng to Your own heart You have brought her to me, to make Your servant know Your abundant goodness. Therefore You are great, O LORD God. besdes You. For there s none lke You, and there s no God And who s lke my beautful wfe? I prase You that she s Your chld, one of the women on earth whom You went to redeem to be Your daughter, makng Yourself a name and dong for her great and awesome thngs. You establshed her for Yourself to be Yours forever. And You, O LORD, became her God. And now, O LORD God, let Your name be magnfed forever through her. Let her say, The LORD of hosts s God over Hs people. Your promses are sure; You are her God, therefore Your servant has found courage to pray ths prayer to You. May t please You to bless the wfe of Your servant, so that she may contnue forever before You. For only wth Your blessng shall the wfe of Your servant be blessed forever (II Samuel 7). The great fault of the chldren of God s, they do not contnue n prayer; they do not go on prayng; they do not persevere. If they desre anythng for God s glory, they should pray untl they get t. Oh, how good, and knd, and gracous, and condescendng s the One wth Whom we have to do! He has gven me, unworthy as I am, mmeasurably above all I had asked or thought! ~George Mueller Water of the Word 185

187 LORD of Thunder, Please be my dear wfe s rock and her fortress and her delverer, her God, her rock, n whom she takes refuge, her sheld, and the horn of her salvaton, her stronghold and her refuge, her savor; save her from volence. I call upon You, who are worthy to be prased, to plead for her perseverance. When the waves of death encompass her, when the torrents of destructon assal her, let her hope n You. When the cords of Sheol entangle her, when the snares of death confront her, n her dstress let her call upon You; may she call to her God. Hear her voce, and may her cry come to Your ears. Send from on hgh and take hold of her; draw her out of many waters. Rescue her and brng her out nto a broad place; rescue her because You delght n her. Enable her to keep Your ways and let her not wckedly depart from her God. May all Your rules be before her, and from Your statutes may she not turn asde. Make her blameless before You, and help her to keep herself from gult. Mold her nto a mercful, pure woman, for wth the mercful You show Yourself mercful; wth the blameless woman You show Yourself blameless; wth the purfed You deal purely, and wth the crooked You make Yourself seem tortuous (II Samuel 22). Water of the Word 186

188 Savor of a humble people, Be my wfe s lamp, O LORD, and lghten her darkness. Lead her n Your way, for Your way s perfect; Your word proves true; be a sheld for her as she takes refuge n You. For who s God but You? And who s a rock, except You? Therefore please be her strong refuge and make her way blameless. Make her feet lke the feet of a deer and set her securely on the heghts. Tran her hands for war, so that she may use the sheld of Your salvaton. By Your gentleness make her great. Gve a wde place for her steps under her, and let her feet not slp. Equp her wth strength for battle; make the evl that rses aganst her snk under her. O beloved, the LORD lves, and blessed be our rock, and exalted be our God, the rock of our salvaton! For ths we wll prase You, O LORD, among the natons, and sng prases to Your name! Brng great salvaton to my wfe, and show steadfast love to her forever (II Samuel 22). The prayerless sprt saps a people s moral strength because t blunts ther thought and convcton of the Holy. It must be so f prayer s such a moral blessng and such a shapng power, f t pass, by ts nature, from the vague volume and passon of devoton to formed petton and effort. Prayerlessness s an njustce and a damage to our own soul, and therefore to ts hstory, both n what we do and what we thnk. The root of all deadly heresy s prayerlessness. ~P. T. Forsyth Water of the Word 187

189 God of Jacob, Rase up my marvelous wfe to lve n the fear of You, so that she may dawn on her chldren lke the mornng lght, lke the sun shnng forth on a cloudless mornng, lke ran that makes grass to sprout from the earth. Thank You that You have shown great and steadfast love to her, and have caused her to walk before You n fathfulness, n rghteousness, and n uprghtness of heart toward You. Please keep for her ths great and steadfast love. Gve her an understandng mnd that she may dscern between good and evl. Grant her a wse and dscernng mnd, so that she may walk n Your ways, keepng Your statutes and Your commandments. For there s no God lke You, O LORD, n heaven above or on earth beneath, keepng covenant and showng steadfast love to Your servants who walk before You wth all ther heart. Behold, heaven and the hghest heaven cannot contan You, yet have regard to the prayer of Your servant and hs plea, O LORD, my God, lstenng to the cry and to the prayer that Your servant prays before You ths day on behalf of hs wfe. Let her fear You all the days that she lves, and may she shne forth the greatness of Your name, Your mghty hand, and Your outstretched arm (II Samuel 23, I Kngs 3, 8). There are many good resources for learnng how to pray, but the best way to learn how to pray s to pray. ~Donald Whtney Water of the Word 188

190 Rock of Israel, There s no God lke You, n heaven above or on earth beneath, keepng covenant and steadfast love to Your servants who walk before You wth all ther heart. Therefore I ask that You would nclne the heart of my dearest wfe to walk n Your ways, keepng Your statutes. Keep her n the way everlastng; let her pay close attenton to her way, to walk before You as Davd walked before You. Lsten to the plea of Your servant when I pray for her; hear from heaven and teach her the good way n whch she should walk, and ran grace upon her that she may fear You all the days of her lfe. Let Your eyes be open to her pleas, gvng ear to her whenever she calls You. For You chose her from among all the people of the earth to be Your hertage. Blessed are You, O LORD, who has gven rest to my wfe. Not one word has faled of all Your good promse, whch You spoke to Moses Your servant, whch s hers n Chrst Jesus! Be wth her, and do not leave her or forsake her, that You may nclne her heart to Yourself, to walk n all Your ways and to keep Your commandments, Your statutes, and Your rules. Mantan her cause, that all the peoples of the earth may know that the LORD s God; there s no other. Let her heart therefore be wholly true to You our God, walkng n Your statutes and keepng Your commandments (I Kngs 8). Water of the Word 189

191 O LORD the God of Israel, Who s enthroned above the cherubm, You are the God, You alone, of all the kngdoms of the earth; You have made heaven and earth. Inclne Your ear; O LORD, and hear; open Your eyes, O LORD, and see; and hear the words of my prayer on behalf of my glorous wfe. Let her gve thanks to You; let her call upon Your name and make known Your deeds among the peoples! May she sng to You; let her sng prases to You and tell of all Your wonderful works! Cause her to glory n Your holy name; let her heart seek You and rejoce! O beloved, chosen of Jacob, seek the LORD and Hs strength; seek Hs presence contnually! Remember the wondrous works that He has done, Hs mracles and judgments He uttered. LORD God, help her to remember Your covenant forever, the word that You commanded, for a thousand generatons, the covenant that You made wth Abraham. Let her sng to You wth all the earth and tell of Your salvaton from day to day! May she declare Your glory among the natons, Your marvelous works among all the peoples! For great are You, O LORD, and greatly to be prased, and You are to be held n awe above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are dols, but You made the heavens. Splendor and majesty are before You; strength and joy are n Your place (II Kngs 19 & I Chroncles 16). Water of the Word 190

192 God of my salvaton, Please ncrease my wfe s desre to ascrbe to You glory and strength to ascrbe to You the glory due Your name and come humbly before You! Let her worshp You n the splendor of holness, tremblng before You wth joy. Let her be glad wth the heavens, and rejoce wth the earth, and let her say among the natons, The LORD regns! Let her roar wth the sea, and all that flls t; let her exult wth the feld, and everythng n t! Then make her sng for joy wth the trees of the forest before You, for You come to judge the earth. O beloved, gve thanks to the LORD, for He s good; for Hs steadfast love endures forever. Keep her to the end, O God of our salvaton, and delver her from among the natons, that she may gve thanks to Your holy name, and glory n Your prase. For blessed are You, the God of Israel, from everlastng to everlastng! Amen. Prase the LORD! (I Chroncles 16). The opposte of plannng s the rut. If you don t plan a vacaton you wll probably stay home and watch TV. The natural, unplanned flow of sprtual lfe snks to the lowest ebb of vtalty. There s a race to be run and a fght to be fought. If you want renewal n your lfe of prayer you must plan to see t. ~John Pper. Water of the Word 191

193 Lord of all beng, Let Your eyes be open and Your ears attentve to the prayer of Your servant. And now arse, O LORD, and go to her. Clothe her wth salvaton, and make her rejoce n Your goodness. O LORD God, do not turn away the face of Your anonted one! Remember Your steadfast love for my precous wfe, Your servant. Let her worshp You and gve thanks to You, sayng, For He s good, for Hs steadfast love endures forever. May she contnually humble herself, and pray and seek Your face and turn from wcked ways. Open Your eyes and let Your ears be attentve to her, for You have chosen and consecrated her that Your name may be exalted forever. Let her prase You as the God of heaven, who rules over all the kngdoms of the natons as the God n whose hand are power and mght, so that none s able to wthstand You. May she gve thanks to You, for Your steadfast love endures forever (II Chroncles 6 & 20). Water of the Word 192

194 My God, the great, the mghty, and the awesome God, O that my exquste wfe would delght herself n Your great goodness! Thank You that even when she forgets You and strays from Your commandments, n Your great merces You do not make an end of her or forsake her, for You are a gracous and mercful God. When hardshps befall her, let them not seem lttle to You; when she cres to You hear from heaven and delver her accordng to Your merces. Be exalted n Your grace, for although we have acted wckedly, You have dealt fathfully. Let her not boast n her wsdom, nor n her mght, nor n her rches, but let her boast n ths: that she understands and knows You, that You are the LORD who practces steadfast love, and justce, and rghteousness n the earth. For n these thngs You delght. There s none lke You, O LORD; You are great, and Your name s great n mght. May she fear You, O Kng of the natons. For ths s Your due; for among all the wse ones of the natons and n all ther kngdoms there s none lke You (Nehemah 9, Jeremah 9 & 10). As t s the busness of talors to make clothes and of cobblers to mend shoes, so t s the busness of Chrstans to pray. ~Martn Luther Water of the Word 193

195 Eternal God, Let my precous wfe rejoce n the Word, through whom all thngs were made. May she seek lfe only n Hm. Prase be to Your name for causng her to receve Hm and beleve on Hs name, for gvng her the rght to become Your chld. Open her eyes to the glory of the Word, the glory of Your only Son, full of grace and truth. From Hs fullness let her receve grace upon grace the grace and truth that come through Jesus Chrst. Help her to do what s true and come to the lght, so that t may be clearly seen that her deeds have been carred out n You. Help her not to judge by appearances, but nstead to judge wth rght judgment. And when she thrsts, let her go to Chrst and drnk. Let her follow closely after Hm always, so that she wll not walk n darkness, but wll have the lght of lfe. Make her abde n Hs word as a true dscple so that she may know the truth and be set free by t (John 1 & 8). Water of the Word 194

196 Great Lfe-Gver, May my wonderful wfe never fant n followng after her Shepherd s voce. Let Chrst go before her and lead her, callng her by name and woong her wth Hs words. Let her flee from the stranger, from the thef, and from the robber, for she does not know ther voce. I prase You that she has entered by Your Son nto salvaton and plentful pasture. May she have lfe and have t abundantly n Hm, for that s why He came. Let her trust Hm always as her good Shepherd who lays down Hs lfe for sheep lke her. Enable me to shepherd her as Chrst does, to lay my own lfe down for her, to guard and gude her dlgently. May I never be lke the hred hand who sees the wolf comng and leaves her and flees. O beloved, trust Chrst as your Shepherd! For Hs Father, who has gven you to Hm, s greater than all, and no one s able to snatch you out of Your Father s hand. And Chrst and the Father are one (John 10). Nothng would do more to cure us of a belef n our own wsdom than the grantng of some of our eager prayers. And nothng could humlate us more than to have God say when the fulfllment of our desre brought leanness to our souls, Well, you would have t. It s what He has sad to many. But He has sad more, My grace s suffcent for thee. ~P. T. Forsyth Water of the Word 195

197 Almghty Father, Str wthn my dear wfe a stronger desre to glorfy the Son of Man. Let her seek to glorfy Hm even n her death. For unless a gran of wheat falls nto the earth and des, t remans alone; but f t des, t bears much frut. And my desre s that she bear much frut for the splendor of Your name. Therefore let her not love her lfe and so lose t, but help her to hate her lfe n ths world so that she may keep t for eternal lfe. May she serve Chrst and follow Chrst, for then You wll honor her. Even n ths very hour, Father, glorfy Your name n her. Draw her to Yourself and let Chrst always be her lght, that she may not walk n darkness. Thank You that she has beleved n the lght and has become a daughter of lght. I prase You that You dd not blnd her eyes or harden her heart so that she could not beleve. But n grace You shone nto her soul and made her to love the glory that comes from You more than the glory that comes from man (John 12). Water of the Word 196

198 Father of our Lord and Teacher, Help my lovely wfe and me to persevere n washng one another s feet n all humlty and joy. For Chrst has gven us an example, that we should also do as He has done to us. Assst us to do what we know as servants, for a servant s not greater than hs master. Please delver my wfe from the treachery that stll ndwells her, for f You remove Your hand of grace she wll surely betray Your Son. O spare her that dreadful end! Keep her fathful and steadfast n Jesus all her days, so that He may be glorfed, and You wll be glorfed n Hm. Cause us to grow n love for one another to strve wholeheartedly to love each other just as Chrst has loved us, so that all people wll know that we are Hs dscples, f we have love for one another. O beloved, let not your heart be troubled! Beleve n God; beleve also n Chrst. Father, fll her afresh wth hope for the tme when Your Son wll come agan and wll take her to Hmself, that where He s she may be also (John 13 & 14). Prayer s a specal exercse of fath. Fath makes the prayer acceptable because t beleves that ether the prayer wll be answered, or that somethng better wll be gven nstead. ~Martn Luther Water of the Word 197

199 Author of Pleasure, All thanks and prase belong to You for showng my wnsome wfe the way to Yourself, whch s through Jesus alone. Blessed be Your glorous name for revealng Chrst to her as the way, and the truth, and the lfe! May she grow to know Hm better today than she dd yesterday, whch s to know You, Hs Father. I ask ths only n Your Son s name, that You may be glorfed n Hm. Create wthn her deeper love for Chrst, and let ths love constran her to keep Hs commandments. Thank You for gvng her another Helper to be wth her forever, even the Sprt of truth, whom the world cannot receve, because t nether sees Hm nor knows Hm. Let her sng prase to You, for Your Sprt dwells n her. O beloved, do not despar, for Chrst has not left us as orphans; He wll come to us. Father, may she love Chrst and keep Hs words. By Your Holy Sprt, teach her all thngs and brng to her remembrance all that Chrst has spoken. Grant Hs peace to her. Amen (John 14). Water of the Word 198

200 Soveregn Vnedresser, Let not my precous wfe s heart be troubled, nether let t be afrad. Remnd her that Chrst s mghty to save, and You wll not leave her or forsake her. Help her to do as You have commanded her, so that the world may know that she loves You. Please make her a branch that bears frut because she abdes n the vne, whch s Chrst. Prune her, that she may bear more frut. Preserve her as one who abdes n Chrst and He n her, so that she bears much frut, for apart from Chrst she can do nothng. O beloved, let us abde always n Jesus, wth Hs words abdng n us. For then, when we ask whatever we wsh, t wll be done for us. Father, glorfy Yourself by makng her bear much frut, and so provng her to be Chrst s dscple. May she abde n Hs love, for as You have loved Hm, so has He loved her. Cause her to keep Hs commandments, for then she wll abde n Hs love, just as He abdes n Your love by keepng Your commandments. Come quckly, Lord Jesus. Amen (John 14 & 15). Water of the Word 199

201 Humbly I asked of God to gve me joy, To crown my lfe wth blossoms of delght; I pled for happness wthout alloy, Desrng that my pathway should be brght; Prayerfully I sought these blessngs to attan, And now I thank hm that he gave me pan. For wth the pan and sorrow came to me A dower of tenderness n act and thought; And wth the falure came a sympathy, An nsght that success had never bought. Father, I had been foolsh and unblest If thou had granted me my blnd request! ~L. M. Montgomery Water of the Word 200

202 Electng God, Thank You for choosng my lovely wfe and appontng her that she should go and bear frut and that her frut should abde. How gracous You are to call her Your frend! Fll her wth love for her brothers and ssters n Chrst, and for me. And fll me wth fresh, fervent, brght, dvnely-wrought love for her. If the world hates her, remnd her that t hated Chrst before t hated her. Prepare her to expect the world s hatred, for You chose her out of the world and she s no longer of the world. Help her to remember the word spoken by Chrst: A servant s not greater than hs master, so that she wll not be surprsed or lose heart when persecuton comes. Let her persevere n bearng wtness about Your glorous Son and enable her to do so by Your wonderful Helper, the Sprt of truth, who proceeds from You. May she herald the name of Jesus wth boldness and joy. In the mdst of persecuton, Father, keep her from fallng away! May her heart not falter n unbelef (John 15). Water of the Word 201

203 Magnfcent Father, Now that Your Sprt of truth has come, let Hm gude my marvelous wfe nto all the truth. May He glorfy the Son by takng what s Chrst s and declarng t to her. When she s sorrowful, turn her sorrow nto joy. Fll her wth hope that she wll see Chrst agan soon, and then her heart wll rejoce and no one wll take her joy from her. Gve her confdence to ask thngs of You n the name of Chrst, for then she wll receve, that her joy may be full. Imbue her soul wth joy n Jesus! Cause her to lsten to Hs words, that n Hm she may have peace. O beloved, n the world you wll have trbulaton. But take heart; Chrst has overcome the world! Father, grant her to know You, the only true God, and Jesus Chrst more deeply, for that s eternal lfe. Enable her to glorfy You on earth and accomplsh the work that You have gven her to do. Holy Father, keep us n Your name, that we may be one, even as You and Chrst are one. Guard her so that she may never be lost. Open her ears to the words spoken by Your Son that she may have Hs joy fulflled n herself. Thank You for gvng us Your word through Chrst! Amen (John 16 & 17). O what peace we often forfet, O what needless pan we bear, All because we do not carry Everythng to God n prayer! ~Joseph Scrven Water of the Word 202

204 God and Father of my Lord Jesus Chrst, Prase be to Your name because You have blessed my dear wfe n Chrst wth every sprtual blessng n the heavenly places, even as You chose her n Hm before the foundaton of the world, that she should be holy and blameless before You. Please contnue to sanctfy her by the love wth whch You predestned her for adopton through Jesus Chrst, accordng to the purpose of Your wll, to the prase of Your glorous grace, wth whch You have blessed her n the Beloved. Worthy s He! How beautful s Your Son! Let Hs name be exalted! For n Hm she has redempton through Hs blood, the forgveness of her trespasses, accordng to the rches of Your grace, whch You lavshed on her, n all wsdom and nsght. O beloved, let us laud Hs name together for Hs rch and lavsh grace toward us! For n Chrst we have obtaned an nhertance, havng been predestned accordng to the purpose of Hm who works all thngs accordng to the counsel of Hs wll, so that we who hope n Chrst mght be to the prase of Hs glory! Father, remnd her of her former state as a chld of wrath by nature, lke the rest of manknd, when she was dead n her trespasses and sns. Remnd her of ths so that she wll rejoce afresh that You, beng rch n mercy, because of the great love wth whch You loved her, even when she was dead n her trespasses, made her alve wth Chrst and saved her by grace. Contnue showng her the mmeasurable rches of Your grace n kndness toward her n Chrst Jesus. Amen (Ephesans 1 & 2). Water of the Word 203

205 Mghty God, Thank You for savng my resplendent wfe by pure grace, so that she cannot boast as f t were her own dong, for her salvaton s a gft of You and not a result of works. I prase Your name alone for the nestmable treasure that I have n her, because she s Your workmanshp, created n Chrst Jesus for good works. Therefore assst her to walk n the good works whch You prepared beforehand for her. Remnd her constantly that she was at one tme separated from Chrst, havng no hope and wthout God n the world. Remnd her, so that she may rejoce contnually that now n Chrst Jesus she has been brought near by Hs blood. Fll her wth the confdence that comes from knowng that Chrst Hmself s her peace that He has reconcled her to You through the cross. Let her sng for joy anew because He has broken down the dvdng wall of hostlty between her and You the one true and holy God. In Chrst please contnue buldng us together nto a dwellng place for Yourself by the Sprt. Amen (Ephesans 2). No tongue can express, no mnd can reach, the heavenly placdness and soul-satsfyng delght whch are ntmated n these words [Eph 2:18]. To come to God as a Father, through Chrst, by the help and assstance of the Holy Sprt, revealng hm as a Father unto us, and enablng us to go to hm as a Father, how full of sweetness and satsfacton s t! ~John Bunyan Water of the Word 204

206 God of revealed mystery, O that my remarkable wfe would be granted nsght nto the mystery of Chrst by Your Sprt! Gve her more and more depth of understandng of ths marvelous mystery that n Chrst, through the gospel, she s a fellow her wth the commonwealth of Israel, a member of Hs body, and a partaker of the promse. By the workng of Your power gve her much grace to mnster to those n need. Grant her more grace to love and spread the unsearchable rches of Chrst, and to brng to lght for many what s the plan of the mystery hdden for ages n You who created all thngs. Through her make known Your manfold wsdom. Empower her to walk n a manner worthy of the callng to whch she has been called, wth all humlty and gentleness, wth patence, bearng wth others n love, eager to mantan the unty of the Sprt n the bond of peace. Keep enlargng her heart and mnd wth the knowledge of Your Son, unto mature womanhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Chrst, so that she may not be a chld, tossed to and fro by the waves and carred about by every wnd of doctrne. Guard her from human cunnng, from craftness n decetful schemes. Enable her to speak the truth n love, to grow up n every way nto Hm who s the head, nto Chrst, and to work properly as a member of Hs body, helpng to buld t up n love (Ephesans 2 & 3). Water of the Word 205

207 Condescendng God, Prevent my wonderful wfe from walkng as the world does, n the futlty of ther mnds. Do not let her lve as one darkened n her understandng, hard of heart, callous, or greedy to practce every knd of mpurty. Instead, help her to put off her old self, whch s corrupt through decetful desres. Renew her n the sprt of her mnd, and empower her to put on the new self, created after Your lkeness n true rghteousness and holness. Make her put away falsehood and speak the truth wth her neghbor. When she s angry keep her from sn; grant her the grace to not let the sun go down on her anger. Let no corruptng talk come out of her mouth, but only such as s good for buldng up, as fts the occason, that t may gve grace to those who hear. And let her not greve Your Holy Sprt, by whom she was sealed for the day of redempton. Put all btterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander away from her, along wth all malce. Grow us n kndness toward one another, make us tenderhearted, so that we may be always forgvng each other as You forgave us n Chrst. Amen (Ephesans 4). The frst reason why prayer leads to fullness of joy s that prayer s the nerve center of our fellowshp wth Jesus. He s not here physcally to see. But n prayer we speak to Hm just as though He were. And n the stllness of those sacred tmes, we lsten to Hs Word and we pour out to Hm our longngs. ~John Pper Water of the Word 206

208 Father of glory, Assst my lovely wfe to be an mtator of You, as Your beloved daughter. And make her walk n love, as Chrst loved us and gave Hmself up for us, a fragrant offerng and sacrfce to You. Keep her from any form or appearance of sexual mmoralty and all mpurty or covetousness. And let us both guard our tongues, so that there mght not be any flthness or foolsh talk or crude jokng, whch are out of place, but nstead make us abound wth thanksgvng. Gude her feet to walk as a chld of lght, and enable her to dscern what s pleasng to You. Let her take no part n the unfrutful works of darkness, but nstead expose them. Open her eyes to look carefully how she walks, not as unwse but as wse, makng the best use of the tme, because the days are evl. Therefore help her to understand what Your wll s. Fll us wth Your Sprt so that we may address one another n psalms and hymns and sprtual songs, sngng and makng melody to You wth all of our heart, gvng thanks always and for everythng to You n the name of our Lord Jesus Chrst. And t s n Hs name that I come to You wth ths plea for grace. Amen (Ephesans 5). Water of the Word 207

209 Soveregn LORD, Shall we receve good from You, and shall we not receve evl? Therefore may my precous wfe hold fast to her ntegrty when calamty comes. Instead of cursng, let her bless You sayng, The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD. When evl befalls her, let her not charge You wth wrong or sn wth her lps. And when her sufferng s great, enable me to comfort her n wsdom and n rghteousness. May she seek You, and to You may she commt her cause. For You do great thngs and unsearchable, marvelous thngs wthout number: You set on hgh those who are lowly, and those who mourn are lfted up to safety. You save the needy from the sword of the mouth of the crafty and from the hand of the mghty. Beloved, behold, your God s fathful when He wounds and shatters you even n your blamelessness. Therefore, do not despse Hs hard hand of grace, for He bnds up, and Hs hands heal. Father, delver my wfe from troubles! In famne redeem her from death, and n war from the power of the sword! Hde her from the lash of the tongue, and let her not fear destructon when t comes! (Job 1, 2, 4, 5). As prayer wthout fath s but a beatng of the ar, so trust wthout prayers [s] but a presumptuous bravado. He that promses to gve, and bds us trust hs promses, commands us to pray, and expects obedence to hs commands. He wll gve, but not wthout our askng. ~Thomas Lye Water of the Word 208

210 Mercful Almghty, I am but of yesterday and know nothng, for my days on earth are a shadow. Therefore gve wsdom to your servant and deal kndly wth me that I mght lve uprghtly wth the precous woman You have made for me. Please fll her mouth wth laughter, and her lps wth shoutng. Let those who hate her be clothed wth shame, for You are wse n heart and mghty n strength. You command the sun, and t does not rse; You seal up the stars; You alone stretched out the heavens and trampled the waves of the sea; You made the Bear and Oron, the Pleades and the chambers of the south; You do great thngs beyond searchng out, and marvelous thngs beyond number. O how greatly and marvelously You have made my wfe! And what a great marvel that You have saved her and kept her wth the strength of Your rght hand! Prase and glory are due Your name, for You have provded an arbter between her and Yourself, even the man Jesus Chrst, so that You have taken Your rod away from her, and Your dread no longer terrfes her. Therefore may she never loathe her lfe, or speak n btterness of soul, for behold, she has an advocate wth You, Jesus Chrst the rghteous (Job 8, 9, 10, I John 2). Water of the Word 209

211 Helper of the weak, I gve You prase and thanks for my wfe, so matchless n beauty and ntegrty of heart. For Your hands fashoned and made her. You clothed her wth skn and flesh, and knt her together wth bones and snews. You have granted her lfe and steadfast love, and Your care has preserved her sprt. Therefore please do not destroy her altogether. Remember that You have made her lke clay, and do not return her to the dust. Are not her days few? Therefore please bless her, and do not fll her wth dsgrace. Work wonders for her, and not aganst her. Oh, that You would speak and open Your lps to her, and that You would tell her the secrets of wsdom! For You are manfold n understandng. Know, beloved, that God exacts of you less than your gult deserves, because of Chrst. He has taken your gult upon Hmself, therefore be of good cheer and rejoce n the abundant lfe gven you n Hm! Thank You, Father, that because of Your Son, she can lft up her face wthout blemsh; she can be secure and not fear. Let her lfe be brghter than the noonday, and ts darkness lke the mornng. May she feel secure, because there s hope hope n Jesus. Let her le down wth none to make her afrad. Amen (Job 10 & 11). Prayer s the most tangble expresson of trust n God. ~Jerry Brdges Water of the Word 210

212 Great God, In whose hand s the lfe of every lvng thng and the breath of all manknd, wth You are wsdom and mght; You have counsel and understandng. Therefore, mpart these thngs to my magnfcent wfe. Lead her wth strength and sound wsdom. Let the eyes of her heart feast upon Your splendor. Let them brghten at the sght of Your justce, and wth the vson of Your rghteousness. For You overthrow the mghty. You uncover the deeps out of darkness and brng deep darkness to lght. You make natons great, and You destroy them; You enlarge natons, and lead them away. When Your majesty terrfes her, and the dread of You falls upon her, let her run to Chrst. Even when I am a worthless physcan n the day of her calamty, let her clng contnually to Chrst. And though You slay her, let her hope n You. Do not hde Your face or count her as Your enemy. Please do not frghten her or make her nhert the nqutes of her youth (Job 12 & 13). Prayer s the acknowledgment of God s soveregnty and of our dependence upon Hm to act on our behalf. Prudence s the acknowledgment of our responsblty to use all legtmate means. We must not separate the two. ~Jerry Brdges Water of the Word 211

213 Majestc and mghty LORD, Make my wfe wse. Impart to her holy nsght. And let her not do away wth the fear of God, or hnder medtaton before You. Keep her nquty from teachng her mouth, and let her not choose the tongue of the crafty. Open her ears to lsten to Your councl, so that she does not lmt wsdom to herself. Protect her from the one who s abomnable and corrupt, the man who drnks njustce lke water. Let not dstress and angush terrfy her; may they not preval aganst her, for she has not trusted n emptness, decevng herself. Do not tear her wth Your wrath or hate her, or gnash Your teeth at her. Nether gve her up to the ungodly or cast her nto the hands of the wcked. Please do not break her apart, or seze her by the neck and dash her to peces, or set her up as Your target, surroundng her wth Your archers. Do not break her wth breach upon breach, or run upon her lke a warror. For even though she deserves all these thngs, spare her because of Chrst, for she abdes n Hm. O beloved, hope contnually n Chrst! Look to Hm alone for your salvaton. Even now, behold, your wtness s n heaven, and He who testfes for you s on hgh. He argues your case wth God, as a son of man does wth hs neghbor. O Father we offer You prase and thanks for the advocate You have gven us n Jesus! (Job 15 & 16). Water of the Word 212

214 Restorer of the broken n sprt, Even when my beautful wfe makes her bed n darkness, when reproach s cast upon her, when You strp her glory from her, and set darkness upon her paths, when her relatves fal her, and close frends forget her, when her ntmate frends abhor her and those whom she loves turn aganst her, let her hope n Chrst. For He lves, and has stood upon the earth, and she shall see Hm for herself. Her eyes shall behold Hm! May she long for that day and not lose heart. Because she s found n Chrst, let her chldren dance. Let them sng to the tambourne and the lyre and rejoce to the sound of the ppe. prosperty. May they spend ther days n Let her receve nstructon from Your Son s mouth, and lay up Hs words n her heart. Cause her to turn always to You so that she wll be bult up, and remove njustce far from her house. O beloved, f you lay gold n the dust, and gold of Ophr among the stones of the torrent bed, then the Almghty wll be your gold and your precous slver. For then you wll delght yourself n the Almghty and lft up your face to God. When she prays to You, hear her, and make lght to shne on her ways. Be exalted! For You delver her even though she s not nnocent, and wll grant her cleanness of hands (Job 17, 19, 21, 22). Whether we lke t or not, askng s the rule of the Kngdom. ~Charles Spurgeon Water of the Word 213

215 Rghteous Judge, Thank You that Chrst comes even to Your seat and lays the case of my wfe before You. He alone s the uprght man who can argue on her behalf so that she s acqutted forever by her Judge. Behold, You know the way that she takes; when You have tred her, let her come out as gold. Make her foot hold fast to Your steps; keep her n Your way and do not let her turn asde. Let her never depart from the commandment of Your lps; may she treasure the words of Your mouth more than her porton of food. You are unchangeable, and who can turn You back? What You desre, do so n her. Complete what You have apponted for her. Even f You must terrfy her and make her heart fant, let her hope n Your steadfast love. May she trust Your hand when thck darkness covers her face. Amen (Job 23). Water of the Word 214

216 God of domnon, Is there any number to Your armes? Upon whom does Your lght not arse? Thank You, that because of Chrst, my dear wfe s n the rght before You. Be prased! For she who s born of woman has Hm as her purty. Hs hand perced the fleeng serpent, and by Hs sprt she has been made far. O beloved, adore and fear our God wth me. He stretches out the north over the vod and hangs the earth on nothng. The pllars of heaven tremble and are astounded at Hs rebuke. By Hs power He stlled the sea; by Hs understandng He shattered Rahab, the terror of the deep. Behold, these are but the outskrts of Hs ways, and how small a whsper do we hear of Hm! Father, as long as her breath s n her, and Your sprt s n her nostrls, keep her lps from speakng falsehood, and her tongue from utterng decet. Let her hold fast to Chrst s rghteousness and not let t go. Grant her wsdom. For You alone understand the way to t, and know ts place. You sad, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that s wsdom, and to turn away from evl s understandng. Therefore ncrease her fear of You; let her turn away from evl and gan a dscernng heart (Job 25-28). Water of the Word 215

217 Wse Almghty, Oh, that You mght watch over my comely wfe, makng Your lamp to shne upon her head, so that by Your lght she may walk through darkness. Let Your frendshp be upon our house, and stay always wth her. Keep her chldren all around her; may her steps be washed wth blessng, and cause the rock to pour out for her streams of ol. When the ear hears of her, let t call her blessed, and when the eye sees her, let t approve, because she delvers the poor who cry for help, and the fatherless who have none to help them. May the blessngs of those who are about to persh come upon her, and may she cause the wdow s heart to sng for joy. Put rghteousness on her and clothe her wth t; make her justce lke a robe and a turban. Let her be eyes to the blnd, feet to the lame, and mother to the needy. Let her search out the cause of even the one whom she does not know. Use her to break the fangs of the unrghteous and make them drop ther prey from ther teeth (Job 29). An atttude of acceptance says that we trust God, that He loves us, and knows what s best for us. Acceptance does not mean that we do not pray for physcal healng, or for the concepton and brth of a lttle one to our marrage. We should ndeed pray for those thngs, but we should pray n a trustng way. We should realze that, though God can do all thngs, for nfntely wse and lovng reasons, He may not do that whch we pray that He wll do. How do we know how long to pray? As long as we can pray trustngly, wth an atttude of acceptance of Hs wll, we should pray as long as the desre remans. ~Jerry Brdges Water of the Word 216

218 God of justce and rghteousness, Make my dear wfe wse. Fll her wth understandng so that women wll lsten to her and wat and keep slence for her counsel that they may wat for her as for the ran and open ther mouths as for the sprng ran. Let her not despar when her soul s poured out wthn her, when days of afflcton have taken hold of her. When she s cast nto the mre, and has become lke dust and ashes, let her cry to You for help, and answer her. Even when You seem to have turned cruel to her, may she hope n Your promse; may she wat for Your unfalng love. Let her be a woman who weeps for those whose days are hard, and whose soul greves for the needy. Assst me to comfort her when evl comes; when she has wated for lght, but darkness comes. Grant me wsdom and compasson to bear her turmol wth her; to encourage her when days of afflcton come to meet her. Be mercful to her, for she has not walked wth falsehood and her foot has not hastened to decet (Job 30). Water of the Word 217

219 Majestc LORD, Keep my marvelous wfe from makng gold her trust or callng fne gold her confdence. Let her not rejoce only because her wealth s abundant or because her hand has found much. Guard her heart from beng secretly entced to worshp the shnng splendor of what has been made, for that would be false to You. May she not rejoce at the run of the one who hates her, or exult when evl overtakes hm. Let not her mouth sn by askng for hs lfe wth a curse. Sanctfy her so that she may be able to say that the sojourner has not lodged n the street, that she has opened her doors to the traveler, that she has wthheld nothng that the poor desred, and has not caused the eyes of the wdow to fal, that she has not left the fatherless hungry. Keep her from concealng her transgressons as others do by hdng nquty n her bosom. O beloved, behold, I am toward God as you are; I too was pnched off from a pece of clay. Let us together clng to Chrst as our rghteousness, for He s pure, wthout transgresson; He s clean, and there s no nquty n Hm (Job 31 & 33). Intercessory prayer s the purfyng bath nto whch the ndvdual and the fellowshp must enter every day. ~Detrch Bonhoeffer Water of the Word 218

220 O God, who s greater than man, Let my wfe hope n Chrst when her soul draws near the pt, and her lfe to those who brng death. May her flesh become fresh wth youth; let her return to the days of her youthful vgor. When she prays to You, please accept her; may she see Your face wth a shout of joy, as You restore to her her rghteousness. O beloved, sng wth me before men and say, I snned and perverted what was rght, and t was not repad to me. The LORD has redeemed my soul from gong down nto the pt, and my lfe shall look upon the lght. Do all these thngs wth her, O Father, to brng back her soul from the pt, that she may be lghted wth the lght of lfe. Lsten to me; hear my words and gve ear to me. Please teach my wfe wsdom. Thank You that she does not drnk up scoffng lke water, that You have kept her from beng a woman who travels n company wth evldoers or walks wth wcked men. May she never say, It profts a woman nothng that she should take delght n God, for such are the words of the wcked (Job 33 & 34). True, whole prayer s nothng but love. ~St. Augustne Water of the Word 219

221 O Father, perfect n knowledge, Be prased among the natons! For You have made my prceless wfe because You are mghty n strength and understandng. Do not despse her; when she s afflcted please gve her her rght and keep her alve. Do not wthdraw Your eyes from her. Open her ears to nstructon and help her to return from nquty. May she lsten and serve You, and complete her days n prosperty, and her years n pleasantness. Let her not chersh anger as the godless n heart. Delver her by her afflcton and open her ear by adversty. Allure her out of dstress nto a broad place, and may what s set on her table be full of fatness. O beloved, behold, God s exalted n Hs power; who s a teacher lke Hm? Who has prescrbed for Hm Hs way, or who can say, You have done wrong? Remember to extol Hs work, of whch men have sung. Behold, God s great, and we know Hm not, the number of Hs years s unsearchable. For He draws up the drops of water; they dstll Hs mst n ran whch the skes pour down and drop on manknd abundantly. Can anyone understand the spreadng of the clouds, the thunderngs of Hs pavlon? Behold, He scatters Hs lghtnng about Hm and covers the roots of the sea. For by these He judges peoples; He gves food n abundance. He covers Hs hands wth the lghtnng and commands t to strke the mark. Its crashng declares Hs presence; the cattle also declare that He rses (Job 36). Water of the Word 220

222 God of thunderous majesty, Let my lovely wfe sng of Your power; when she sees t let her heart tremble and leap out of ts place. For You thunder wondrously wth Your voce; You do great thngs that we cannot comprehend. May she bow before You when she beholds the strength of Your word, for to the snow You say, Fall on the earth, lkewse to the downpour, Your mghty downpour. May she worshp You wth a reverent heart, for by Your breath ce s gven, and the broad waters are frozen fast. Let her heart tremble before You n wonder, for You load the thck cloud wth mosture; the clouds scatter Your lghtnng. They turn around and around by Your gudance, to accomplsh all that You command them on the face of the habtable world. Whether for correcton or for Your land or for love, You cause t to happen. Hear me, O beloved; stop and consder the wondrous works of God. LORD, I prase You, for she ndeed s one of Your most wondrous works more amazng than the ran, the lghtnng, the wnd, or the clouds; she shnes and declares the glory of Hm who s perfect n knowledge. May she worshp You as she looks on the lght when t s brght n the skes, when the wnd has passed and cleared them. Out of the north comes golden splendor; You are clothed wth awesome majesty. Let her prase You as the One great n power, n justce, and abundant n rghteousness. Therefore, let her fear You. Amen (Job 37). Water of the Word 221

223 Father of my Lord Jesus Chrst, Accordng to Your foreknowledge, n the sanctfcaton of the Sprt, for obedence to Jesus Chrst and for sprnklng wth Hs blood: may grace and peace be multpled to my wonderful wfe. Let her bless You, for accordng to Your great mercy, You have caused her to be born agan to a lvng hope through the resurrecton of Jesus Chrst from the dead, to an nhertance that s mpershable, undefled, and unfadng, kept n heaven for her. Thank You that by Your power she s beng guarded through fath for a salvaton ready to be revealed n the last tme. Let her rejoce n ths. May she rejoce even when t s necessary that she be greved for a lttle whle by varous trals, so that the tested genuneness of her fath more precous than gold that pershes though t s tested by fre may be found to result n prase and glory and honor at the revelaton of Jesus Chrst. Though she has not seen Hm, let her love Hm all the more. Though she does not now see Hm, I prase You that she beleves n Hm and rejoces wth joy that s nexpressble and flled wth glory, obtanng the outcome of her fath, the salvaton of her soul (I Peter 1). Prayer does not ft us for the greater work, prayer s the greater work. ~Oswald Chambers Water of the Word 222

224 Father of our lvng hope, O that You would assst my exquste wfe to prepare her mnd for acton, and to be sober-mnded. Let her set her hope fully on the grace that wll be brought to her at the revelaton of Jesus Chrst. As an obedent chld, may she not be conformed to the passons of her former gnorance. Instead, as You who called her are holy, make her holy n all her conduct, snce t s wrtten, You shall be holy, for I am holy. And snce You are her Father who judges mpartally accordng to her deeds, cause her to conduct herself wth fear throughout the tme of her exle on ths earth, knowng that she was ransomed from the futle ways nherted from her forefathers, not wth pershable thngs such as slver or gold, but wth the precous blood of Chrst, lke that of a lamb wthout blemsh or spot. O beloved, He was made manfest n the last tmes for your sake, for through Hm you are a belever n God, who rased Hm from the dead and gave Hm glory, so that your fath and hope are n God. Enable us, O LORD, to purfy our souls by our obedence to the truth for a sncere love, so that we may love one another earnestly from a pure heart, snce we have been born agan, not of pershable seed but of mpershable, through Your lvng and abdng word. Prase be to Your name! For ths word s the good news that was preached to us. Amen (I Peter 1). Water of the Word 223

225 Eternal LORD, By Your mghty Sprt enable my wfe to put away all malce and all decet and hypocrsy and envy and all slander. Make her long for the pure sprtual mlk, that by t she may grow up to salvaton snce ndeed she has tasted that You are good. Thank You that as she comes to Chrst, a lvng stone rejected by men but n Your sght chosen and precous, she s beng bult up lke a lvng stone nto a sprtual house to be part of a holy presthood, to offer sprtual sacrfces acceptable to You through Jesus Chrst. I prase You that she s part of Your chosen race, Your royal presthood, Your holy naton, and a people for Your own possesson. And because she s, let her ever proclam Your excellences for You are the God who has called her out of darkness nto Your marvelous lght. Thank You that although she once was not of a people, now she s of Your people; once she had not receved mercy, but now she has receved mercy. Beloved, I urge you as a sojourner and exle to abstan from the passons of the flesh, whch wage war aganst your soul. Father, keep her conduct among the Gentles honorable, so that when they speak aganst her as an evldoer, they may see her good deeds and glorfy You on the day of vstaton (I Peter 2). To clasp the hands n prayer s the begnnng of an uprsng aganst the dsorder of the world. ~Karl Barth Water of the Word 224

226 LORD of unbounded mercy, Help my pure wfe to lve as one who s free, not usng her freedom as a cover-up for evl, but lvng as Your bondservant. Let her honor everyone, love the brotherhood, fear You, and honor the governng authortes. Grant her the grace to endure sorrows whle sufferng unjustly, beng mndful of You. For f when she does good and suffers for t she endures, ths s a gracous thng n Your sght. For to ths you have been called, my beloved, because Chrst also suffered for you leavng an example, so that you mght follow n Hs steps. He commtted no sn, nether was decet found n Hs mouth. O God, make her lke Hm, so that when she s revled, she wll not revle n return. When she suffers, let her not threaten, but contnue entrustng herself to You who judge justly. Thank You that we have a perfect example n Chrst Jesus! He hmself bore our sns n Hs body on the tree, that we mght de to sn and lve to rghteousness. May He be exalted! For by Hs wounds we have been healed. Thank You, that even though she was strayng lke a sheep, now she has returned to You, the Shepherd and Overseer of her soul. Amen (I Peter 2). Water of the Word 225

227 You who have called us to Your eternal glory n Chrst, Help me to lve wth my lovely wfe n an understandng way, showng honor to her as the weaker vessel, snce she s an her wth me of the grace of lfe. Help me to do ths so that my prayers may not be hndered. Do not let her repay evl for evl or revlng for revlng, but on the contrary, may she bless, for to ths she was called, that she may obtan a blessng. I desre her to love lfe and see good days, therefore keep her tongue from evl and her lps from speakng decet; let her turn away from evl and do good; let her seek peace and pursue t. For Your eyes are on the rghteous, and Your ears are open to ther prayer. But Your face s aganst those who do evl. O beloved, even f you should suffer for rghteousness sake, you wll be blessed. Rejoce, and have no fear of man, nor be troubled. Father, may she regard Chrst the Lord as holy n her heart, and always be prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks her for a reason for the hope that s n her. Let her do t wth gentleness and respect, havng a good conscence, so that, when she s slandered, those who revle her good behavor n Chrst may be put to shame (I Peter 3). God delghts n the aroma of hs own glory as he smells t n the prayers of hs people. ~John Pper Water of the Word 226

228 God of all Grace, If my courageous wfe s nsulted for the name of Chrst, let her take comfort n the truth that she s blessed, because the Sprt of glory and of God rests upon her. If she suffers as a Chrstan, let her not be ashamed, but let her glorfy You n that name. Indeed, when she suffers accordng to Your wll, let her entrust her soul to You her fathful Creator whle dong good. Beloved, do not be surprsed at the fery tral when t comes upon you to test you, as though somethng strange were happenng to you. But rejoce nsofar as you share Chrst s sufferngs, that you may also rejoce and be glad when Hs glory s revealed. Father, help me to shepherd ths prceless woman wth whom You have entrusted me, not under compulson, but eagerly and joyfully, as You would have me; not domneerng over her, but beng an example. Please clothe us both wth humlty toward one another, for You oppose the proud but gve grace to the humble. We want You. We need Your grace. Humble us, therefore, under Your mghty hand so that at the proper tme You may exalt us. We cast our anxetes on You, because You care for us. Make us sober-mnded. May we be watchful. Enable us to resst our adversary the devl frm n our fath, and remnd us that the same knds of sufferng are beng experenced by our brotherhood throughout the world. And when we have suffered a lttle whle, restore, confrm, strengthen, and establsh us. To You be the domnon forever and ever. Amen (I Peter 4 & 5). Water of the Word 227

229 Compassonate Father, May grace and peace be multpled to my ncomparable wfe n the knowledge of You and of Jesus our Lord. Thank You that Your dvne power has granted to her all thngs that pertan to lfe and godlness, through the knowledge of You who called us to Your own glory and excellence, by whch You have granted to her Your precous and very great promses, so that through them she may become a partaker of the dvne nature, havng escaped from the corrupton that s n the world because of snful desre. Because of ths great blessng, help her to make every effort to supplement her fath wth vrtue, and vrtue wth knowledge, and knowledge wth self-control, and selfcontrol wth steadfastness, and steadfastness wth godlness, and godlness wth ssterly affecton, and ssterly affecton wth love. Make these qualtes her own and let them ncrease n her, to keep her from beng neffectve or unfrutful n the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Chrst. May she never be so nearsghted that she s blnd, forgettng that she was cleansed from her former sns. Therefore, assst her to be all the more dlgent to make her callng and electon sure, for f she practces these qualtes she wll never fall. Please uphold her! And rchly provde for her an entrance nto the eternal kngdom of our Lord and Savor Jesus Chrst. Hasten the comng of Hs kngdom, I pray. Amen (II Peter 1). Prayer s the power that welds the weapon of the Word; but the Word tself s the weapon by whch the natons wll be brought to fath and obedence. ~John Pper Water of the Word 228

230 Fathful Kng, Make my wfe the sort of woman who lves a lfe of holness and godlness, watng for and hastenng the comng of the day of God, because of whch the heavens wll be set on fre and dssolved, and the heavenly bodes wll melt as they burn. Whle we wat for a new heavens and a new earth n whch rghteousness dwells, let her be dlgent to be found by You wthout spot or blemsh, and at peace. Protect her from false teachers that wll rse up and secretly brng destructve hereses. Let her not be found among the many who wll follow ther sensualty and blaspheme the way of truth. Keep her far from the way of the unrghteous, who speak loud boasts of folly and are slaves to corrupton. May t never be that after she has escaped the deflements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savor Jesus Chrst, she s agan entangled n them and overcome! Guard her from such a fate, for her last state would become worse for her than the frst. Therefore, beloved, take care that you are not carred away wth the error of lawless people and lose your own stablty. But grow n the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savor Jesus Chrst. Father, may she grow n such grace and knowledge! To You be the glory both now and to the day of eternty. Amen (II Peter 2 & 3). Water of the Word 229

231 Father, Let whatever happens to my elegant wfe serve to advance the gospel, so that even her sufferng and mprsonment may magnfy Chrst. May her lfe be a source of confdence for others n You, that makes them much more bold to speak the word wthout fear. Keep her from proclamng Chrst out of envy or rvalry, and nstead let her do so from good wll and out of love. More than that, let her rejoce n Chrst, and n Hs truth proclamed. And help her to contnue strrng up others for ther progress and joy n the fath. Please let her manner of lfe be worthy of the gospel of Chrst, so that we may stand frm n one sprt, wth one mnd strvng sde by sde for the fath of the gospel, and not frghtened n anythng by our opponents. Thank you that t has been granted to us that for the sake of Chrst we should not only beleve n Hm but also suffer for Hs sake. Fll us wth the joy of beng of the same mnd, havng the same love, beng n full accord and of one mnd. Keep us from dong anythng from rvalry or concet, but let us n humlty count others more sgnfcant than ourselves. Let each of us look not only to our own nterests, but also to the nterests of others, havng the very mnd of Chrst. Amen (Phlppans 1 & 2). The true theology s warm, and t steams upward nto prayer. ~P.T. Forsyth Water of the Word 230

232 Hghly exalted God, Please grow my beloved nto a woman who does all thngs wthout grumblng or questonng, that she may be blameless and nnocent, a chld of God wthout blemsh n the mdst of a crooked and twsted generaton. Let her shne as a lght n the world, holdng fast to the word of lfe, so that n the day of Chrst I may be proud that I dd not pray n van or encourage her n van. Enable me to rejoce and be glad to suffer for her sake even to pour out my lfe as a drnk offerng upon the sacrfcal offerng of her fath. Lkewse let her also be glad and rejoce wth me to endure hardshp for the name of Chrst. Make her genunely concerned for the welfare of others, seekng not her own nterests but those of Jesus Chrst. O beloved, rejoce n the Lord. To say ths same thng to you s no trouble to me and s safe for you. Look out for the dogs, look out for the evldoers, look out for those who put confdence n ther works. Father, help her to reman steadfast n worshp by Your Sprt, gloryng n Chrst Jesus, and puttng no confdence n the flesh. More than anythng, strengthen her to forget what les behnd and stran forward to what les ahead, and press on toward the goal for the prze of Your upward call n Chrst Jesus. Let her also hold true to what she has attaned. Amen (Phlppans 2 & 3). Water of the Word 231

233 Great Savour, Thank you that my wfe s ctzenshp s n heaven! Therefore let her not set her mnd on earthly thngs, but nstead awat a Savor, the Lord Jesus Chrst, who wll transform her lowly body to be lke Hs glorous body, by the power that enables Hm even to subject all thngs to Hmself. Therefore my beloved, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand frm n the Lord. Rejoce n the Lord always; agan I wll say, Rejoce! Father, teach her how to be content n every stuaton. Help her to know how to be brought low, and how to abound. In any and every crcumstance show her the secret of facng plenty and hunger, abundance and need. Strengthen her to do all thngs through You. Please supply every need of hers accordng to Your rches n glory n Chrst Jesus. To You, our God and Father, be glory forever and ever! May the grace of the Lord Jesus Chrst be wth her sprt. Amen (Phlppans 3 & 4). When you encounter tral and sufferng, what s the content of your prayer? If yours s prmarly a plea for relef from sufferng, then please know that ths s bblcal. It s certanly not unbblcal. We re encouraged by God n Scrpture to pray for relef from sufferng. But ths should never be the exclusve focus of our prayers n those tmes. ~C.J. Mahaney Water of the Word 232

234 Soveregn LORD of Zon, Let my ncomparable wfe sng aloud and shout! May she rejoce and exult wth all her heart as a daughter of Jerusalem. For You have taken away the judgments aganst her because of Chrst. You have cleared away her enemes death, sn, and Satan. Let her never agan fear evl, for You the Kng of Israel, the LORD are near her. May she not fear, and let not her hands grow weak. O daughter of Zon, the LORD your God s wth you, a mghty one who wll save; He rejoces over you wth gladness; He quets you by Hs love; He exults over You wth loud sngng. LORD God, when she mourns, please gather her and brng her to Your festval, so that she wll no longer suffer reproach. Deal wth all her oppressors. Change her shame nto prase and renown n all the earth. Restore her fortunes so that You wll be renowned and prased among all the peoples of the earth (Zephanah 3). Restranng pray r, we cease to fght; Pray r makes the Chrstan s armour brght. ~Wllam Cowper Water of the Word 233

235 God our Savor, Thank You for Chrst Jesus our hope. Watch over my splendd wfe and guard her from those who teach any dfferent doctrne, or devote themselves to myths, who promote speculatons rather than the good order from You that s by fath. And as you protect her, fll her wth the love that ssues from a pure heart and a good conscence and a sncere fath. Let her not swerve from these, or wander away nto van dscusson. I thank You, Chrst Jesus my Lord, for gvng her strength, and because You judged her fathful, appontng her to Your servce, though formerly she was so unworthy. O beloved, rejoce! Remember that you receved mercy, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for you wth the fath and love that are n Chrst Jesus. I prase You, Father, for showng her mercy, so that n her Jesus Chrst mght dsplay Hs perfect patence as an example to those who are to beleve n Hm for eternal lfe. To You, the Kng of ages, mmortal, nvsble, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever! Amen (I Tmothy 1). There s nothng so abnormal, so unworldly, so supernatural, n human lfe as prayer. The whole Chrstan lfe n so far as t s lved from the Cross and by the Cross s ratonally an extravagance. ~P.T. Forsyth Water of the Word 234

236 Mghty LORD, I entrust my peerless wfe entrely to Your charge and care, n accordance wth Your grace n Chrst Jesus toward her. By Your power may she wage the good warfare, holdng fath and a good conscence. Let her never make shpwreck of her fath! Help me to be a man who prays wthout anger or quarrelng. And contnue to gve her the wsdom and desre to adorn herself n respectable apparel, wth modesty and self-control, not merely wth braded har and gold or pearls or costly attre, but wth what s proper for women who profess godlness wth good works. Let her be the knd of woman who learns quetly wth all submssveness. Protect her from those who depart from the fath by devotng themselves to decetful sprts and teachngs of demons. Let her have nothng to do wth rreverent, slly myths. Rather tran her for godlness, for whle bodly tranng s of some value, godlness s of value n every way, as t holds promse for the present lfe and also for the lfe to come. May she tol and strve to ths end, because she has her hope set on You, the lvng God (I Tmothy 1, 2, 4). If we do not abde n prayer, we shall abde n cursed temptatons. ~John Owen Water of the Word 235

237 Savor of the weak, Let my precous wfe set an example for belevers n speech, n conduct, n love, n fath, n purty. Make her fnd full delght n the sound words of our Lord Jesus Chrst and the teachng that accords wth godlness. And keep her from an unhealthy cravng for controversy and for quarrels about words. Let her nstead pursue godlness wth contentment, for theren there s great gan. May she be content that she has food and clothng, and let her not desre to be rch. O beloved, let us remnd each other that those who desre to be rch fall nto temptaton, nto a snare, nto many senseless and harmful desres that plunge people nto run and destructon. Father, guard us from cravng rches! For the love of money s the root of all knds of evls. Keep us from the fate of those who, through ths cravng, have wandered away from the fath and perced themselves wth many pangs. Let our love and cravng be for Chrst (I Tmothy 4 & 6). For, as for my heart, when I go to pray, I fnd t so loth to go to God, and when t s wth hm, so loth to stay wth hm, that many tmes I am forced n my Prayers; frst to beg God that he would take mne heart, and set t on hmself n Chrst, and when t s there, that he would keep t there (Psalm 86.11). ~John Bunyan Water of the Word 236

238 Father of glory, As for my pure wfe, let her flee from the desre to be rch and the love of money. Help and enable her to pursue wth renewed vgor rghteousness, godlness, fath, love, steadfastness, and gentleness. Strengthen her to fght the good fght of the fath, and to take hold of the eternal lfe to whch she was called. O beloved, I charge you n the presence of God, who gves lfe to all thngs, and of Chrst Jesus, to keep your conduct unstaned and free from reproach untl the appearng of our Lord Jesus Chrst, whch He wll dsplay at the proper tme He who s the blessed and only Soveregn, the Kng of kngs and Lord of lords, who alone has mmortalty, who dwells n unapproachable lght, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To You, O God, be honor and eternal domnon! If You bless us wth plenty, let us never become haughty or set our hopes on the uncertanty of rches. Rather cause us to set our hopes on You the One who rchly provdes us wth everythng to enjoy. Help us together to do good, to be rch n good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storng up treasure for ourselves as a good foundaton for the future so that we may take hold of that whch s truly lfe (I Tmothy 6). Water of the Word 237

239 God and Father, May grace, mercy, and peace be multpled to my dearest wfe. I thank You as I remember her constantly n my prayers nght and day. Thank You for grantng me a woman who flls me wth joy wth each new sght of her. Please grow her fath n sncerty. Fan nto flame the gfts You have gven her, and remnd her that You gave us a sprt not of fear but of power and love and self-control. Therefore let her not be ashamed of the testmony about our Lord, but by Your power cause her to rejoce to share n sufferng for the gospel. For You are the one who saved her and called us to a holy callng, not because of her works but because of Your own purpose and grace, whch You gave her n Chrst Jesus before the ages began. Thank You that He s her Savor, even He who abolshed death and brought lfe and mmortalty to lght through the gospel. Let her not be ashamed to suffer for ths gospel, for she knows whom she has beleved. Convnce her that You are able to guard what has been entrusted to her untl that Day. O beloved, follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from the Scrptures, n the fath and love that are n Chrst Jesus. By the Holy Sprt who dwells wthn us, guard the good depost entrusted to you (II Tmothy 1). It s not well for a man to pray cream and lve skm mlk. ~Henry Ward Beecher Water of the Word 238

240 Father n heaven, Please strengthen my beautful wfe by the grace that s n Chrst Jesus, so that she may be able to share n sufferng as Hs good solder. May she constantly remember Jesus Chrst, rsen from the dead, the offsprng of Davd. Let her rejoce to endure everythng for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtan the salvaton that s n Chrst Jesus wth eternal glory. O beloved, the sayng s trustworthy, for: If we have ded wth Hm, we wll also lve wth Hm; f we endure, we wll also regn wth Hm; f we deny Hm, He also wll deny us; f we are fathless, He remans fathful for He cannot deny Hmself. O God, remnd her of these thngs. Compel her to do her best to present herself to You as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rghtly handlng the word of truth. May she avod rreverent babble, for t wll lead people nto more and more ungodlness, and ther talk wll spread lke gangrene. Thank You that Your frm foundaton stands, bearng ths seal: The Lord knows those who are Hs, and Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from nquty (II Tmothy 2). Were t not for the Sprt, none would be able to persevere n prayer. A man wthout the help of the Sprt, John Bunyan once declared, cannot so much as pray once; much less, contnue n a sweet prayng frame. It needs to be noted that, for all who persevere n ths struggle and dscplne of prayer, there are tmes of exquste delght when the struggle, and duty sldes over nto pure joy. ~Mchael A. G. Haykn Water of the Word 239

241 Holy Master, Let my dear wfe cleanse herself from what s dshonorable so that she wll be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to You, ready for every good work. Make her flee youthful passons and pursue rghteousness, fath, love, and peace, along wth those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. May she have nothng to do wth foolsh, gnorant controverses, snce they breed quarrels. Let her not be quarrelsome but knd to everyone. Help her to patently endure evl. Protect her from those who are lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusve, dsobedent to ther parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, wthout selfcontrol, brutal, not lovng good, treacherous, reckless, swollen wth concet, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of You, havng the appearance of godlness, but denyng ts power. Help her to avod such people. Enable me to lead her rghteously n my teachng, my conduct, my am n lfe, my fath, my patence, my love, my steadfastness, and my persecutons and sufferngs. Indeed, beloved, let me remnd you that all who desre to lve a godly lfe n Chrst Jesus wll be persecuted, whle evl people and mposters wll go on from bad to worse, decevng and beng deceved. But as for her, Lord God, may she contnue n what she has learned and has frmly beleved, becomng more and more acquanted wth the sacred wrtngs, whch are able to make her wse for salvaton through fath n Chrst Jesus. Increase her love for Scrpture. May what You have breathed out teach her, reprove her, correct her, and tran Water of the Word 240

242 her n rghteousness, that she may be competent, equpped for every good work (II Tmothy 2 & 3). My smple exhortaton s ths: Let us take tme ths very day to rethnk our prortes and how prayer fts n. Make some new resolve. Try some new venture wth God. Set a tme. Set a place. Choose a porton of Scrpture to gude you. Don t be tyrannzed by the press of busy days. We all need mdcourse correctons. Make ths a day of turnng to prayer for the glory of God and for the fullness of your joy. ~John Pper Water of the Word 241

243 God and Father of Chrst Jesus, who s to judge the lvng and the dead, May my ncomparable wfe delght n and spread Your word all the more. Make her ready to bear wtness to Chrst s appearng and Hs kngdom n season and out of season. Let her reprove, rebuke, and exhort her ssters n Chrst wth complete patence and teachng. Guard her from becomng a woman who wll not endure sound teachng one who, havng tchng ears, accumulates for herself teachers to sut her own passons, and turns away from lstenng to the truth and wanders off nto myths. May t never be! Instead, keep her always sober-mnded. Enable her to endure sufferng, to do the work of an evangelst, and to fulfll the mnstry to whch You have called her. O Father, please strengthen her to fght the good fght. Carry her onward to fnsh the race. Keep her so that she mght keep the fath. Effect her heart to love Chrst s appearng all the more, so that there may be lad up for her the crown of rghteousness, whch He, the rghteous judge, wll award to her on that Day. May Chrst Jesus and Hs grace be wth her sprt. Amen (II Tmothy 4). May God gve us a heart and a wll to make prayer, prayer for the exaltaton of God and extenson of the kngdom, a daly realty n our lves. ~Mchael A. G. Haykn Water of the Word 242

244 Appendx Books Quoted Bounds, E.M. Man of Prayer Brdges, Jerry. Trustng God: Even When Lfe Hurts Brother Lawrence. The Practce of the Presence of God Buttrck, George A. Prayer Carson, D.A. Call to Sprtual Reformaton: Prortes from Paul and Hs Prayers D Gang, Maroano. A Golden Treasury of Purtan Devotons Dubay, Thomas. The Evdental Power of Beauty Edwards, Jonathan. Relgous Affectons Edwards, Jonathan. The Works of Jonathan Edwards, Vol. 2 Forsyth, P.T. The Soul of Prayer Grudem, Wayne. Systematc Theology Haykn, Mchael. The God Who Draws Near Hoser, Helen. Jonathan Edwards: The Great Awakener Mahaney, C.J. Humlty: True Greatness Mason, Mke. Practcng the Presence of People Mason, Mke. The Gospel Accordng to Job Mason, Mke. The Mystery of Marrage Merton, Thomas. Contemplatve Prayer Montgomery, L.M. Emly Clmbs Montgomery, L.M. The Story Grl Mueller, George. Autobography of George Mueller Murray, Ian. Jonathan Edwards: A New Bography Owen, John. The Glory of Chrst Packer, J.I. Evangelsm and the Soveregnty of God Pper, John, and Justn Taylor. A God Entranced Vson of All Thngs Pper, John. A Hunger for God: Desrng God Through Fastng and Prayer Pper, John. Perced by the Word Pper, John. The Pleasures of God Pper, John. The Roots of Endurance Pper, John. What Jesus Demands from the World Spurgeon, Charles. Lectures to My Students Torrey, R.A. How to Pray Tozer, A. W. God Tells the Man Who Cares Ware, Bruce. God s Greater Glory Whtney, Donald. Sprtual Dscplnes for the Chrstan Lfe Whyte, Alexander. Lord Teach Us to Pray Water of the Word 243

245 For Further Readng on the Subject of Prayer Bennett, Arthur. The Valley of Vson: Purtan Prayers and Devotons Calvn, John. The Insttutes of Chrstan Relgon (Book 3) Carson, D.A. Teach Us to Pray: Prayer n the Bble and the World Henry, Matthew. A Method for Prayer Hunter, W. Bngham. The God Who Hears Johnstone, Patrck, Operaton World: A day-to-day gude to prayng for the world Owen, John. Communon Wth God Palmer, B.M. Theology of Prayer Pper, John. Desrng God (Chapter 6) Pper, John. When I Don t Desre God: How to Fght for Joy Pratt, Jr. Rchard L. Pray Wth Your Eyes Open Spurgeon, Charles. Prayer and Sprtual Warfare For Further Readng on the Subject of Marrage Chapell, Bryan, and Kathy Chapell. Each for the Other: Marrage As It s Meant to Be Greenwood, Glenn, and Latayne C. Scott. A Marrage Made n Heaven Harvey, Dave. When Snners Say, I Do Köstenberger, Andreas J. God, Marrage, and Famly Lepne, Bob. The Chrstan Husband Mahaney, C.J. Sex, Romance, and the Glory of God: What Every Chrstan Husband Needs to Know Mason, Mke. The Mystery of Marrage Pper, John. Ths Momentary Marrage Prolo, Lou. The Complete Husband Rccuc, Gary, and Betsy Rccuc. Love That Lasts: When Marrage Meets Grace Trpp, Paul. What Dd You Expect?: Redeemng the Realtes of Marrage Wlson, Douglas. Federal Husband Wlson, Douglas. Fdelty: What It Means to Be a One- Woman Man Wlson, Douglas. Reformng Marrage Water of the Word 244

246 Index of Prayers by Bblcal Book & Chapter OLD TESTAMENT Exodus: Deuteronomy: & II Samuel: I Kngs: II Kngs: I Chroncles: , 191 II Chroncles: 6 & Nehemah: Job: 1, 2, 4, , 9, & & & , 19, 21, & & Psalms: 2, 4, 5, , 13, 16, & & & & , 30, , 33, , 35, , 39, , 42, , 47, 48, & , 54, 56, , 61, , 66, & , 73, 76, & Water of the Word 245

247 & , 91, , 94, & , 102, , 107, , 109, , 113, , 116, , 130, 128, & , 141, 142, , 144, , 149, Proverbs: 1, 2, 3, , 16, Isaah: 1 & , 4, , 6, 7, , 11, & & & & & & & , 43, , 46, & & & & , 56, & & & & & & Jeremah: 9 & Hosea: Water of the Word 246

248 2 & , 6, , 8, , Zephanah: NEW TESTAMENT Matthew: & & & & & , 14, & & & & John: 1 & & & & Romans: 1 & & & & & & & I Cornthans: Galatans: 5 & 6 20 Ephesans: 1 & & & Phlppans: 2 & & & & & Colossans: & & 3 74 I Thessalonans: 3 81 II Thessalonans 1 & 2 81 I Tmothy: , 2, Water of the Word 247

249 4 & II Tmothy & Hebrews: & , 9, & James: 1 88 I Peter: 1 & & & II Peter: & I John: I John 2 72 Jude: 72 Water of the Word 248

250 Also avalable from Andrew Case: Settng Ther Hope n GOD: Bblcal Intercesson for Your Chldren Prayers of an Excellent Wfe These books do not exst to make money. They exst to edfy the Church, spread and deepen a passon for Scrpture, and adorn the Gospel. Ths s why we offer them for free onlne and sell them for as lttle as possble. If anyone smply cannot afford to pay for these books, there s a Whatever-You-Can-Afford polcy. We wll accept whatever you re able to pay even f t s nothng. It s our joy and delght to gve freely what has been freely gven to us (Matthew 10:8). We never want to make cost an obstacle n the way of the gospel of Chrst (I Cornthans 9:12). So f you d lke a copy of a book, but your lmted cash-flow prevents t, don t be ashamed! Just contact us and let us know what you d lke, and t wll be our pleasure to fll your request. Phone: Emal: andrewdcase@gmal.com Download Water of the Word, Prayers of an Excellent Wfe, or Settng Ther Hope n GOD (as PDF) onlne for free at: 4HM3HHEE Use ths coupon code to order Prayers of an Excellent Wfe, Settng Ther Hope n GOD, or ths book for less than $5 per copy. Go to HsMagnfcence.com and clck on Books, and there wll be lnks on that page whch wll drect you to the store where you can use the coupon code. It does not expre and has no quantty lmts. Water of the Word 249

251