A Single Reflection
Column by Eileen Hershberger

What a silly question you may ask, of course I pray! I am a child of God, serving Him every day, how can I not pray. However, I have a reason for asking it and the question is one that has been a challenge to me over the last year or so. The question is simply this. What do you pray for? Do you pray ... for a (godly) husband? for the desires of your heart? If anyone of us were truly honest with ourselves, I believe one of our greatest and deepest desires is to have a godly husband. I know that it is one of mine. I may not talk about it much, or let the desire control my life but it is there, in the deepest parts of me. And unfortunately, I am much better at letting it reside in the farthest corner of my heart than taking it out, dusting it off and praying about it, seeking direction from God. It is easier to leave it hidden than to pray about it.

Being honest and praying about this desire is scary. Maybe your dream is something different, perhaps a new career or job, a new place to live, a child…whatever it may be, it will never happen if we don’t start praying about it. It may feel awkward at first because it is such a personal thing and the temptation will be to just keep it hidden and keep on living the way you have been. But is that really what you want ... to just keep living the way you have been living?

We need to develop a deeper relationship with God and trust Him with those big, impossible dreams of our hearts. Prayer is the key. When we work to cultivate a strong prayer life, it affects every other area of our life. We begin to see God at work all around us and in us and through us. A greater understanding of what it means to be a woman who loves the Lord emerges and we begin to view those hidden dreams a bit differently. They are no longer left to die in the hidden recess of our hearts, but can be viewed through the lens of whether or not this is something God would have us pursue or perhaps surrender and be replaced with another dream or desire.

When we begin to pray about the desires of our hearts, we also need to be ready to be challenged. God will bring things, circumstances and people that work together to reveal things about ourselves, our beliefs and our habits that we may not want to see or admit too. But we need to be willing to work on those things in order to become the women God calls us to be. It is not just enough to make it a matter of prayer; we have to be willing to work on becoming the kind of woman a godly man desires. And most importantly, no matter what the answer to the prayers about the desires of our hearts may be, we will have developed a stronger prayer life, a greater trust in the God we serve and a deeper knowledge of who He is and the love He has for us. In the end, those are the things that really matter, not whether we are married or single. Our value is found in being a child of God, not in being a wife or mother.

About the Author: Eileen Hershberger is a full-time student pursuing a degree in Early Childhood Education, and a part-time server. She enjoys reading, music, travel and baseball when not working or studying.

© 2008 Eileen Hershberger.