Following the Irish Queen's Example

Ireland 2011 - A picture from our honeymoon

Once upon a time, in a land not so quite far away, there lived a king in the country of Ireland. This king was a pagan, worshipping many gods and the earth in  hopes of good harvest and peace. One day, this king married a beautiful woman, which was promised to him.

But soon after the wedding, the king began to notice something strange about his new wife. She would go out of the castle at night for an hour or two at a time, and come in just as humbly as she walked out.

Another man has the Queen’s attention!  The king thought bitterly. I shall find this man and show him what happens to those who play around with my bride! Then I’ll show her!

The king planned to sneak out of the castle and follow the queen to her lovers house. He garnished himself in a dark cloak and followed the queen, as planned, at a distance.

She did not go into the town like he thought she would lead him. Instead she walked deep into the woods that protected the castle like thistles, for that what was mostly there. 

Soon she led him to a cave. Startled and confused, he crept behind her and watched her go into the cave, where not far into it, she lit several candles. He quietly tip toed to the mouth of the cave and peered inside, expecting to see her lover standing there with her.

Instead, what he saw shocked him. In the middle of the cave stood a wooden cross. At the foot of the cross was the candles, flickering that way and this way, according to the drafts of the cave.

The king watched the queen bow down before the cross, her head bowed. Then she looked up and spoke. “My dear Jesus, I come here before You to ask for guidance for my husband, the king of Ireland. As You know, he is king to many and is a great lord to all those who are under his authority. Give my husband wisdom on how to lead. Give him the understanding on how to run this great nation!

“Bless him all the days of his reign. Bless his decisions. Bless his kingdom. Allow his kingdom that You have given him to prosper and be wealthy all the days of his life.”

And so the queen went on and on in her prayer, blessing her husband and asking the Lord to give him wisdom, understanding, and grace all the days of his reign.

 

This is a true Irish story, from what I understand. I chose to tell it in a story form so it wouldn’t bore you otherwise. The ending is sweet because the king later becomes a Christian and it was all because his wife prayed for him whenever he thought she was unfaithful. But she was the most faithful since she took time out of her day to speak blessings on a pagan husband.

There are lessons to be learned in this story, but I am going to stick with just one lesson. As you can tell, the queen did not nag the king to become a Christian. She didn’t preach to his face, or judged him. Instead, she prayed for him, believing that God would do the work on her behalf.

Because of her faithfulness to her Father in heaven and her prayers, the king became a Christian. His heart was so touched by what she did in secret that his heart was turned to the Light.

How many of us can say the same thing? How many of us have compared our husband – out loud - to other husbands or men? How many of us have nag our husbands on why they couldn’t come to church this morning or how they couldn’t take out the trash? “Just that one simple chore and you couldn’t do it!” You might say. Or you might not, but what does your husband hear?

Ladies, I’m speaking for myself, but there is one thing I am learning and it’s this:

WE CANNOT CHANGE OUR HUSBANDS. THAT IS NOT OUR JOB.

If you want your husband to change, then change yourself. Change your heart for him. Pray for him. Ask God’s blessing to be on his head. Pursue your husband. Befriend him. Love him. Respect him.

The change begins with me, not him. God is more concerned about you and how you handle situations rather than how you nag your husband to handle a situation. Plus you’re taking God’s place when you try to change your husband.

I am learning to go before God to complain to Him about my husband. Just the other day, my husband made me mad, I fumed for hours and cried. The next day, I told God how mad and upset I was at him. I raged and said some choice words, which was not spiritual, or mature, of me to do.

Afterwards though, I asked God to help me forgive him. Help me love my husband where he is today. Help me to see my husband through God’s eyes so that I may love him more.

I felt lighter and freer. I felt like I could truly let my anger go. Oh, believe me, when my husband came home, I had thoughts reminding me of how he made me cry the day before run through my head. I knew it was Satan and I just thought, “I can’t think like that now.”

I was free to forgive and to love on my husband. If I had stayed angry, the night would have been cold and unforgiving, which is what Satan wanted.

I heard once that a person gets to where they are because someone prayed for them. Are you your husband’s prayer warrior? Are you praying for God’s blessings on him today? Are you willing to tell Satan, “Get away from me!” so you can pray for your husband? Are you praying for protection throughout the day for your husband, so God can protect his mind and heart against the evil one? If not, then why not?

The queen in the story above prayed for her husband and blessings upon him. The Irish queen set us an example. Let’s live it today so we can bless our husbands through prayer and words of encouragement!