DAY 15 - PRAY FOR HIS REPUTATION.
A good reputation is a fragile thing, especially in this day of rapid communication and mass media. Just being in the wrong place at the wrong time can ruin a person's life. A reputation is not something to be taken lightly. A good name is to be chosen over great riches (Proverbs 22:1) and is better than the "precious ointment" (Ecclesiastes 7:1). It's something to value and protect.
A person who doesn't value his reputation may someday desire credibility and not find it. Our reputations can be ruined by wrong things we do, by the people with whom we are associated, or by disparaging words spoken about us. In all three cases, evil is involved. One unfortunate course case, a significant round of gossip, an evil influence, an unflattering newspaper article, or fifteen minutes of notoriety can destroy everything a man has worked for all his life. Prayer is our only defense.
A vitreous wife, the Bible says, has a husband who is respected. He is "known in the gates, when he sits among the elders of the land" (Proverbs 31:23). Does that just happen? Is every vitreous wife guaranteed a husband with a good reputation? Or does she have something to do with that? It's true that a man gets a certain amount of respect for having a good wife, but I believe one of the good things she does is pray for him and his reputation.
Prayer for your husband's reputation should be an ongoing process. However, keep in mind that he has a free will. If he is not sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit, he may still choose to go his own way and get into trouble. If something like that happens or has already happened to tarnish his reputation, pray for God to redeem the situation and bring good out of it. He can do that too.
PRAYER
Lord, I pray that (husband's name( will have a reputation that is untarnished. I know that a man is often valued "by what others says of him" *Proverbs 27:21), so I pray that he will be respected in our town and people will speak highly of him. You've said in Your Word that "a curse without cause shall not align" (Proverbs 26:2). I pray that there would never be any reason for bad things to be said of hum. Keep hum out if legal entanglements. Protect us from lawsuits and criminal proceedings. Deliver him from his enemies, O God. Defend him from those who rise up to do him harm (Psalm 58:1). Fight against those who fight against him (Psalm 35:1). If You are fur us, who can be against us (Romans 8:31)?
Your Word says that "a good tree cannot beat bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into he fire" (Matthew 7:18,19). I pray that my husband will bear good fruit out if the goodness that is within him, and that he will be known by the good that he does. May the fruits of honesty, trustworthiness and humility sweeten all his dealings so that his reputation will never be spoiled.
Preserve his life from the enemy, hide him from the secret counsel of the wicked. Pull him out of any net which has been laid for him (Psalm 31:4). Keep him sage from evil gossiping mouths. Where the has been ill spoken of him, touch the lips of those who speak it with Your refining fire. Let the responsibility of those involved be revealed. Let them be ashamed and brought to confusion who seek to destroy his life; let them be driven backward and brought to dishonour who wish him evil (Psalm 40:14). May he trust in You and not be a raid of what an can do to him (Psalm 56:11). For You have said whoever believe in You will not be put to shame (Romans 10:11). Lead him, guide him and be his mighty fortress and hiding place. May His light so shine before men that they see his good works and glorify You, Lord ( Matthew 5:16).
Amen.
SCRIPTURES FOR MEDITATION
Psalm 64:2,3
Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked, From the rebellion of the workers of iniquity, Who sharpen their tongue like a sword, And bend their bows to shoot their arrows—bitter words,
Psalm 31:17,18
Do not let me be ashamed, O Lord, for I have called upon You; Let the wicked be ashamed; Let them be silent in the grave.Let the lying lips be put to silence, Which speak insolent things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous.
Matthew 5:11,12
“Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Proverbs 25:8-10
Do not go hastily to court; For what will you do in the end,When your neighbor has put you to shame? Debate your case with your neighbor, And do not disclose the secret to another; Lest he who hears it expose your shame, And your reputation be ruined.
#inspired...ann #WiseQuotes
*Stomie Omartian, The Power of a Praying Wife(2006)
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