Preparing to be a Help Meet Chapter 3

Read Chapter 2 HERE.

Opening Q's:

• What sort of man attracts you? Forceful, Gentle, Artistic. Thoughtful, Athletic, Brainy? (this is not necessaryily talking about what you WANT, but the type of man you find yourself most often drawn towards and attracted to)
• Did you know that God created men to express different aspects of His image?
• Which expression would best suit you? 

Chapter 3 Summary--"The Prophet"
Genesis 1:26 "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness". What is God's image? What is God's likeness? The word OUR is plural. Why does God refer to himself as more than one ("our")? What does the word likeness mean? What does the word image convey? This chapter answers these questions and gives you some understanding about men & God at the same time. It goes on to talk about why God refers to himself as OUR--he is 3 persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I am not talking about the "Trinity", but the 3 individual persons that make up who God is.

Debi Pearl says, "As a man moves into his late twenties and early thirties his image will become much more pronounced". Your husband will fall into one of three categories: Prophet/Visionary, Priest/Steady Man, or King/Command Man. Once you can identify your type of man, it will help you better understand him and men in general. So do women reflect varied expressions of God's love? You will have to wait to find out the answer to this question for a few more chapters.

What is a Prophet-type? This is reflected in God's person as the Holy Spirit. It is also referred to as a Visionary-type. This type of man is a shaker, dreamer, and changer. They seek to change things from the way they are done in an effort to make it better. Prophet type men are more confrontational and always have a "cause". They communicate through words, music, writing, art, or actions. Debi Pearl says that "good-hearted prophets can be a lot of fun. They are never Mr. Dull. They can love with a passion and be aggressively loyal to their friends and family. They can take the lead in calling the world to repentance and showing then a path or righteousness." They focus on issues in varying derees.

This type of man will make a great boyfriend because he will focus totally on his sweetie--very romantic. You will become his passion and dream come true...until a short time after marriage. Then, as his new bride, you will feel abandoned as he turns his focus onto another "cause". Don't be offended, but you need to be ready to "ooh" and "aah" when he comes back to share his new vision and cause with you. When he does turn his attention back to you, all other women will be jealous because you will have the most romantic man around!

Understand this truth no matter what type of man you marry: You need a life, a vibrant life before your man comes on teh scene. A clingy useless wife that lacks drive, goals, ambitions, or a dream is just that--useless.

One unmarried commentator says, "a girl who lives a static life of waiting to be married is not attractive. Think what it conveys. 'I'll just sit here idly while waiting for someone to come and give me a purpose, and a house and money and food and make me happy and love me.' It's very needy. A mand wasnts a companion not a sympathy case."

These type of men were likely to conquer the Wild West because of their zeal for adventure. They are either rich or poor. The great part about a Prophet man is that he is creative and tenacious in the face of difficulty. The downside is that if they are not wise, they can be foolish by pushing their agenda onto people and forcing others to go their way. A stable and supportive woman helps to keep a Prophet productive rather than destructive. A Prophet type needs a woman with a positive outlook on life who is wise and prudent. She needs to learn how to be flexible and how to always be loyal to her man. ONCE YOU MARRY, your honor and allegiance belongs to YOUR MAN. [I capitalized those parts to stress that prior to marriage your allegance belongs to your parents or guardian, and then after marriage you must give your honor to your husband over your parents. This is not to say you cannot respect your parents and still honor them, but it will be different.]

Standing by his side, you will allow your husband to be confident that he is the man he is supposed to be. If you marry this type of man, learn to enjoy the ride. You will be his most important fan.

Other thoughts...
* He will talk and talk and talk and talk if he feels his honey approves of him. He will greatly need his wife to think objectively and use common sense.
* He will not notice what he eats, do don't be offended if he doesn't compliment your cooking.
* He is an initiator and provoker.
* He is intense on matters that can easily be blown out of proportion. So his wife must guard against negative conversation about people.
* He might spend money unwisely, leaving his wife feeling insecure. It will be vital that his wife remembers and stays focused on the fact that her treasure is not of this world. Treasure your husband and children, but don't mourn over moneytary and material things.
* He needs a woman who does not take offense easily.

Proverbs 24:3-4 "Through wisdom is a house builded; and by understanding it is established: and by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches."

Moral to the Story: Be flexible for your man.

A Caution:
Your most important job as a Prophet's wife is keeping a chaste and commonsense attitude and conversation (not bad-mouthing folks). Without it (keeping a chaste and commonsense attitude and conversation) your marriage will be miserable.

Your Treasure Chest:
* What can you do to prepare yourself to be a good wife of a Prophet?
* Will you start today praying for this wild man?
* Find all the statements (in this chapter) that list what you need to become to be a good help meet for a Prophet-type.

My Challenge to You
* Take a sheet of pretty paper and write a commitment: "I, ____________, make a commitment this day, ________, to honor, reverence, and obey my Prophet/Visionary husband for the man he is. I will appreciate his dreams; I will not listen to anyone bad mouthing him, and I will remember that I am his help meet to stand with him on all that he wants to accomplish," etc. Roll it up, tie it with a ribbon, and tuck it away in your Treasure Chest. If you marry a Prophet man, this document might save your husband a whole lot of irritation.

* How do you know if you would like to marry a Prophet/ Visionary type man? Ask yourself this: If you were married and one day he announced that he was moving the whole family to Iraq to minister, how would you respond?

* Read:

• Matthew 12:36
• 1 Timothy 4:12
• Ephesians 2:3
• Ephesians 4:22-32
• Philippians 1:27
• Philippians 3:20
• 1 Peter 1:15
• Hebrews 13:5
• James 3:13-18
• 1 Peter 3:1-2 and 16

*What are traits needed to be married to a Prophet-type? What do they mean and look like?
         -One character trait is Faith: Hebrews 11:1-40

* Search your heart to discover your motive in what you say about others. What is your intent when you speak? Do you criticize in order to build yourself up and make others think that you are perfect?

* Do a study on the word shamefacedness and idleness. What do they mean? How do they apply in relationships? You will find out more about it in Chapter 4.