I was sitting on a yellow vintage couch in a beautiful home in Maui. I remember studying God’s truth with a few ladies my age. For a month we were going to go through the book “How to Pray for Your Future Husband” by Robin Jones Gunn. None of us were married, or were even dating for that matter.

One quote by her I’ll never forget though. It said, “Ladies, pray for your men. Satan’s game plan is to take down the leaders, the men. Only God’s Spirit can draw a man to seek Him and free him to be the man, and leader God wants for him to be. Whether you marry or not, DO BATTLE! Pray!”

Do battle I thought?

Me?

The girl whose dad laughed at the army recruiter when they called my house seeing if I wanted to join the army my senior year?

The girl who, although has gone on adventures all over the world, is scared to go on public buses, walk the streets of downtown L.A., and walk from my car to my house at night?

But I’ll never forget that afternoon, sitting there with those women, moved to the very depths of my soul, my spirit stirred deep within, saying “Yes! Fight for our men.”

My heart has been so heavy lately for boys and men in our culture. On average, boys are exposed to pornography at age 8-11. No longer is it a question of if they’ve seen porn or not, but whether or not they’re addicted, and most are. Video games are rampant in our culture. The most popular among games are ones that include high violence, and advancement to the next level is achieved by killing a certain number of people.

I see boys becoming apathetic, lazy, rebellious, angry. They have contests at school to see who can get the lowest GPA. They revel in one-night stands. They compete, trying to sleep with the most girls, or better yet, sleep with the most wanted girls. Boys are staying boys well into their 30′s, living at home and having their moms provide for them. So many boys grow up without fathers at home, or if they are home, they may not be present.

So where do these boys learn to be men?

MTV?

The radio?

Older friends?

I’ve seen this over and over the past 3 years interning for the youth ministry at my church, and now working at a Christian high school.

It’s so easy for me to get sad, disheartened and discouraged. Where have all the good men gone!? What’s going to become of this next generation!? What’s going to happen when I have kids?

Have you ever found yourself asking these same questions?

There is nothing more that Satan wants than to steal, kill and destroy us. (John 10:10) And the best way to do that is to take down our men. God created men to be our leaders. When you go into battle, the goal is always to take down the leaders, the commanders, the king, because once they fall, you’ve got them all.

There is a battle going on that we can’t see. Most of us most likely won’t go into the army, we may not play sports, and we may be afraid to ride public transportation! But we are called to fight. Ladies, the time has come. Rise up. Commit yourself to prayer. Take up your shield of faith and the sword of the spirit.

AND PRAY.

FERVENTLY.

WHOLE-HEARTEDLY.

CONTINUALLY.

We as women have a high calling on our lives. We have the joy of going before our Father’s throne and uplifting the men in our lives to Him. To the King of Kings. The Loving Father. The Holy God. The Mighty One. He is all-powerful and He is more than able to change hearts, stir in spirits, give wisdom to the humble, lead the weak, and give power. He sees us. He knows our hearts. He is raising up men for this generation to be like Him, to serve Him, to be laborers among the harvest, to disciple younger men, and you have the opportunity to join in on His work.

Don’t just pray for your future husband. Pray for your brother, father, pastors, professors, and friends.

Don’t sit on the sidelines and watch.

Gear up. Bow down. And pray. Watch God work, change, transform, and move in these men. He is faithful. He hears our cries. DO BATTLE.

“For a people shall dwell in Zion, in Jerusalem; you shall weep no more. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry. As soon as He hears it, He answers you” (Isaiah 30:19 ESV).

Ladies, do you pray for the men in your life?