²³ When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose, ²⁴ for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord. Acts 11:23–24

(Pastor) Joby has that tattooed on his arm. It was his very first of many tattoos, and he has always said, “This is what I want people to say about me at my funeral.” Not that he was a good hunter, golfer or fisherman. Not that he was a good communicator or preacher. But that he was full of the Holy Spirit and that many people came to know the Lord because of his witness. 

Don’t we all want that for our men? We want them to be remembered for who they were spiritually, not merely humanly.  

This summer, our church launched a 6am men’s Bible study that met every Tuesday morning for two months. Over 1,400 men attended the first morning’s session. They traveled from all over—Gainesville, Fleming Island, Orange Park—not short drives. These men were eager and hungry for God’s Word. 

When I woke up that morning, I had numerous text messages with pictures of a full parking lot and men sitting or standing wherever they could find space throughout the church. And all the exciting messages I received came from the women in our church. 

The men in our lives need us to pray for them—husbands, sons, fathers, brothers, uncles, cousins, friends. Behind every spiritually healthy man is a prayerful woman. I can’t count the times I’ve fallen on my knees and cried out to God for my husband, my son, my dad and my friends—in times of turmoil and pain and in times of thanksgiving and praise. 

I have a friend I wish could have been here this morning to see this gathering of faithful men. He built our church. We met Brad 16 years ago when (Pastor) Joby discovered he was a contractor and thought he’d be helpful on one of our Jamaica mission trips. Brad quickly became one of (Pastor) Joby’s best friends and part of our family. He was “Uncle Brad” to the kids and always there when we needed him.

One night, when the kids were very young and we had just moved into our house, all the fire alarms went off at the same time. Imagine that—it was loud and terrifying—and (Pastor) Joby was out of town. Not just out of town—he was in Africa. The first person I knew would answer the phone at 2am was Brad. He arrived at our house within minutes, fixing every fire alarm while I calmed the kids down.

Brad never married, and he came to know the Lord after we met him. He was baptized in Jamaica during one of our mission trips! In fact, (Pastor) Joby once asked him, “Brad, how in the world are you still single?” Brad replied, “Well, it was really fun until I met you.” 

Brad went to be with the Lord four years ago while we were in Scotland with some of our closest friends. We miss him every day.

Brad was a faithful man. He loved Jesus, dedicated his life to building churches and I never saw him upset. He was always happy—always smiling. He wasn’t perfect by any means, and he would be the first to tell you that. But he was true to his calling and did not leave this earth without making a huge kingdom impact. 

Behind every step Brad took, there were women who loved him and prayed for him daily. His mother and his Christian sisters loved and supported him—women who had earned the right to be heard. I was one of them. We loved him enough to spur him toward love and good deeds—and to get in his business when we saw blind spots in his life. The world wanted Brad to keep living the way he did before he met Jesus. We loved him enough to wrap our arms around him and say, “Brad, that might have been fun while it lasted, but this is your eternity we are talking about.” And because of God’s faithfulness —and the love and support of so many friends—we will see Brad again one day in heaven. 

Are there men in your life that you love enough to say, “That’s fun, but this is forever”? Maybe it’s your dad, an uncle, a brother, a close friend of your husband’s or a lifelong friend you’ve known since childhood. 

The world is out to get our men. They are being attacked from all angles—temptation, anger, jealousy, rage, greed. I wouldn’t want to be a man in today’s society. And when they try to do it right, the world calls them close-minded and intolerant. The world is pushing men to be the opposite of God’s design. 

God calls men to lead with strength and with love—to take care of their families and to be like Jesus. Fierce yet meek. Strong yet tender. Leaders yet servants. As C.S. Lewis writes in The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, “He’s not safe, but he’s good.” 

Ladies, we play a vital role in the lives of the men around us—our fathers, husbands, sons and friends. First, we pray daily for our men. We pray against the Enemy who comes to steal, kill and destroy. We pray for God to guide them along the path He has set before them. And we pray against anything that could be a stumbling block or blind spot. There is power in prayer; I’ve seen it time and again. 

Our men can’t lead the way God intended if we are undermining their leadership. You can either be a steppingstone or an obstacle in your husband’s life. Which one are you? Do you step aside to create a clear path for your man to lead or do you try to undermine his leadership at every turn? 

We all have men in our lives—family members, friends and loved ones—we can pray for. Our men need the prayers of faithful women. They need us interceding for them as the world continuously throws insults and daggers, trying to take their eyes off Jesus. 

Hebrews 10:24–25 says, “²⁴ And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, ²⁵ not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” 

Speak love and truth into the men in your life. Be consistent, compassionate, humble, encouraging, faithful and steadfast through every trial. If you like to journal, keep a record of your prayers. It’s powerful to look back and see how God has answered them. Sometimes we don’t even realize it until we revisit those pages. The answers aren’t always what we asked for—but they’re always what we needed. Lord, I pray for every woman today to be a powerful prayer warrior. I pray for the Holy Spirit to intercede for us when we don’t have the words but feel the urgency to pray. God, I pray for every woman to be a faithful intercessor for the men in her life. And God, I pray for our men to be powerful leaders, faithful followers and loving husbands, fathers and friends. Amen