The Voice of a Wife, the Ear of a Husband: Part 1

Zaressa Richardson
15 hours ago
9 min read

The Suggestion

Scripture: Genesis 15–16God had already spoken a promise to Abram, but Sarai grew weary in the waiting. Her voice came off as a suggestion a seemingly logical solution to a divine delay. Abram listened, and it changed generations.

The Voice of Sarai.

The Ear of Abram.

This month, we’re talking about the influence of a woman’s voice especially in marriage and the weight it carries when it reaches the ears of her husband.

But before you check out and think,

“Oh, this isn’t for me. I’m not a wife,” or “This doesn’t apply because I’m not married,” let me stop you right there.

This message is for all of us. Wives. Singles. Men. Women. Engaged. Divorced. Widowed. Because we all have a voice, and we all have ears.

And I’m not just talking about the physical kind. I’m talking spiritually.

We have spiritual mouths, what we release. And we have spiritual ears, what we receive.

We are in a critical hour. And if we don’t understand the weight of the voice and the responsibility of the ear, we will continue to be influenced without accountability and guided without discernment.

Jesus said,“Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says…” Revelation 2:29

Everyone has ears but not everyone is tuned into the right voice.

So now that we’ve established this is a message for all of us, I want to ask some real questions:

What happens when God gives a word to a man, and the woman in his life says something different?
What happens when the voice of suggestion becomes louder than the voice of instruction?

This series was born in my quiet time with God while reading through Genesis.

I found myself following the journey of Abram and Sarai.

Sarai used her voice to make a suggestion to her husband. She told him to take Hagar, her servant, and have a child through her because she could not conceive. Maybe we’ve heard this story before.

But at this moment, I paused.

At first, I wondered, Maybe Abram didn’t know about the promise?

But after studying the timeline and looking closer, I realized Sarai’s suggestion came after God had already spoken.

And that stopped me.

“The voice of a wife. The ear of the husband.”

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The Promise Was Already Spoken

Before Sarai ever opened her mouth, God had already opened His.

Genesis 15:4–6 says:

“Then the word of the Lord came to him: ‘This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.’ He took him outside and said, ‘Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.’ Then He said to him, ‘So shall your offspring be.’ Abram believed the Lord, and He credited it to him as righteousness.”

God spoke a covenant promise. Abram believed Him. It was sealed.

But in Genesis 16:1–2, Sarai speaks:

Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian slave named Hagar; so she said to Abram, “The Lord has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my slave; perhaps I can build a family through her.”

Her voice wasn’t full of rebellion, it was full of reality.

She was tired. Discouraged.

Waiting on something that felt impossible. And in that place of weariness, she offered a suggestion.

Not because she didn’t believe in the promise, but because she couldn’t see how it would come to pass.

Her voice was familiar. And that’s what makes this story hit so hard it wasn’t the voice of a stranger. It was the voice of his wife.

She made a suggestion.

“Abram agreed to what Sarai said.” — Genesis 16:2

And just like that, the course of generations shifted.

From the time God gave Abram the promise to the moment of Sarai’s suggestion, eleven years had passed.

Eleven years of waiting.

Eleven years of nothing happening in the natural.

Eleven years of a promise with no proof.

But nowhere in the text do we see Abram pause and check with God again.

He heard her voice and he agreed.

That moment teaches us something powerful:

The voice of a wife can influence movement, but the responsibility of obedience still rests on the one who received the instruction.

God didn’t correct Sarai. He held Abram accountable.

When things began to unravel when Hagar became pregnant, when strife broke out in the house it was Abram who had to carry the weight of the decision.

And still… Thank You, Lord, for new mercy.

She Spoke From Pain.

He Moved Without Prayer.

Let’s take a moment and step into Sarai’s world.

In her culture, a woman’s value was often tied to her ability to bear children.

To be barren wasn’t just disappointing it was considered disgraceful.

To grow older without a child was to live under the weight of shame and the fear of being forgotten.

Her suggestion didn’t come from pride. It came from pain.

But here’s the warning:

Context does not override covenant.

God had already spoken. He had already sealed His promise. And when Sarai tried to insert a plan, she unknowingly tried to work around what was already settled.

Her words weren’t evil but they were unnecessary.

This moment isn’t just for wives.

It’s for anyone with a voice. Anyone with influence. Anyone tempted to rush what God is still building.

Because here’s the truth:

Any time we speak outside of faith in what God has said, we risk planting seeds He never told us to sow.

And any time we listen to voices that contradict what He’s already declared, we invite confusion into what was once clear.

But Scripture reminds us:

“For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.” —1 Corinthians 14:33 (KJV)

God doesn't stir confusion, He speaks peace.

“Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry.” —James 1:19 (NIV)

And here’s another verse that speaks to this very thing:

“To answer before listening— that is folly and shame.” —Proverbs 18:13 (NIV)

Before we offer advice, speak into someone’s season, or respond to what we think is happening we must listen.

Even this moment, this lesson, is worth bringing before the Lord.

Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you.

Ask Him to help you discern the word of the Lord for yourself.

This teaching is just a guide, it points you back to Him. Amen!

No More Hiding Behind

“I’m Human”

This doesn’t mean Sarai was wicked.

It doesn’t mean she didn’t love God.

It means she was human.

And that’s where it hits home.

We’ve all had moments where we’ve said, “I’m only human.”

But no more hiding behind that.

Yes, we are human. But we are also filled with the Spirit of the living God.

We’ve been called to more. Empowered to grow. Invited to rise.

This is not the time to shrink back or stay stuck in cycles.

This is a call to action.

A call to grow up in the faith.

A call, just like Jude said, to build ourselves up in our most holy faith:

“But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit.” — Jude 1:20

Friend, this is for me too. I have to build myself up in the Word. That’s how strength is formed. That’s how faith is sustained.

We have a divine Helper the Holy Spirit whom God promised through Jesus. And He will teach us all things.

No more falling for the okkie-dokie. No more settling for surface-level faith.

Yes, we have grace but that grace is not a permission slip to stay the same.

Let’s use it to pour into others to testify, to teach, to share what God saved us from.

Let’s not waste what He gave us. Let’s rise and build.

How many times have we tried to “help God out” because the waiting got hard?

How many times have we chosen logic or comfort over covenant?

Sarai’s story cautions us but it also comforts us.

Because even with the detour, Even with the suggestion, God did not cancel His promise.

He still fulfilled it.

The Voice of the Lord.

The Ear of a Wife.

I want to share a testimony with you something that stretched my faith and reminded me what it really means to trust the voice of God.

There was a season in my marriage when the Lord was taking me on a deeper journey of trust. I was, as I like to say, minding my own business, when I clearly heard the Lord say, “Start packing.”

I paused. Lord… what do You mean?

Nothing in the natural lined up for us to move. Nothing at all. It didn’t make sense.

But I started packing anyway. One room at a time.

I brought it up to my husband and said, “I believe the Lord told me to start packing.” He laughed not in a malicious way, just in his normal joking tone and said, “Well, the Lord didn’t tell me that.” Help me, Jesus.

I understood his response. From his perspective, nothing was changing. No doors were opening. No signs were pointing toward a move. It didn’t look like God was doing anything. But I couldn’t ignore what I had heard.

In that moment, I had a choice. Do I yield to his hesitation and wait for confirmation through him, or do I stand on what I believe the Lord spoke to me?

That wasn’t an easy place to be. He is my husband, the head of our home. And yet, I also knew the weight of what God had placed in my spirit. So I went back to prayer crying, weeping, seeking the Lord. Oh friend, I cried a lot during that season.

There were many “help me, Jesus” moments.

I stayed in His presence. I asked Him to make things clear, to help me walk in peace and not pressure. And one thing I know about God, He does not cause division in marriage. He drew us closer. We began to pray together like never before.

In time, my husband came back and said, “I trust you. I don’t fully see it yet, but I trust you.”

That trust didn’t come overnight. It came through prayer. Through perseverance. Through pressing in when every door seemed to close.

Every step forward felt like a setback. And still, I kept packing. I kept trusting. I kept standing.

And here is the beauty of it all I didn’t just watch God make a way. I watched both of our faiths grow.

That season became a foundation for what we are still believing God for today. Because when I look back, I don’t just remember what God did I remember how He trained me to trust Him when it didn’t make sense.

I pray that you hear this

Even though in this testimony the roles were reversed, and I was the one who received the word, not the one giving the suggestion, I still had to decide.

Would I lean on the voice of someone I love and trust, or would I stand on what God had spoken?

Friend, that is the decision we all face. The voices around us will not always align with the Word within us.

But we get to choose: Will we follow the suggestion, or will we stand on the Word?

Choose well.

And yes, we got the house. All glory to God.

I’m sharing this because some of you may find yourself in a similar season. You’re the one who heard from God. And the voice in your ear is someone you love someone who means well but doesn’t see it yet.

You’re wrestling: Do I wait? What if? What do I do with this word God gave me?

Here’s the truth:

God will never give you a word that goes against His character.

But He will give you a word that stretches your faith. And if He said it you can stand on it.

Just don’t back down in fear when He has already told you the promise.

Let’s Pray

Father, thank You for Your faithfulness. Thank You, Lord, for Your consistency. Thank You for Your Word. Forgive me for speaking out of turn. Forgive me for listening to the wrong voice. Forgive me for not coming to You first in all things.

Today, I surrender my will back to You.

Silence all conflicting voices by the blood of Jesus. Open my ears to hear You. Holy Spirit, teach me to wait well. Give us hearts that reverence what You have already spoken. Guard us from offering alternatives when You have already given clear direction.

Let Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

What happens when grief speaks louder than truth?

Next week: The Voice of Job’s Wife. The Ear of Job.

The Emotional Response.

This Week’s Reflection

Have I ever made a suggestion because I was tired of waiting?
Have I ever listened to someone’s advice more than I trusted God’s voice?
What has God already spoken that I need to return to and stand on?
Do I need to pause and pray before I speak into someone else’s season?