A Prayer of Hope for Singles Longing for Marriage - Your Daily Prayer - July 23

A Prayer of Hope for Singles Longing for Marriage
By Lynette Kittle

“He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the Lord” - Proverbs 18:22

My parents had a June wedding on what they said was one of the hottest days of the year in Fort Wayne, Indiana, at a time when churches didn’t have air conditioning. Still, to be married in June was a young woman’s dream come true, sweat and all. For decades, June has typically been seen as the most popular month for brides to be married, especially in classic movies of the 1940s and 1950s, where it’s often the leading girl’s goal to be married in this first month of summer.

But for singles longing to be married, it’s more than the month of summer solstice with the longest day of daylight all year long, but it can also seem like the most endless month of the year with ongoing engagements, weddings, and anniversaries. Seeing what seems like those around them getting their dreams come true when it’s what they are longing for in life can feel heartbreaking. It can seem like God is passing them over by giving everyone else what they want but not answering their prayers.

Yet singles can take comfort in Psalm 37:4, knowing God’s Word is true. “Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.”

Don’t Squelch a God-Given Desire
God calls marriage good, but often some people try to console singles who long to be married by making light of their desire, encouraging them to set it aside and focus more on other things that make them happy. They sometimes criticize them for having such a strong desire to get married and pursuing it in their lives. In Hebrews 13:4, God calls all men and women to honor marriage, yet some, out of their own experiences, make light of it. Too many comedians use their marriages as the basis for their jokes. Sadly, some couples, out of their unhappiness and disappointments in their own marriages, discourage singles who want to be wed, seeming regretful of their own situations. But in doing so, they are stifling a God-given desire in individuals. Especially as Christians, we don’t want to downplay or discount this godly goal.

You Don’t Have to Be Perfect to Get Married
Likewise, some who don’t know what to say to singles who are longing for marriage mistakenly mislead them, making their singleness about their personal weaknesses and the need to correct their imperfections. Often, singles are told God wants them to fix themselves first because they must not be ready for marriage. But telling men and women they aren’t marriage material yet isn’t true. Nowhere in the Bible does God tell us we have to be perfect to get married. The only perfect couple ever on earth was Adam and Eve. “Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man” (Genesis 2:22).

Still, even in their perfection, we know how their story goes. Genesis 3:6 recounts, “When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.” Ever since the fall, marriage has been about two imperfect people coming together under the leadership of a perfect God who works through them to help each become more like Him.

Let’s Pray:

Dear Father,
We ask You to comfort and console singles today who are longing for marriage. Speak words of hope to their hearts that will calm their fears and stir up anticipation of all You have planned for them. Help them to not lean on their own understanding but to trust You to lead them to their future husbands and wives, relying on Your provision rather than their own efforts. As well, Lord, we ask You to send individuals into their lives who will walk alongside them in this process and speak encouraging words to them about marriage. Lead caring people to assist them in finding a spouse by praying for them as well as introducing them to friends and family members who are also looking to marry.
In Jesus’ name, amen.

Photo credit: ©Getty Images/Westend61

Lynette Kittle is married with four daughters. She enjoys writing about faith, marriage, parenting, relationships, and life. Her writing has been published by Focus on the Family, Decision, Today’s Christian Woman, kirkcameron.com, Ungrind.org, StartMarriageRight.com, and more. She has a M.A. in Communication from Regent University and serves as associate producer for Soul Check TV.

Editor's Note: We're proud to announce we've just launched a new nighttime companion to Your Daily Prayer: the Your Nightly Prayer devotional. You'll soon be able to subscribe to receive Your Nightly Prayer via email, or as a podcast, but for now you can find it on the website at crosswalk.com/devotionals/your-nightly-prayer. We hope it's a relaxing and soothing way to wind down your day with rich meditations on who God is.

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