A Single Prayer
Heavenly Father,
Thank you for giving me a heart for love. Thank you for giving me a good understanding of the effort and compatility necessary to make a marriage work.
Lord, you have blessed me indeed. Yet, I am filled with a longing to share my deepest self with another person, much as I give myself to You. As painful as this longing can sometimes be, it would be much more bearable if the Church understood how to help us.
Father, some of us who are single are very serious-minded about our search for a mate. Please help our ministers to understand that we're not following a flight of fancy with rose-colored glasses. We know that marriages today often fail, and that it is often because adequate time, effort, preparation, and examination was not taken. We know that marriage is a sarced covenant vow. Help us to continue to take this search seriously, and help others to see that we are serious about it. Also, please help them to understand that it is not wrong to search for something good. You say in your Word that being alone is not your intended condition for a person. Help the Church to remember this, especially those who are already married.
Caring Father, many of us have times of aching loneliness and sadness. Please help those around us to understand our hurts and not treat our loneliness as a disorder that would be cured if we'd just spend more time with you. We know that emotions are natural clues about what we think, believe, and desire. The psalmists often cried out to you in their down times, and you heard them without rebuking their emotions. Help those who minister to us to understand and to remember their times of sorrow or loneliness.
Loving Father, it hurts when we hear that a singles' ministry is being started and find out that the entire focus of the ministry is going to be 'happily single'. You created marriage, and Your Son blessed the wedding at Cana. Help those who minister to understand that a desire to be married is not worse than a desire to be single. And Father, some of us are lonely because we do not have friends. Please help our churches to understand and remember this, and urge them to focus on building relationships instead of on being happy by ourselves. Jeremiah wrote in Ecclesiastes that two are better than one. The proverbs say that we are stronger in a group. Help churches to provide friend-building activities, so that we can make friends easily.
God of Fellowship, our world is so full of societal conventions that push us away from each other. Please help the Church to overcome its fears of failure and of being responsible, and encourage them to help singles find each other. Abraham's servant helped Isaac find Rebekah. A good pattern for a singles ministry would be one in which the ministry helps the individuals learn what they want in a mate, how to recognize red flags, what Godly dating/courtship is, how to be a good spouse, and other similar things. It should also help people connect to each other with activities that help people learn about each other, make friends with each other, and to grow closer to each other, for this is supposed to be the work of the Church for all its members, married, single, family, friends, and all toward unity. Please help our ministers to see this and not be afraid, for You will guide us and guard us as we listen to Your Word and Your Spirit.
Heavenly Father, please help me to find ministries that please You. And please help me to find the best mate for me, under Your guidance, and help us to honor and glorify You, both in how we act before our marriage and in how we live together.
In the holy name of Jesus Christ,
Amen.
--Credit Not Required.
Thank you for giving me a heart for love. Thank you for giving me a good understanding of the effort and compatility necessary to make a marriage work.
Lord, you have blessed me indeed. Yet, I am filled with a longing to share my deepest self with another person, much as I give myself to You. As painful as this longing can sometimes be, it would be much more bearable if the Church understood how to help us.
Father, some of us who are single are very serious-minded about our search for a mate. Please help our ministers to understand that we're not following a flight of fancy with rose-colored glasses. We know that marriages today often fail, and that it is often because adequate time, effort, preparation, and examination was not taken. We know that marriage is a sarced covenant vow. Help us to continue to take this search seriously, and help others to see that we are serious about it. Also, please help them to understand that it is not wrong to search for something good. You say in your Word that being alone is not your intended condition for a person. Help the Church to remember this, especially those who are already married.
Caring Father, many of us have times of aching loneliness and sadness. Please help those around us to understand our hurts and not treat our loneliness as a disorder that would be cured if we'd just spend more time with you. We know that emotions are natural clues about what we think, believe, and desire. The psalmists often cried out to you in their down times, and you heard them without rebuking their emotions. Help those who minister to us to understand and to remember their times of sorrow or loneliness.
Loving Father, it hurts when we hear that a singles' ministry is being started and find out that the entire focus of the ministry is going to be 'happily single'. You created marriage, and Your Son blessed the wedding at Cana. Help those who minister to understand that a desire to be married is not worse than a desire to be single. And Father, some of us are lonely because we do not have friends. Please help our churches to understand and remember this, and urge them to focus on building relationships instead of on being happy by ourselves. Jeremiah wrote in Ecclesiastes that two are better than one. The proverbs say that we are stronger in a group. Help churches to provide friend-building activities, so that we can make friends easily.
God of Fellowship, our world is so full of societal conventions that push us away from each other. Please help the Church to overcome its fears of failure and of being responsible, and encourage them to help singles find each other. Abraham's servant helped Isaac find Rebekah. A good pattern for a singles ministry would be one in which the ministry helps the individuals learn what they want in a mate, how to recognize red flags, what Godly dating/courtship is, how to be a good spouse, and other similar things. It should also help people connect to each other with activities that help people learn about each other, make friends with each other, and to grow closer to each other, for this is supposed to be the work of the Church for all its members, married, single, family, friends, and all toward unity. Please help our ministers to see this and not be afraid, for You will guide us and guard us as we listen to Your Word and Your Spirit.
Heavenly Father, please help me to find ministries that please You. And please help me to find the best mate for me, under Your guidance, and help us to honor and glorify You, both in how we act before our marriage and in how we live together.
In the holy name of Jesus Christ,
Amen.
--Credit Not Required.