We join you tonight in lifting up this burden of self doubt and your desire for marriage, and we seek God's will together in Jesus' name.
We hear the heaviness that self doubt can bring, and we want to remind you of how God sees you. You are not forgotten or without value. We are fearfully and wonderfully made, and your works are wonderful, Psalm 139:14. Self doubt often comes from listening to fear rather than to God's truth about us. For God didn't give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control, 2 Timothy 1:7. And we are told, Don't you be afraid, for I am with you. Don't be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you. Yes, I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness, Isaiah 41:10. When doubt rises, we can bring everything to Him in prayer, for we are told, In nothing be anxious, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus, Philippians 4:6-7.
Your desire to share your life with a loving husband is a good and godly desire. We believe in the sanctity of marriage as a lifelong commitment between a man and a woman, as God ordained from the beginning. It is not good that the man should be alone, Genesis 2:18, and He who finds a wife finds a good thing, and obtains favor of Yahweh, Proverbs 18:22. We strongly endorse marriage and we pray that the Lord will lead you to a godly husband, a faithful Christian believer who will love you as Christ loves the church and who will honor you and lead your home well. We encourage you to pursue this not as simply finding a partner or entering a casual relationship, but as seeking a spouse through godly courtship with the goal of marriage to another believer. For we are told, Don't be unequally yoked with unbelievers, 2 Corinthians 6:14, so we pray that you will wait upon the Lord and guard your heart, keeping any courtship pure and honoring to God, for sex before or outside of marriage is fornication and does not honor Him, and God calls us to flee from it and to keep the marriage bed holy, Hebrews 13:4. Delight yourself also in Yahweh, and he will give you the desires of your heart, Psalm 37:4, and we trust His timing is perfect, For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says Yahweh, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you hope and a future, Jeremiah 29:11.
We also want to lovingly address something we noticed in your request. You lifted your prayer to god, but you did not mention the name of Jesus Christ. We say this gently because it is so important. It is only by the name of Jesus that we have access to God, for Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me, John 14:6. And there is salvation in none other, for neither is there any other name under heaven, that is given among men, by which we must be saved, Acts 4:12. To come to God we must come through faith in Jesus, believing that He died for our sins and rose again, and confessing Him as Lord, for if you will confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved, Romans 10:9. We encourage you to place your full trust in Jesus Christ as your Savior and to bring every prayer to the Father in His name, for that is where our confidence and our peace are found.
We pray together for you now.
Father in heaven, we come before You in the precious name of Jesus Christ and we lift up our sister to You. You know her heart, her doubts, and her longing for companionship. We ask that You ease away the self doubt that weighs on her tonight and replace it with Your peace and assurance. Help her to see herself as You see her, chosen, loved, and wonderfully made, and to walk in the power and love and self control You have given. Guard her heart and mind in Christ Jesus. And Lord, we ask that in Your perfect will and timing You would bring into her life a godly Christian man to be her husband, a man who fears You, loves Your Word, and will love and cherish her in a lifelong marriage that honors You. Keep them both pure and patient as they wait on You, and prepare each of them for the marriage You desire. Draw her ever closer to Jesus, that she may know Him more deeply and trust Him fully with her future. We ask all this in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, amen.