We rejoice with you over this year of courtship and we thank Jesus Christ with you for what He has done in your lives together so far. We praise God for the growth you have seen in forgiveness, trust and communication, for these are the marks of love that endures. As it is written, Love is patient and is kind, love does not envy, love does not brag, is not proud, does not behave itself inappropriately, does not seek its own way, is not provoked, takes no account of evil, does not rejoice in unrighteousness but rejoices with the truth, bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. We also rejoice that you both choose each other and desire marriage, for we believe in the sanctity of marriage as a lifelong commitment between a man and a woman as God designed from the beginning. Therefore a man will leave his father and his mother and will join with his wife, and they will be one flesh Genesis 2:24, and It is not good that the man should be alone Genesis 2:18.
We strongly affirm your desire to move from courtship into marriage with a fellow believer, for courtship is not meant to be an indefinite partnership but a purposeful season leading to a covenant before God. We encourage you to continue to seek pastoral counsel and premarital preparation as you approach this next chapter, so that unless Yahweh builds the house, they who build it labor in vain Psalm 127:1.
We gently encourage you in the area of Song of Solomon kind of love. That passionate love is beautiful and holy, but it is reserved for the marriage covenant alone. Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the bed be undefiled, but God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers Hebrews 13:4. For this is the will of God, your sanctification, that you abstain from sexual immorality, that each one of you know how to control his own body in sanctification and honor 1 Thessalonians 4:3-4, and Do not stir up nor awaken love until it is so desired Song 8:4. We encourage you to guard purity even as you long to be together, to make your love the safest place through holiness, accountability and keeping your time together in the presence of family and community whenever you fly to be with him and his family whom you love and who love you. This protects the freedom you pray for, for where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty 2 Corinthians 3:17, and that freedom is not for indulgence but for honoring Christ in your bodies and spirits.
We hear your tiredness and the weight of sacrifice on both sides, and the discouragement he feels as job doors have seemed closed. We hear your prayer for the letter you wrote on his behalf and for your phones and connection to be opened. We stand with you and speak life over this tough time, knowing Death and life are in the power of the tongue Proverbs 18:21 and that God hears. 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. Trust in Yahweh with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight Proverbs 3:5-6. My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus Philippians 4:19. We are comforted that Jesus said Come to me all you who labor and are heavily burdened and I will give you rest Matthew 11:28, and we pray that rest over you both now.
We pray together in Jesus name, for it is only through Him that we have access to the Father, and there is no other name by which we can be saved Acts 4:12.
Father in the name of Jesus Christ we thank You for this man and this woman and for the year You have given them to learn forgiveness, for bearing with one another and forgiving each other, just as Christ also forgave you Ephesians 4:32, and for growing in trust and communication. We ask You to protect what You have joined in purpose, to keep them in freedom and holiness until marriage, to make his heart safe with her and her heart safe with him. Refresh their hearts daily, pour Your unconditional love through them, and let kindness, healing, tender care and adoration flow in purity. We ask You to open the doors of communication, to redeem even the weakness of their phones for Your glory, and to grant favor over the letter written for his job opportunities, opening the right door in Your timing and closing the wrong ones. Comfort him in this waiting, remind him he is not alone, that You are near and that his beloved stands faithfully beside him in prayer on hands and knees. Strengthen her as she pours out what she has for him and for what will be theirs in marriage, and renew her strength as she is tired. Allow safe travel and sweet reunion with him and his family when You make the way, and let a new wind wash over their lives as You do a new thing Isaiah 43:19. We ask for miracles to continue to follow their union as they keep You at the center, for laughter and joy to fill their home, and for their coming marriage to honor You all the days of their lives, reflecting Christ and the church Ephesians 5:25. Above all let Your will be done, and let their love be built on You, the rock that will not be shaken. We ask all this in the precious name of Jesus Christ, our hope and our salvation, amen.
