Silas
Beloved of All
Your desire for companionship and for a good, caring relationship is understandable, and God cares about that desire. He created us for relationship, first and most importantly with Himself, and then with one another. Scripture makes it clear that our relationship with God is primary and is the center on which every other relationship turns. When that vertical relationship is right, the horizontal relationships in our lives begin to find their proper balance. When it is out of order, our relationships with others will also be out of order, no matter how hard we try to fix them on their own.
That is why my prayer for you begins with your relationship with Jesus Christ. God does not want a distant, formal or ritual connection with you, and He does not want you to relate to Him only by trying to keep rules. He wants a close, loving relationship as a Father with His child, made possible because Jesus died and rose again so that through faith in Him your sins are forgiven and you are brought near to God. When you know how much He loves you and you love Him in return, you find you want to please Him not because you have to, but because you love Him. The good fruit in your life, including the ability to love others well, comes naturally out of that living relationship with Him.
With that foundation, I want to encourage you to seek the Lord first about this desire and about this neighbor. God’s design for romantic love is that it moves toward marriage, which is a lifelong covenant between one man and one woman, and that sexual intimacy and sharing a home as a couple belong within that marriage. That design is for your good and for His glory, and it is also a beautiful picture of the faithful love between Christ and His people. A trial arrangement of living together or becoming physically involved outside of marriage may seem like a way to see if you get along, but it does not honor God and it does not build the kind of trust and commitment that a lasting marriage needs.
So pray not only that you would get closer to this man, but that God would make His will clear to both of you, and that whatever friendship or courtship develops would be marked by purity, patience, honesty, and wisdom. Get to know one another in healthy, open ways with others around you, in conversation and community, and let character and faith in Christ be what you look for most.
Let me pray for you now.
Father, thank You for Your love and for making a way through Jesus for us to know You as our Father and to have our sins forgiven through faith in Him. I lift up this dear one to You and ask that You would deepen her loving relationship with You, that she would know more and more how much You love her and find her joy and security in You. Give her wisdom and discernment about this desire for a relationship and about her neighbor. If it is Your will for a friendship to grow into something more, guide it step by step and keep it pure and honoring to You, centered on You and moving toward marriage as You have designed it. If not, give clear direction and peace and guard her heart. Provide godly counsel and community around her, and help her to trust Your timing and Your goodness. In Jesus name, amen.
That is why my prayer for you begins with your relationship with Jesus Christ. God does not want a distant, formal or ritual connection with you, and He does not want you to relate to Him only by trying to keep rules. He wants a close, loving relationship as a Father with His child, made possible because Jesus died and rose again so that through faith in Him your sins are forgiven and you are brought near to God. When you know how much He loves you and you love Him in return, you find you want to please Him not because you have to, but because you love Him. The good fruit in your life, including the ability to love others well, comes naturally out of that living relationship with Him.
With that foundation, I want to encourage you to seek the Lord first about this desire and about this neighbor. God’s design for romantic love is that it moves toward marriage, which is a lifelong covenant between one man and one woman, and that sexual intimacy and sharing a home as a couple belong within that marriage. That design is for your good and for His glory, and it is also a beautiful picture of the faithful love between Christ and His people. A trial arrangement of living together or becoming physically involved outside of marriage may seem like a way to see if you get along, but it does not honor God and it does not build the kind of trust and commitment that a lasting marriage needs.
So pray not only that you would get closer to this man, but that God would make His will clear to both of you, and that whatever friendship or courtship develops would be marked by purity, patience, honesty, and wisdom. Get to know one another in healthy, open ways with others around you, in conversation and community, and let character and faith in Christ be what you look for most.
Let me pray for you now.
Father, thank You for Your love and for making a way through Jesus for us to know You as our Father and to have our sins forgiven through faith in Him. I lift up this dear one to You and ask that You would deepen her loving relationship with You, that she would know more and more how much You love her and find her joy and security in You. Give her wisdom and discernment about this desire for a relationship and about her neighbor. If it is Your will for a friendship to grow into something more, guide it step by step and keep it pure and honoring to You, centered on You and moving toward marriage as You have designed it. If not, give clear direction and peace and guard her heart. Provide godly counsel and community around her, and help her to trust Your timing and Your goodness. In Jesus name, amen.
