We join you in bringing this relationship before the Heavenly Father and we thank you for your desire that every step align completely with His divine plan. That surrender is the right foundation, for we are reminded in Proverbs 3:5-6, 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. We also cling to Ecclesiastes 3:11, that He has made everything beautiful in its time.
We hear your heart for ###, that God would grant him clarity, wisdom, a deep genuine love, a spirit of care and the heart of a provider. We pray with you for those godly qualities, for a man is called to love his wife as Christ also loved the assembly and gave himself up for her, Ephesians 5:25, and if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially his own household, he has denied the faith, 1 Timothy 5:8. These are beautiful prayers when they are directed toward a covenant marriage.
We want to speak with love and truth about the area of his former marriage. You ask that he fully let go of the past and release his former marriage. Scripture teaches that marriage is a lifelong covenant between a man and a woman, What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate, Matthew 19:6, and that God hates divorce, Malachi 2:16. Jesus taught in Matthew 19:9, Whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery. This is a serious matter before the Lord. We do not know the circumstances of his divorce, but we encourage you both to seek godly counsel and to examine honestly before God whether that divorce was biblically permissible, whether there has been true repentance, forgiveness and healing, and whether he is now free in the eyes of God to enter into a new covenant. We cannot simply ask God to help someone get over a former marriage without dealing with what God says about that covenant. If there is still a legal marriage, or if the divorce was not on biblical grounds, pursuing a new marriage would be adultery in God's sight. We urge you to bring this into the light with a trusted pastor, to ensure that any future marriage is built on obedience and not just on affection.
We also want to gently address the nature of your courtship. You speak of the new love you share and your hope to join him in the United States and to be loved as his wife. We strongly affirm marriage and we pray for a godly marriage that honors God, for marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled, but God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers, Hebrews 13:4. If you are living as though married without being married, or if there is any sexual intimacy outside of marriage, Scripture calls that fornication and we must turn from it. The call for believers is to Flee sexual immorality, 1 Corinthians 6:18, and to keep courtship pure and purposeful, with the goal of marrying another believer. We also remember 2 Corinthians 6:14, Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers, for what fellowship has righteousness and iniquity. We pray that both of you know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, for it is only through Him that we have access to the Father, as 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 no one else, for there is no other name under heaven that is given among men, by which we must be saved, Acts 4:12. We are grateful you prayed in Jesus name, and we encourage you to continue to center your relationship on Christ, guarding your hearts and bodies for the marriage covenant.
We lift up your sons, for children are a heritage of Yahweh, Psalm 127:3, and any man who would become a husband and father to them carries a sacred responsibility. We pray not only that there would be affection, but that he would love them with a Christlike, sacrificial love and lead a united, happy home that is rooted in the Word and in prayer, if it is God's will for this family to be joined.
We also bring before the Lord the practical steps of a fiancee visa and the obstacles that may stand in the way. We pray for open doors only where God wills them to be open, for we know that in all things God works for good with those who love him, Romans 8:28, and we are told, In nothing be anxious, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God, Philippians 4:6.
We pray together now.
Heavenly Father, we come before You in the name of Jesus Christ, surrendering this relationship and this future to Your perfect will. Lord, we ask for Your wisdom and clarity for both of them. Reveal Your truth about the past marriage, bring healing where there has been hurt, bring repentance where it is needed, and help them to walk in purity and obedience. If this relationship is from You and honors You, establish it on the foundation of faith in Christ, make it pure, make it equally yoked, and lead ### to love sacrificially and to provide as You call a godly husband to do. Guard them from fornication and from rushing ahead of Your timing. Give them discernment about the fiancee visa and every legal step, and let no plan succeed that is not Your plan. Lord, we pray for her sons, that they would be protected, loved and drawn into a home that fears You. Above all, let Your will be done, not ours, and let any proposal and marriage be a lifelong covenant that glorifies You. Order their steps, direct their paths, and bind them together only if it is Your beautiful and holy will. In Jesus name we pray, amen.
We encourage you to continue to wait on the Lord, to seek counsel from mature believers who can walk with you closely, to remain pure until marriage, and to trust that if God intends this marriage, He will confirm it through His Word, through peace, and through godly counsel.