Prayers

Prayer About Singleness

by Stephen Wong
02/12/21
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Lord God,

I thank you for the gift of singleness,

And that many people in our church have lived full and fruitful single lives for your glory,

Including our Lord Jesus Christ,

Yet, so often we as a church have not valued the gift of singleness,

We repent now of the ways in which we as a church have underestimated this good gift,

We repent of the ways in which we have treated single people as somehow inferior,

And the times when we have unhelpfully tried to cure the singleness of others,

We also repent of how we often idolise marriage,

And uphold married life as the ideal path that all Christians must follow,

Lord, teach us to love our single brothers and sisters well,

And to nurture them to use their gifts and circumstances for your glory,

Many of these brothers and sisters do desire to get married one day,

And for some of them, singleness will only be a temporary season,

I pray that you would help us to support those who desire to be in a relationship,

Through helping them to keep developing godly character and selflessness,

And if the opportunity arises,

Helping them to find a suitable partner,

However, it is your will that some of our brothers and sisters should remain celibate,

Even if they would prefer to be married,

For these believers, please teach us as a church to be loving and sensitive to their needs,

For just as married people face unique challenges,

Singled people will also experience their own types of hardship,

And our church is blessed to have both types of people,

In particular, may we learn to love those who are single,

Through seasons of grief and loneliness,

Our single brothers and sisters will struggle with various challenges,

Such as not being able to fulfil their sexual desires,

Or never being able to have children with their own DNA,

Or falling short of the relationship expectations of friends and family members,

During these seasons, may we learn to walk alongside these brothers and sisters,

Learning to share in their griefs and hardships,

But may we also support them as they learn to embrace the opportunities of being single,

Please help us to remind them that even the greatest marriage,

Cannot eclipse the greater relationship between Christ and his church,

And that fullness of life is not found in marriage but in a relationship with Jesus,

And may we continue to encourage them to embrace the ministry opportunities,

That may only be uniquely available to single people,

May we also help them to find true intimacy through deep Christian friendships,

Inviting them into our homes, individual families and hearts,

And even if they may not have children of their own,

May we encourage them to find spiritual children,

Through caring for the young people of our church,

And through investing their lives in discipling others,

Yet Lord, for those of us who have been blessed with married life,

May you help us to also guard against putting our identity in our relationship status,

For unexpected circumstances and death,

May lead us to experience singleness again in the future,

So whether we are single or have a partner,

May we learn to be truly thankful for our current situation,

Learning from the challenges our life situation presents,

While also making the most of the opportunities we have,

So that through singleness or marriage we would bring you glory.