When I was single, and wanting to be not-single, I remember people who prayed God would provide me with a husband. Of course there were family members (thanks, Mom!) and friends. But then there were the occasional strangers who prayed — my roommate at a writer’s conference (who prayed for “the prince God had for me”), the photographer in his 60s who prayed for God to provide me a husband after a work-related meeting, and, of course, Tony, the shuttle driver, who prayed that God would give me a husband who shared my heart for children’s ministry.
I now wonder if these seemingly random occurrences were God’s way of encouraging me and giving me hope. Or perhaps these godly individuals were catching a glimpse of what God was planning to do in my life. Either way, their prayers were woven into the tapestry of God’s amazing story for me.
Last week I had the opportunity to attend Summit 9, the Christian Alliance for Orphans (CAFO) conference, where I was reminded of God’s heart for adoption and orphan care. He has an incredible heart for the lonely and disconnected.
Psalm 68:6 says, “God sets the lonely in families” (NIV). And the ESV translates it this way, “God settles the solitary in a home.”
Though I’ve heard that verse used to reference orphans, I know that as a single woman, I fit the bill. I longed for a husband and family of my own. I longed for a home, like the one I’d grown up in. I longed for deep connections. And though those longings were left partially unfulfilled throughout my 20s, God still cared about it, and me, deeply.
Yesterday morning as I prayed for some of the singles I know who desire marriage, I realized more than ever that the desires of their hearts are also His. That doesn’t mean that every single will marry — or even that it’s God’s plan for every single to marry — but rather that we can pray in confidence for something that is bound up in God’s heart.
If you want to be married, don’t shy away from the prayers of others on the topic. Better yet, enlist the prayers of others. Regardless of God’s specific plan for you, you can be certain that He desires for you to experience connection, family and home. This idea is at the very heart of the Gospel. He sacrificed His only Son so that we could be adopted into His family (Ephesians 1:5). Let this reminder of His love encourage you today.
