I am not sure what inspired the thought. It was one of those “must get out of the house” sort of afternoons. I live in a quiet little neighborhood just around the corner from Main Street complete with coffee shops and boutique clothing stores.
I meandered downtown with my camera and Tempted and Tried thinking I might snap a few pictures then read a few chapters. I settled down by the creek on a green park bench opened my book to read listening to the backdrop of the waterfall, birds, and diesel trucks. At the time, I was texting my dear friend every now and again when a thought struck me:
“Why is it that we do not ask our friends to pray that God sends us a spouse?”
It seems that there is this unwritten rule (at least my circles) that it is taboo to ask someone to pray that God would send you a spouse. We call together our closest friends to pray for jobs, moves, babies, illness, and Spiritual needs. Sometimes we even bring those things up in corporate prayer meeting.
Yet, do we issue a call to our intimate friends to pray that God would fulfill our heart’s desire to give us a significant other?
I know that we are to be content. I know that a spouse is not a necessary thing to have. Yet, neither is a baby. Is a baby a beautiful thing? Yes, of course, as is a marriage that reflects Christ and His bride. Both can be desires that are not fulfilled and provoke a “sick heart” (Proverbs 13:12). Not in every situation do we need a new job and maybe our illness will be a “thorn” in our side, yet we ask others to pray for these things.
Why do we stop short of asking others to pray for our marriage situation?
Maybe the problem lies in the lingering idea that singleness is more “holy” than marriage. While verbally we say that is not so, functionally we contradict ourselves.
Maybe we are too proud to admit: “Yes, I want a spouse.”
Maybe our theology of God is off. Maybe we functionally view God as one who does not intimately care about the inner workings and desires of our heart. Yet, He gave us those desires. They serve a purpose. We forget that He is a tender-loving savior who gives His children good gifts. Our desire for a spouse is not outside His realm of working. HELLO, He carried out the ultimate love story. Ours is not beyond Him.
Maybe our understanding of prayer is incorrect. We do not rub the lamp so our genie comes out to grant us wishes. It is rather a heart conversation with our Savior. The more we talk with the Sovereign Lord of the universe, the more our hearts are changed to be like His.
Maybe in admitting our desire we will find a heart that is not where it should be, and we do not want anyone to see our weakness. In asking another person to pray, we might also need to confess an area where we struggle with sin.
Maybe it is a combination of all of these and other things that keep us from asking for prayer.
Maybe the call should be issued. But if it is, it should be done with wisdom.
As humbling as it may be, it is good for us to call on other Believers to bring us before the Throne. So ask. When calling our friends together to pray work or babies, we know we are praying for more than a physical need or want. We are asking God to transform hearts and to draw those in need of prayer “nigh unto Him.”
This call is no different.
Do you ask your friends to pray for you to get married? Why or why not?
Thanks to her mother insistence, Rebekah Hinkle went to college and earned a degree that married her love of people and science. Dental Hygiene has proved to be a fantastic platform for sharing the Gospel. As it turns out, she doesn’t hate school as much as she thought and is currently plugging away towards a bachelors in Biblical and Theological studies from Boyce College. Rebekah loves dishes, books, junkin’, and all things homemaker-y. You can read more results of random fits of inspiration on her blog Picken’s Place.
Photo credit: Frederic Poirot
