Why Pray?
The week I started dating my husband was a week that I remember praying a lot and asking others to pray for me. I had my mom, aunts, and cousins all join me in prayer for my future. It might sound odd to have so many people pray for you, but my family was very close to me and I trusted them. It had been about a year and a half since the last time I saw my friend Leon. We wrote back and forth as he lived in the USA and I lived in Ecuador. We spoke a few times over the phone. This time he came to visit with the hope of starting a committed dating relationship. Because I was nervous about what this relationship would look like with someone from a different country and culture, I prayed as much as I could to have confirmation from God. Twenty seven years after meeting my husband, I think those prayers have always made a huge difference in my life and the lives of my loved ones. I'm not sure how much young people pray about their dating relationships, marriage, or for God’s will, but committing these areas to the Lord can have a huge impact. Through the process of writing my book, I have had the opportunity of interviewing people of all ages. Some started praying for a spouse at a young age and some didn’t pray much at all. I have noticed a huge difference in the couples that made prayer a big part of their relationships. For some, prayer helped them understand how valuable their mate was in God's eyes. For others, it gave their relationship a sense of purpose.
Prayer is a very simple and wonderful way of talking and communicating with God the Father. Through Christ’s death and resurrection, God made a way for us to have a close relationship with God. Hebrews 4:16 says, “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
Prayer is not complicated at all. It’s really like talking to your best friend. The only difference is that God is a good listener at all times. He is never busy with someone else. He’s never distracted. God always wants to give you his full attention and wants to make sure that you feel loved by him. He is God Almighty, which means that he can communicate with every believer at the same time. God also loves when we become good listeners and ask questions. It just takes a little bit of time to figure out the way he talks to us individually. He is eager and very excited when we make time to talk with him.
I can guarantee, without any doubt, that if you commit your life to talking and listening to God, he will lead you with so much love and grace. That is why I want to encourage every young person to start praying to God at a young age and then pray for the person God has for you to marry. In other words, pray for God’s kingdom to come and his will to be done in you, in your relationships, and pray for anyone that God puts in your heart, in earth as it is in heaven. Matt 6:9-13 explains the way we should pray.
Throughout my life, prayer has gotten me out of my darkest moments. Through prayer, God has given me the strength to go on. Knowing that my husband, Leon, is praying for me also gives me strength. Friends and family that pray for you are one of the greatest blessings you can have. As you persevere in loving and treasuring those prayer times, remember that they will bring the most wonderful blessings to that special person that God has for you to marry one day.