Quips and Tips for Spiritual Seekers

Having faith as a single Christian is tough if you yearn to fall in love and get married! Here are five ways to keep trusting God even when you’re tired of the single life. I’ve been there, my friend – I didn’t get married until I was 35. But, I’m so glad God took his sweet time bringing me and my husband together!

Before the tips, a quip:

Some of God’s greatest gifts are unanswered prayers. ~ Garth Brooks.

When I look back on the men I dated and even hoped I’d marry, I fall on my knees in thanksgiving and gratitude. Okay – my boyfriends weren’t quite that bad – but I am so grateful that I didn’t end up with anyone but the man I married. If you’re struggling with the single life as a Christian, read Passion and Purity: Learning to Bring Your Love Life Under Christ’s Control.

And, here are five ways to stay faithful as a single Christian…

Faith for Single Christians – 5 Ways to Keep Trusting God

1. Clean up your mind, body, and soul. Open your heart to God in prayer, and ask Him if there is any emotional or spiritual baggage dragging you down. Remember that quote: “All God’s children have their messes.” What issues do you struggle with? Is there anything holding you back from a healthy love relationship? I know it’s difficult to see our own issues (it’s much easier to identify other people’s issues!), but you’ll reap spiritual rewards if you trust God to help you become as spiritually and emotionally healthy as possible.

2. Learn to trust God through centering prayer. My newest way to pray is centering prayer, or praying with my whole heart. It’s almost like a spiritual meditation; it relieves my fears and anxieties while giving my hope and faith for the future. You can use centering prayer to stay faithful as a single Christian, to pray for your future spouse, and to accept how your life unfolds with peace and grace.

3. Remember that trusting God almost always involves patience – but don’t passively wait. In Genesis, God gave Rachel a son after she waited for a long, long time. Job lost everything and had to wait patiently for God. Abraham was promised all the stars in the sky (metaphorically speaking), and yet he had to wait. Maybe you have to wait longer than you thought for a spouse…but you can keep trusting God, waiting, and still moving forward with your life! That is, waiting on God doesn’t mean sitting at home and hoping the wireless internet technician is The One. You can actively wait on God, which can mean many things – including continuing to grow your faith in God.

4. Don’t try to anticipate God’s plan for your life. When I was 30, I moved to Africa to teach missionaries’ and Embassy kids for three years. I thought for sure that God had a spouse waiting for me there! But alas…there was nobody. It was a long, dry spell that tested my faith as a Christian. It wasn’t until a year after I moved back to Canada that I got married – and I ended up marrying one of my closest friends, who I met when I was 18 years old. Does your faith as a single Christian involve anticipating or guessing what God plans for your life? Try to let go and keep trusting that He knows what He is doing.

5. Remember that love and marriage don’t make you whole. Your faith makes you whole. Whatever issues you’re dealing with as a single Christian will be magnified once you’re a married Christian. Love and marriage doesn’t make problems go away. In fact, love and marriage can create a whole new set of problems! This is why it’s so important to “clean up” your mind, body and soul. Don’t buy into Hollywood’s fairy tale lie that getting married solves everything, and married couples live happily ever after.

Staying faithful as a Christian is about finding the balance between trusting that God knows what He is doing, striving for spiritual health, and creating opportunities to meet new Christians to date. It’s not easy to strike that balance – which is why centering prayer is so helpful!

To learn more about faith for single Christians, read Christian Dating Tips – How to Bring Spirituality Into the Single Life.