Not Yet Married: The Pursuit of Joy in Singleness and Dating

by Marshall Segal

Pray and ask him to show you new and deeper dimensions of all he means marriage to be for you and your (future) spouse. 1. May we enjoy God more than anyone or anything else, including each other (Ps. 16:11). 2. May we pray and pray and pray (Matt. 6:9–13). 3. May we have and raise joyful, godly children, if God wills (Ps. 127:3–4). 4. May we be bold ambassadors for the gospel wherever we go and always be winning worshipers for him (2 Cor. 5:20). 5. May we meet God together regularly in his Word (Ps. 19:7–10). 6. May we make our home a safe, inviting, and life-giving place for others (Rom. 12:13). 7. May we be a blessing to the families God has given to us (Eph. 6:1–3). 8. May we find ways to learn from marriages more mature than ours and to invest in marriages younger than ours (Eph. 5:18–25). 9. May we live worthy of the gospel, cultivating shorter cycles of correction, confession, repentance, forgiveness, and reconciliation (Heb. 3:12–13). 10. May we develop, enjoy, guard, and model a healthy and pure sex life (Phil. 2:3–5). 11. May we maintain a healthy rhythm of rest, knowing that God loves us and runs the world (Ps. 127:1–2). 12. May we always love and invest in the local church (Heb. 10:24–25). 13. May we disciple younger men and women and raise up leaders for God’s church (2 Tim. 2:1–2). 14. May we support God’s global cause through world missions (Ps. 67:3–4). 15. May we hold what we have loosely and overflow freely in generosity (2 Cor. 9:7–8). 16. May we sing (P...