Should I Pray for a Date?

 Does God answer prayers about love? If I pray about going out with a girl, will he listen? Answered by Carla Barnhill

Q. Does God answer prayers about love? If I pray about going out with a girl, will he listen? If so, how do I pray about that properly?

A. Questions about prayer are kind of like questions about relationships. After all, prayer is a conversation between you and the One who created you, who knows you better than anyone else. So think about your prayer as a conversation with your very best friend. Will that friend listen? Absolutely. Will that friend make a girl want to go out with you if she's not really interested? Nope.

Most theologians agree that the point of prayer isn't to change what God is doing, but to change us. In other words, prayer isn't a way of manipulating God or placing your order for all the good things you want in life. It's a time of asking God to help you make decisions that honor him and bring about his will (Matthew 6:10).

Sure, it's about asking. But it's also about listening to God. It's about staying connected to God so that when you meet a girl you're interested in, you're already seeking God's will in your life and can date—or not date—girls who seem like they will help you live the way God wants you to.

So if you want to pray properly about love, then ask God to help you be a more loving person. Ask God to give you opportunities to serve people and care about people and show God's love to people. Ask God to bring people into your life who can help you learn more about God and yourself. I promise, those are the kind of prayers God always answers.

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