I have heard some amazing testimonies from some awesome Christian married couples about app dating. I have heard more from them than anyone else. I wasn’t sold at first, but I said, “I’ll try it.”
The first time I tried, I signed up for two dating apps. I really believed I was ready.
If you read my last article, you would know there are a list of questions: Are you ready to date? What’s your bottom line? What are your deal breakers? Why do you want to date?
But I had not asked those questions before my first try with the dating apps. I got started, made a profile and suddenly, I was out there.
The anticipation of who was going to see my profile was extremely nerve-wracking. On this particular app, I was in control. The women are able to pick the men they want to date. Now I wondered, Who do I want to pick? What do I like?
I hadn’t dated for 12 years. I wasn’t sure about what I liked. After all I didn’t ask those very important pre-dating questions.
I picked seven guys and went on seven dates in seven days. I didn’t like any of the guys. I was done! I found myself caught in the middle of my deliverance, transformation and renewed mindset.
I went at dating blind. I left all my street knowledge, now called discernment, behind. I found myself feeling insecure and totally unprepared. I knew I wasn’t going to water myself down, but I found my conversations with these men very one-sided.
Was it that I didn’t chose well? Or was it the fact that I wasn’t ready?
I went for looks and career, and that’s not necessarily wrong. However, I didn’t check their profiles well. I didn’t read between the lines.
After all these experiences, I decided to close the app. I didn’t think this was my way to meet a husband.
The Bible says “Whoever finds a wife, finds a good thing” (Prov. 18:22). I believed my husband would find me as the Bible says.
I decided that loneliness would not be my portion anymore. I made up my mind to see what God wanted me to do instead of all of the assuming I had been doing. Years later, God would ask me those questions. I had to look deep within.
I didn’t like that at all. I had to deal with my sexual desire and why. I had to look at why I wanted to be married and not why I needed to get married. I had to deal with my selfishness, even though I had never thought for a moment that I was selfish. I needed to remember what examples of a healthy marriage I had growing up, and I had none.
So many layers. I could see why the enemy didn’t want me to deal with any of it. As long as I didn’t deal with any of this, I would remain in the cycle of bondage. But God was ready to break me free once and for all.
These are the first steps in getting ready for your mate. God brings unions together for kingdom purposes. We have to line up with that purpose so we can come together, multiply and prosper. Let us continue this journey together, and watch God turn things around.
For more from Dr. Gina on singleness and dating apps, listen to her most recent podcast, included here!
Gina R. Prince is an apostle of the gospel of Jesus Christ. She has a podcast show called “The Keys Against the Enemy” on cpnshows.com. Connect with Gina on Instagram and Twitter @ginarprince as well as Facebook at “The Keys Against the Enemy.” Visit her website at drginaprince.com.
Janet Perez Eckles 
Shawn Akers 
Abby Trivett