Seeking the ideal partner as a practising Christian can seem like there are just too many obstacles but that need not be the case.

It’s probably easiest to break down what you’re looking for in a partner. This will include whether you are looking for a long term friend or a deeper, more loving and physical relationship. This may be hugely influenced by how seriously you take your faith.

If you are confident in your faith but don’t consider that you live every moment of your life according to the teachings of the bible then you may be happy with someone who respects, but perhaps doesn’t share, your belief. So long as you accept that this might bring you challenges at times – especially when there is a particular festival you wish to observe, but your new partner wants to watch the sport, or go shopping.

If you are a more devout Christian then this sort of situation is unlikely to work for you. You will probably want to save yourself in a way that a non-believer may not understand and your love of God may not be a concept the other person is comfortable with. In this case the best route for you may be to invest the extra effort involved in finding someone whose feelings and beliefs are similar to your own.

We all need respect from our partners and as Christians we are likely to have higher standards too. We live our lives according to God’s teachings and we have every right to expect that our partner will at least respect our standards, and ideally share them too. It may take us longer to find the partners of our dreams, but with over 2 billion Christians out there, our ideal partner must be waiting somewhere.