In Genesis 24, Abraham sent his servant Eliezer on a journey to find a wife for his son, Isaac. Abraham made him swear he would not take a woman from among the Canaanites. When Eliezer arrived, he prayed a very humble, but detailed and specific prayer, which God answered before he could even say, "Amen" (see v. 15).

Would you entrust your marital future to someone else? Well, that depends on who that other person is. The key to a strong and enduring marital relationship is to entrust it to one third party in particular—God.

I like to read a beautiful passage from Ecclesiastes at weddings that illustrates how two people are stronger than one. "Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up. Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; but how can one be warm alone? Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken" (4:9-12).

Two are better than one, but Solomon said three are even better than two. As you commit yourself to another person in a marriage relationship, God winds Himself around that commitment, making your strength infinite. It's a beautiful analogy.

Separation is an important biblical principle for a long-lasting marriage. God had called Abraham into a new land and a covenant with Him. Abraham didn't want his son to marry a pagan woman. He wanted Isaac to marry a woman with the same belief in God that he had.

In the New Testament, we're told, "Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God" (2 Corinthians 6:14-16a).

In a marriage context, a believer who truly wants to fulfill God's will for their life won't be unequally yoked with an unbeliever, because they would be going in opposite directions.

A second principle at work here is supplication—prayer. Prayer is woven through this entire chapter. Eliezer prayed, then paused, then prayed again. When you pray, you're entrusting the future to God.

There's a final principle I want to draw from Eliezer's journey: God's providence is revealed by our diligence and obedience. We have to take the first step before God will reveal the second. "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord" (Psalm 37:23). But you must take the first step—then God will show you the path He's marked out for you.

Genesis 24:27 says, "As for me, being on the way, the Lord led me." It's one of the most important verses in Scripture on how God leads human beings. God leads people who are on the way. Eliezer stepped out in faith and made a long journey. He was on the way. And God led him.

So go! Take the first step prayerfully—and God will show you the second, the third, and the fourth.