When the Holy Spirit gives you a burden He also gives you the responsibility to hold it and carry it along.  For this reason, you must listen closely to the voice of God and give attention to those peculiar feelings of compassion He gives you for certain individuals.  Then when you feel a special mercy, tenderness, or pity for a person, give heed to this feeling—go immediately to prayer.

But give attention only to those unselfish concerns.  Pay no heed to those interests by which you will benefit from.  In this regard, be careful in your praying, as you pray for certain members of the opposite sex that you are attracted to.  Guard your heart, as your prayers may be nothing more than Satan’s trap to get you more emotionally attached, which in the end may have very destructive consequences. Overall, I think, to give yourself consistently and exclusively to praying for a girlfriend or boyfriend is a waste of time and will sap all of your energy, which you could be using to pray for those whom God is really calling you to.

Give special attention to those burdens that seem more urgent.  And pray with a holy determination to see God’s answer.  If you feel that you don’t have the strength in yourself to pray as God would want you to, add fasting to your prayers; also add solitude.  Then also, if you lose your desire to sleep, determine to pray into the night, for it is God calling you to pray as Jesus did—perhaps all night long.

And don’t worry about your health—that you are depriving yourself of needs.  If God is calling you to fast He will certainly sustain you and give you all the strength you need to do what He has called you to do.

Do you remember the time, recorded for us in the book of John, when the disciples came to Jesus and urged Him to eat? (Apparently, He had been so busy serving people that He hadn’t eaten for a long time.) What did He say to His disciples?  “He said to them, ‘I have food to eat of which you do not know.’”  Then He explained Himself: “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work” (Jn. 4:31-34).  I really like this passage because it tells us that when we are faithful to do His work He will take care of our needs; He will even sustain us physically, so we will not even feel hungry!

Moreover, if you are faithful in pouring out God’s love to others as you obediently carry the burdens God gives you, you can be sure that He will sustain you by His love.  In fact, the Holy Spirit will pour out into your heart all the love you need: in the midst of pain and suffering for the burdens you bear, His love will flood over you so that you are not overwhelmed, burdened down and disappointed.  On the contrary, His love will give you hope—hope to be able to persevere in prayer for others, also hope for a lasting reward.  For Jesus has promised us, “I come quickly, and My reward is with Me to give every one according to his work” (Rev. 22:12).