Ever have questions about singleness, dating, relationships, and marriage — but have no idea where to get the answers from? Especially as a Christian, I find that the world’s advice on dating can be tricky. I want to follow that advice, but I also want to follow God’s wisdom for dating, relationships, and marriage.

While I say go directly to Scripture and prayer for advice from God on this topic, here are a few Christian books that you can read and add to your reading list that are about dating, relationships, and marriage. And even if you’re married, I recommend reading these books! These can strengthen your marriage and help you talk to people in these stages.

Outdated by Jonathan Pokluda

Jonathan "JP" Pokluda has counseled thousands of young singles through the pain and heartbreak of dating the world's way. Now he wants to dispel the myths, misconceptions, and fairy tales you've believed about dating and replace them with the truth from the One who invented marriage, created you to crave relationship, and is the very embodiment of true love. With plenty of true stories about relationships healed and love found, this practical book explains God's purposes for singleness, dating, and marriage and covers why you should date, who you should date, and how you should date.

If you're ready to trade the world's way of dating for the way that actually works, it's time to begin dating well.

Buy on Amazon.

The Sacred Search by Gary Thomas

You will be encouraged to think beyond finding your “soul mate” and instead adopt a more biblical search for a “sole mate”—someone who will walk with you on your spiritual journey.

Thomas asks, What if we focused on why we should get married more than on who to marry? What if being “in love” isn’t a good enough reason to get married? And most of all, what if God designed marriage to make us holy more than to make us happy?

The Sacred Search casts a vision for building a relationship around shared spiritual mission—and making marriage with eternity at its heart.

Buy on Amazon.

Single, Dating, Engaged, Married by Ben Stuart

In a society where everyone is supposedly more connected, why do people feel so lonely? Even as marriage rates decline, recent studies find the overwhelming majority of single adults still hope to get married. But how can we navigate life and love in this disconnected culture? Has social media eroded the institutions that brought us together—and the deeper emotional intimacy they provided?

Pastor and bestselling author Ben Stuart will help you navigate through the four stages of a relational life and show you how to look at the truths and intentions God has established for each.

Buy on Amazon.

Boundaries by Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend

In the New York Times bestseller, Boundaries, Drs. Henry Cloud and John Townsend help you learn when to say yes and know how to say no in order to take control of your life and set healthy, biblical boundaries with your spouse, children, friends, parents, co-workers, and even yourself.

Buy on Amazon.

Relationship Goals by Michael Todd

Where did the idea for relationships come from in the first place? Does God really care who I hang out with? Is it even possible to avoid relational train wrecks? From his plan for intentional dating in the age of social media to handling break-ups well to doing family instead of just being in a family, Michael tackles the questions we all have about relational success.

As he candidly examines our most common pitfalls in relationships and the start-today ways to get past them, Michael helps you align your longings with God’s awesome desires for your life. Now, that’s a good relationship goal.

Buy on Amazon.

Sex, Jesus, and The Conversations The Church Forgot by Mo Isom

Sex. In a world overwhelmingly obsessed with it, why is the church so silent about it? While our secular culture twists, perverts, cheapens, and idolizes sex, there are gaping holes in the church's guidance of young people. The result is generations of sexually illiterate people drowning in the repercussions of overwhelming sin struggles.

Enough is enough, says Mo Isom. With raw vulnerability and a bold spirit, she shares her own sexual testimony, opening up the conversation about misguided rule-following, virginity, temptation, porn, promiscuity, false sex-pectations, sex in marriage, and more and calling readers back to God's original design for sex--a way to worship and glorify him. This book is for the young person tangled up in an addiction to pornography, for the girlfriend feeling pressured to go further, for the "good girl" who followed the rules and saved herself for marriage and then was confused and disappointed, for the married couple who use sex as a bargaining tool, for every person who casually watches sex play out in TV and movies and wonders why they're dissatisfied with the real thing, and for every confused or hurting person in-between.

Buy on Amazon.

The Wait: A Powerful Practice for Finding the Love of Your Life and The Life You Love by DeVon Franklin

Faced with starting a new relationship and wanting to avoid potentially devastating pitfalls, DeVon and Meagan chose to do something almost unheard of in today’s society—abstain from sex until they were married.

DeVon and Meagan share the life-changing message that waiting—rather than rushing a relationship—can help you find the person you’re meant to be with. The Wait is filled with candid his-and-hers accounts of the most important moments of their relationship and practical advice on how waiting for everything—from dating to sex—can transform relationships, allowing you to find a deep connection based on patience, trust, and faith.

Buy on Amazon.

Thank You For Rejecting Me by Kait Warman

Our stories are riddled with the sting of rejection. It's feeling like a failure or being heartbroken. It's being left out or misunderstood. It's the parent who neglected us or the person who betrayed our trust. It's even in the way we think or talk about ourselves and question our relationship with God.

Whether it happened in grade school or last week, rejection can leave deep scars that affect our relationships, our self-worth, and our identities for years to come. And while we can't control when rejection appears, we can control how we react when it does.

In Thank You for Rejecting Me, popular relationship coach and podcaster Kait Warman shows you how to turn pain into purpose and fight for yourself when rejection comes your way. With chapters that focus on some of life's biggest rejections--being betrayed, abused, misunderstood, heartbroken, sexually shamed, and many more--this book offers practical tools to heal from the past, take back your power, and walk in strength, victory, and love in the future.

Buy on Amazon.