“I’m dating a lovely Christian girl,” Scott said, addressing the question for the first time since a lengthy Washington Post report on his relationship status, and the mystery of it, published earlier this week.

“One of the things I love about the gospel of Jesus Christ is it points us always in the right direction. Proverbs 18:22 says, ‘He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord,’” he added.

Scott, 57, then knelt to the ground, asking the room to please pray for him before quickly rising with a big grin. The audience laughed.

Scott has never been married, drawing questions in GOP circles about the presidential candidate’s relationship status, especially as he looks to court evangelical voters. Though the percentage of adults remaining single later in adulthood has risen in recent years, the Republican Party, particularly the more religious bloc of voters, continues to hold traditional ideas about marriage and family.

“As a guy who was raised in a single-parent household mired in poverty, I understand that devastation when a family breaks up. I live with the consequences of a father who was not there. I made a commitment to make sure that never happened in my life,” Scott said. “I’m so thankful to know a risen savior that has helped guide my way, and I’m so thankful that he’s allowed my life to intersect at the right time with the right person. And I just say, praise the living God.”