The Power of a Praying CoupleSample

Can we promise to always love one another like God loves us without God’s love being in us? I don’t think we can. We need His love to be renewed in us every day. It’s not that His love dissipates in us. It’s we who fail to renew it from our end. The way we do that is by praying to our God of love and inviting Him to fill us afresh with His love every day. It happens also by reading His Word and allowing it to strengthen our faith as God promises it will do.

It’s all about developing your personal relationship with God. If your relationship with Him is weak, your marriage relationship will be weakened as well. When you are open to receiving more of God’s love in you, you will grow in love for your mate. It is an automatic blessing that your love for God—and God’s love in you—will always overflow from your heart to your husband or wife.

You can have a great marriage if you and your spouse pray for each other. That’s because prayer can change everything. The more you seek God in your individual relationship with Him—as well as together as a couple—the more you will sense God’s presence when you agree together in prayer.

Keep in mind that your husband or wife cannot fulfill your every need. That’s why God wants you to come to Him alone, to be certain you have faith that He can and will meet the needs you have.

We are all selfish enough to want what we want from our marriage, and those expectations can seem overwhelming to the spouse who is trying to meet all the hopes of the other. However, it will never be acceptable for a husband or wife to be rude, uncaring, disrespectful, or abusive while demanding to get his or her needs met. God does not look kindly on that. Of course, certain expectations need to be met, such as basic kindness and physical intimacy. Ask God to help you and your mate to be on the same page regarding this important part of your life together.

The Bible says you are made in God’s image. God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness” (Genesis 1:26). Isn’t it amazing that you and your spouse are made in the image of God? You need to always value that in yourself and with each other.

When someone asked Jesus, “Which is the first commandment of all?” Jesus answered him, saying, “‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:28, 30-31). Keep in mind that your closest neighbor is your husband or wife. It doesn’t get any clearer— or closer. How can we live in unity if we don’t have love for each other in our marriage?

Unity doesn’t mean you agree on everything. It means you agree on the most important things—God’s Word and His ways. You agree on the truth. You agree on what is right. Ask God to help you to truly love your husband or wife the way He loves you. We all definitely need His help in order to do that.