Marriage doesn’t always work out quite the way you planned it.
As a child, you probably imagined your wedding countless times. You envisioned the perfect marriage, house, lawn and 2.5 kids. As an adult, your friends and family watched as you vowed to love, honor and respect the person standing in front of you… the person you couldn’t imagine living without. As you uttered those heartfelt promises, you envisioned the future you’d share.
What you probably didn’t imagine were the hard times you’d experience as a couple. You didn’t picture each of you changing, in both good and bad ways. Maybe the demands of work and children strained your relationship. Maybe one of you made a decision that devastated the other… maybe you both did. Whatever and however it happened, you feel like everything is a fight. Emotionally, you are miles apart from your spouse, and you have no idea how to fix it.
Even when it feels hopeless, God’s Word holds so many verses to encourage us as we pray for our marriages to be restored and strengthened. Meditate on these verses to encourage you as you pray:
- Don’t give up.
Love never gives up; and its faith, hope, and patience never fail.– 1 Corinthians 13:7 (GNTD) - Forgive.
Instead, be kind and tender-hearted to one another, and forgive one another, as God has forgiven you through Christ.– Ephesians 4:32 (GNTD) - Choose love.
Above everything, love one another earnestly, because love covers over many sins.– 1 Peter 4:8 (GNTD) - Honor your spouse.
Marriage is to be honored by all, and husbands and wives must be faithful to each other. God will judge those who are immoral and those who commit adultery.– Hebrews 13:4 (GNTD) - Protect your marriage.
So they are no longer two, but one. No human being must separate, then, what God has joined together.– Matthew 19:6 (GNTD) - Remember your vows.
But it also applies to you: every husband must love his wife as himself, and every wife must respect her husband.– Ephesians 5:33 (GNTD) - Don’t lose hope.
Nothing is impossible for God!– Luke 1:37 (CEV)
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