5 Ways to Put God First in Your Marriage
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Trying to put God first in your marriage is a lot easier said than done. It takes a lot of work, patience, and diligence. However, your marriage will be divinely blessed if you and your spouse both commit to putting God at the center of your relationship.
Why Should We Put God First in Our Marriage?
It may not make sense to put God first in a relationship where there are only two people. Where does He fit in? How can a marriage be strong when someone else has higher priority over the marital union?
The answer can be found in the words of God’s Son. Jesus tells us, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Matthew 22:37-39).
Jesus makes it plain that it is most important that we first love God with everything we have and all that we are. The next most important commandment is that we love others, and the most significant other in your life is going to be your spouse.
What I gather from these commandments is that if you are loving God to the best of your ability, you will be more equipped to fully love those around you, especially your spouse.
If you love God first, He will show you how to love your spouse. And who better to teach us to love than God? That is why we must put God first in our marriage.
5 Ways to Put God First in Your Marriage
1. Strengthen your personal relationship with God
The best way to put God first in your marriage is to have a strong personal relationship with God. When your relationship with God is strong, the relationship you have with your spouse will also be strengthened. You’ll be able to see your spouse the way God sees them, feel more love for them, and be better able to serve them.
I strive to connect with my Father in Heaven every day, preferably first thing in the morning before my toddler wakes up. This helps me to remember God throughout the day and be more aware of what He would have me do to be a good wife.
You can strengthen your personal relationship with God through sincere prayer, meaningful study of His word, and seeking to know what His will is for you.
2. Pray together
Praying with your spouse is a great way to put God in the center of your marriage. Connecting with God as a couple through prayer will keep you more in tune with what He wants you to do. That three-way connection will be a strength to your marriage and help you remember that you both want what God wants.
What should we pray about together?
While there are countless things to pray about, it may become hard to think of new things to tell God when you participate in couple prayer. Here are a few ideas that will help you know what to pray for. (If you want to learn more about prayer in marriage, go here.)
- Pray for your spouse with your spouse. (This is a great way to show how much you care about your spouse and recognize the struggles they face.)
- Pray to know what God’s will is and for the strength to do it.
- Ask God to bless your children.
- Pray for guidance in important life decisions.
- Pray to know God’s will for you as a couple.
- Ask God to strengthen your marriage or to keep it strong.
3. Study the word of God together
Studying the word for God as a married couple can be a powerful way to keep God at the center of your marriage. It will help you both to remember the commandments of God, keep each other accountable, and connect on a spiritual level.
I have found that scripture study can be a great opportunity to connect through deep spiritual discussions. It is also a great opportunity to bring up questions and concerns regarding spiritual matters.
If studying God’s word sounds like a daunting task, start with one verse each day. Most of the time, it may not be meaningful. But the more often you do it, the more chances you have to connect spiritually with your spouse and with God.
4. Commit to following God’s commandments as a couple
When you commit as a couple to follow God’s commandments, you will be able to keep each other accountable. Commitments that are made with more than one person involved generally are more likely to be kept than if a person relies only on himself or herself to keep that commitment.
The commandments God gives us are only there to strengthen us and make life more enjoyable. Living the commandments with your spouse is one of the best things you can do for your marriage.
5. Pray individually to be a good spouse
When you don’t see why your spouse could think or behave a certain way, pray to understand him or her better. I have done this many times and it has been immensely helpful when my husband and I disagree. It has helped me to calm down and realize that his view is not completely irrational. (Go here to learn more about dealing with disagreements effectively.)
You can also pray to know how to improve as a spouse. When you ask God to help you see your weaknesses, He will show them to you and then give you the strength to improve.
You Can Do It!
Putting God first in your marriage is not an easy habit to learn. However, when you regularly put God at the center of your relationship, you will find that you have a greater ability to keep your marriage strong. You will also feel God’s love and power more abundantly in your life and marriage.
Want to learn more about how to connect with your spouse? Check out this blog post!
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