From my days as a teenager, I’ve always been told to start praying for my marriage as a way of preparation. I kept hearing this from concerned people and it got to a point I just begin to smile when they bring up the marriage topic. At a point in time when I was telling my mum the age I wanted to get married, my dad had to ask if they were chasing me away.
I was made to see reasons as to why I need to begin praying for my marriage even as a teenager. Amongst the reasons given were the need to avoid confusion and unwanted pressure when the time is ripe, to be clear on what God is saying as to who his and who is not, amongst other things.
Having heeded the advice, I’ll love to share some of my prayers for my marriage. I’m doing so with the hope that many are blessed through it. Asides the prayers, I’ll also be recommending some books I’ve read as a form of preparation. Before, I share the prayers, I’ll love to make it clear that prayers made at a young age for marriage is not birthed by urgency or desperation to get married, rather, it is an investment made for the future. It’s better to pray now so you don’t have to pray later.
Prayers for marriage can be divided into two: the pre-marriage prayer, and what I will call the in-marriage prayer. To explain briefly, pre-marriage prayers are petitions made in determining who to marry, all along to the end of courtship. The in-marriage prayers are those made for the life-long period of the marriage. Pre-marriage prayers are basically prayers of direction to know God’s direction on whom to marry.
Don’t just see this as my prayers. Prayers are universal, hence, you could pray them for yourself too. Over to the prayer points.
1) And I shall be sweetness to his soul, and add flavour to his life.
2) I shall be a true helpmeet and a blessing to him.
3) He that finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favour from the Lord. For finding me, the favour of the Lord shall never cease in his life.
4) Our sons shall be as plants grown up in their youths, and our daughters after the similitude of the palace.
5) Our offspring shall be for signs and wonders.
6) The wordings of Ephesians 5: 22-25 shall be evident in our home.
7) My home shall be a haven of peace, and rest. My marriage shall glorify God.
These amongst others are prayers for my marriage.
On the books, I have for you “The 5 Love Language, and Things I wish I knew before marriage” by Gary Chapman, “The Power of A Praying Wife” by Stormie Omartian, “Preparing to be his helpmeet” by Debi Pearl. These and many more will help in preparation for marriage. Feel free to reach out for more books.
Feel free to share your prayers as well.
Keep doing greatly dear sister. it is so obvious that this is your ministry and calling. May the Lord empower you to keep touching lives…
Thank you, big bro. Amen!
Hahahaha ..
This is beautiful .. I was practically laughing all along. You know, talks and thoughts of true LOVE (like marriage) are delightful!
This, for me is 100% even though it was “wife-centric”. Well done Kemi TL.
Another simple prayer I want to share is to allow God’s will overcome ours (sounds like cliche though but it is the real deal). Many think God is indifferent about this. No He isn’t. We have a natural desire to “test” (not taste) love and make our choices but this is dangerous!
Now look .. prayers before marriage are basically “preparatory” – (God make me sweet, prepare me, etc.) and it’s not more than that. You also have to really be willing to be prepared by working diligently!
Many young people find themselves in friendship with the opposite gender and somehow, they start to think that person to be their partner. They marry the person in their mind. This is a very serious distraction and mistake because you are merely playing with and wasting away emotions. The height of it all is “boyfriend/girlfriendism”; your heart would have been broken many times, you’ll find it hard recognizing true love when you are finally ready.
Until you know and are sure you are really ready to settle down (if you know, you know OR at least meet a trusted adult for counselling to be sure you are ready), your pre-marriage prayers should be for God to prepare you and not allow you get distracted until it is time. Then trust Him to take control.
Royalty, I’m really grateful for this comment. It is eye opening. That prayer you shared is key because if God’s will doesn’t prevail before the marriage, the marriage may as well be a disaster.
As for the wife centric aspect, don’t mind me, I took it from the me perspective. The pronouns can be changed to suit the reader. Thank you!
Good!
Thank you!
This is very inspiring to say the least and very necessary. I like how you broke praying into ‘pre’ and ‘in’ and it’s something I’ll include in my vocabulary. One can never underestimate the importance of praying. I like to think praying before marriage as a savings account where one would need to make withdrawals from in the future. You know how it is when you save and then the joy you get withdrawing when you need it for something. Some of the blessings I got in marriage are from prayers I made many years ago and in as much as there are so many other factors needed in marriage, I’ll conclude by saying indeed, prayer is the master key and not the alternative key. You’ll need it every step of the way. It should become a lifestyle.
Thank you, ma’am. I really appreciate your comment, it was insightful. One thing I’ve also learnt is, “though there are other factors that are needed in marriage, prayer is the master key not the alternative key.” Thanks, ma’am.