Faith in Marriage is like education in schools. It’s necessary, important, and should be “a given” in relationships where both spouses are Christians. When Christians come together and begin a marriage, it is easy for them and everyone around them to assume that faith will naturally be a huge part of their marriage. In some ways, it will be natural, as you pray before each meal and share similar values. However, that’s not all that faith can offer your marriage.

What can faith do for your marriage?

• Faith can give you strength –  Ecclesiastes 4:12
• Faith can help you forgive – Ephesians 4:32
• Faith can lead you away from temptations – Hebrews 13:4
• Faith can direct your future – Jeremiah 29:11
• Faith can positively change your marriage –  (link to article)

My husband and I grew up in church, attended Christian schools, and were saved at young ages. We lived in the Christian bubble. At every stage in our lives, we had spiritual guidance and Christian mentors who intentionally poured into us as individuals. Spiritually, we had been “spoon fed” for the majority of our lives. (and we are SO grateful for that!) Once we were married, we moved to a new place, accepted new careers, and began to realize the responsibility that we had for our own spiritual growth. We weren’t “spoon fed” anymore, and we learned pretty quick that it was up to us to grow ourselves spiritually.

Early on, we decided that we wanted to find a church that would challenge us, support us, and grow us both individually and in our marriage. (I’ll explain why both are important in the next paragraph.) After a year of marriage, we finally found that church, and within weeks of attending, we quickly saw how much of a positive change our church was having in our lives. We were not in a “bad place” when we found our church, but our marriage was “hungry” for spiritual growth. The difference in our conversations and our love for each other, since attending our church regularly, has been incredible. It’s almost like our marriage married God.

Like everyone who has ever been married, our marriage still isn’t perfect. A perfect marriage only exists in our minds, when we dream of unrealistic relationships. However, our marriage is stronger and far more secure because Faith met our Marriage. You may have heard of the triangle analogy: God, husband, and wife are each a point of the triangle. If any of the lines in the triangle are broken, then the other lines will become weak. For instance, if the wife is struggling in her relationship with God, then her relationship with her husband will begin to feel the results of that, and vice versa.

 

I challenge you to take your marriage deeper, spiritually. You don’t have to join all these groups and fill up all your extra time at Church seminars and marriage workshops. Just devote some of your time, try it out, and see what it does for your marriage. You can start by deciding to pray together for a few minutes before bed, or by simply sharing personal prayer requests with each other. Find something that you are both interested in, and try it out for a few weeks. Maybe it will become a habit that provides spiritual structure to your marriage. With each spiritual component you add to your marriage, it’s like adding an extra  support beam. The more support you have, the stronger your marriage structure will become.

– L