Married life is overwhelming for newlyweds and established couples alike. No matter how much you prepare, it will find a way to stress you out. However, there is no shame in recognizing that married life is hard and that sometimes, you need help weathering some troubles out.
Prayers for marriage protection ask the Lord to help couples work on a certain aspect of their relationship that is currently lacking to make their relationship stronger and healthier. There are plenty of prayers available online, but it is also good to create your own for a better connection with God.
Examples of prayers for marriage protection and healthy relationships are given below. Instructions for how to make your own prayer are also provided. Additionally, factors that influence the strength of a relationship and tips for a healthy marriage will be discussed.
Prayers for Marriage Protection
1. A Prayer for Unity in Marriage (by Michael and Carlie Kercheval)
“Heavenly Father we come before you to thank you for all you have done and continue to do in our lives and marriage. We come before you today, God, asking for a stronger bond of unity in our marriage covenant.
Father we ask that you will give us the ability to be a united front for you letting nothing come between us. Help us, Father to identify and work through anything that is not pleasing to you so we can continually reach higher levels of unity in our marriage – spiritually, physically, and mentally.
We are thankful and excited to see the work of your hand as we do our best to seek your face daily. We love you and thank you for all of these things. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen!”
2. A Prayer for Honesty in Marriage (by Michael and Carlie Kercheval)
“Father God we come before you today to ask you to help us do everything with absolute honesty in our marriage. Sanctify us by your truth – your word is truth (John 17:17).
Help us to never lie to one another. Help us to come clean if we mess up or make a mistake that can affect our marriage – no matter how bad we may feel or embarrassed we may be. Give us the ability to be completely transparent with one another regardless of how we feel.
We thank you for the discernment to know your truth and the conviction to call on the name of Jesus. If there is anything that we have been untruthful about in the past, please help us to share it with one another and give us the wisdom to work through it. We thank you for helping us to be honest as we choose to submit to your spirit. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.”
3. A Prayer for a Better Understanding with Your Partner (Unknown)
“Dear God,
We ask that You guide us to understand one another better. Despite being together for a long time, we remain different people with different ways of doing things. May You grant us an open mind and a patient heart so that we can work through our emotions healthily.
Help us become better listeners and more sensitive to each other’s needs.
May we find balance and strength in our differences, and may our differences empower us to be more faithful and proactive.
Bind us as one, and let our differences nourish this bond.
In Jesus’ mighty name, we pray. Amen.”
4. A Prayer for Resilience Against Marital Challenges
“Lord, we praise You, we adore You, and we glorify You. We know that You would not let challenges come our way that we could not overcome. Heavenly Father, we humbly ask that You help us see the challenges we face as opportunities to trust You and have faith in You.
Heavenly Father, we ask that You guide us to be open, understanding, and forgiving of each other’s shortcomings. We also ask that You help us to be selfless, humble, and one in mind and faith. May we always remember that our marriage has You in its center, and thus we should follow Your example as a merciful and compassionate God.
May You always remind us of the commitment we have made in front of You, Lord. Our marriage is a reflection of our relationship with You. We pray that our love remains steadfast and strong amid the challenges that we are facing.
In Jesus’ name, we pray, Amen.”
5. A Prayer for Strength and Communication Amid Disagreements
“Heavenly Father, I am eternally grateful for the life partner that you have given me. I know that disagreements will always be a part of any marriage. Lord, I humbly ask for Your guidance as I navigate my emotions after our argument today.
May You guide us to honesty and level-mindedness as we communicate about the issues in our relationship. May You strengthen our bond and commitment to one another through Your word. May You instill upon us respect, modesty, and openness. May You help us stay connected and remember that our love will conquer whatever challenges that come our way.
Through You do we heal, through You do we forgive, and through You do we love. In Jesus’ name, we pray, Amen.”
How to Write a Prayer for Marriage Protection
- Figure out your intentions. What do you think is lacking in your marriage? Is there an issue that needs to be resolved? You may find that a certain factor that influences the strength of a marriage is currently weak or lacking.
- Begin drafting your prayer. There is a general structure you can follow in writing your prayer: you, who, do, through. The first two parts address and praise the Lord for his blessings.
- Be sincere. The do part of the structure is where you ask God for His help and guidance. Be sincere and honest with your troubles and what you are asking for.
- Conclude your prayer. The through part of the structure simply denotes that you pray through the name of Jesus. A common phrase used is “Through Jesus Christ, our Lord,” followed by an “Amen.”
Factors that Influence the Strength of Marriages
Love and Commitment
At the end of the day, marriage is a decision to stay committed to your partner and your relationship. The wedding vows you exchange during your wedding should not just be empty promises.
Contrary to popular belief, love is not constant — there will be times in your life where you may find that love does not come as easy. Loving someone gets difficult sometimes, but to commit is to consciously decide to stay in the relationship through its ups and downs and get through them together.
Openness
If no one is perfect, then it follows that no relationship is perfect, too. Eventually, you and your partner will get into fights and disagreements. You will find a habit of theirs that annoys you and vice versa. Your partner may forget something or make a mistake.
Couples in strong and successful marriages are open, patient, and forgiving with each other. They know how to talk through their grievances and work together to resolve their issues. Likewise, they do not seek revenge or hold grudges.
Honesty and Trust
Openness, honesty, and trust often go hand-in-hand; you must be open to sharing what it is that is bothering you, be honest in what you say, and trust that your partner will listen.
Trust is a quality that takes time to build and relies on both parties being honest; likewise, honesty is a trait that best thrives in a relationship where the couple trusts each other. This goes to show how honesty and trust are often inseparable.
Communication
Corollary to the previous factor, strong marriages heavily rely on open communication between the couple. This applies to the everyday aspects of married life, such as chores, responsibilities, schedules, and finances. A harmonious relationship consists of two people working together and helping each other.
Furthermore, open communication also applies to plans, hopes, expectations, fears, and insecurities. In healthy marriages, couples identify and address issues they are going through and strive to resolve them together.
Intimacy
Whereas a lot of people immediately associate intimacy with sexual acts, it also covers the emotional aspects of a relationship. Both physical and emotional intimacy require honesty, trust, and communication to be healthy and effective. This includes discussions on boundaries, consent, preferences, and thoughts. Studies have found that couples who are sexually satisfied have longer-lasting marriages.
Balance
Having a balanced relationship means being equal in all aspects. From major plans such as having kids to mundane things such as the distribution of chores at home, decisions must be made mutually. Your input and your partner’s input are equally important and worthy of being heard. Likewise, there should be as much give as there is take; one-sided relationships can quickly become burdensome and toxic.
Tips for Maintaining a Healthy Relationship
Remember that You Are Still an Individual
There was a time where you lived an unmarried life — do not forget that time, nor the person you were at that time. After all, a relationship is a union of two individuals. Marriage is a massive responsibility, but that does not mean that your entire identity should just be the fact that you are married.
Remembering that you are still an individual will prevent you from becoming overly dependent on your partner. Healthy couples complement each other, not complete each other.
Spend Quality Time Together
With that said, you and your partner should still spend quality time with each other. The key is balance. This can be done by going on adventures together, trying new things together, learning a skill together, having date nights now and then, and so forth. Sharing common experiences and passions helps empower the couple to grow together.
If both you and your partner are particularly religious, then an option for some quality time together would be to write and recite a prayer together.
Learn Their Love Language
Simply put, your love language is how you show your love. The five major love languages are as follows:
- Quality time – as explained above, quality time is time spent doing something together. This includes listening, discussing, and simply laying in bed together while giving your partner your undivided attention.
- Acts of service – this refers to actions, simple or grand, that show your partner how much you love and care for them. Examples are carrying out household chores, doing errands, making meals and coffee for them, and so on.
- Physical touch – people with physical touch as their love language express their love through physical means. This includes hugging, kissing, and hand-holding. Do note that physical touch does not have to be sexual.
- Words of affirmation – having this love language means you show your love through spoken or written words, appreciation, and praise. This includes uplifting messages, compliments, love notes and letters, and simply uttering the words “I love you.”
- Receiving gifts – people with this love language associate gift-giving with love and affection. They view the gift itself as a manifestation of the gift giver’s love and affection for them. The gift does not have to be expensive, it just has to be thoughtful and come from the heart.
It is rare for couples to have the same love languages. For a healthier and stronger marriage, you and your partner should learn to speak each other’s love language as well. Knowing how the other shows their love can make you feel all the more appreciated, and vice versa.
Attend Couples Therapy or Marriage Counseling
It has been proven that attending a few sessions of couples therapy or marriage counseling helps fix or keep a relationship healthy. A licensed therapist will achieve this by empowering the couple with tools and strategies to facilitate open communication, manage and resolve conflicts, and so on.
Arguments and disagreements are part and parcel of any kind of relationship. These hardships, when overcome, will make your commitment stronger. However, you must learn how to recognize the moment things get out of hand. It is also the therapist’s or counselor’s duty to help you do just that.
Final Thoughts
Many factors influence the strength of a relationship. You can turn to these facts and identify issues in your marriage that are weakening your connection with your partner. With these in mind, you can write a prayer for marriage protection and ask for guidance in working through these issues. By overcoming these hardships, you and your partner will come out more secure and committed.
