Prayers for Friends Challenge Day 14

Hi, dear one!

For married people, there are few things more sought-after than a happy marriage.

And few things more challenging to develop.

Aren’t you thankful for God’s grace that always promises to be enough?

Even for two imperfect people who come together in all their imperfection and expect to cleave to each other for many imperfect decades.

Yes. Enough grace even for that.

There are many enemies acting against marriages these days, and it’s imperative that we cover the marriages of our loved ones in prayer.

These prayers come from Scripture, and while some of the original contexts weren’t specifically referring to marriage, the principles still undoubtedly apply. Will you join me in praying the Scriptures for your friend’s marriage?

Prayers for Your Friend’s Marriage

1. Ask the Lord to instill in your friend’s heart and their spouse’s heart His definition of love – an unconditional, sacrificial pattern of behavior that puts each other’s best interests above their own. Pray that He would implant a love that is patient and kind; a love that does not envy or boast; a love that is not arrogant or rude; one that does not insist on its own way and is not irritable or resentful; a love that does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Thank God for His example of true love – a love that bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things, and that never ends (I Corinthians 13:4-8).
2. Pray that He would help your friend and their spouse maintain purity within their marriage (Hebrews 13:4). Thank God for His design for purity within marriage. Ask Him to help them to freely offer themselves to one another, not depriving one another, so that Satan may not tempt them because of their lack of self-control. (I Corinthians 7:3-5).
3. Ask God to help your friend and their spouse prioritize their marriage above all other earthly relationships, holding fast to each other, and becoming one flesh (Genesis 2:24). Ponder the wonder of God’s design for marriage!
4. Claim God’s promise that no weapon fashioned against your friend’s marriage shall succeed (Isaiah 54:17), and acknowledge that what God has joined together, no person should separate (Mark 10:9).
5. Pray that the Lord would enable your friend and their spouse to live in agreement with each other, empowering them to walk in harmony through life together (Amos 3:3).
6. Pray that the husband in your friend’s marriage would love his wife as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for it, having a vested interest in its holiness and purity. Pray that he would love his wife as his own body, remembering that he who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church (Ephesians 5:25-29). Ask the Lord to help the wife in your friend’s marriage to be subject to her husband, so that even if he does not obey the Word, he may be won without a word by her conduct, when he sees her respectful and pure conduct (I Peter 3:1).
7. Praise God for the partnership He planned for husband and wife. They can work together; they can help each other if one of them falls; they can keep each other warm at night; and they can fight together against their common enemy. With Jesus Christ at the center of their union, they form a cord of three strands, which is not easily broken (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12). If one (or both) of them doesn’t yet know Christ as their Savior, pray for their salvation.
8. Pray that the Lord would help your friend and their spouse to treat each other with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Ephesians 4:2-3). Ask for God’s grace on them to be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave them (Ephesians 4:32). Pray that He would keep them from any unforgiveness or bitterness.
9. Pray that God would help your friend and their spouse to sober-minded and alert about protecting their marriage, being watchful against their enemy the devil, who prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8). Ask for God’s protection over your friend’s marriage.
10. Ask God to help your friend and their spouse to love one another with brotherly affection, cultivating a friendship within their marriage. Pray that He would grant them the grace to outdo one another in showing honor (Romans 12:10). Ask that above all, they would keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins (I Peter 4:8).

Dear Heavenly Father, how I thank You for the good gift of marriage! It is a relationship that satisfies, and one that sanctifies, as You use it to refine us from the impurity of self-centeredness and pride. Please be glorified in our marriages. May we live in such a way that our actions and attitudes bless our spouses and bless Your Name. It’s in the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ, that I pray. Amen.

Have I told you lately that you’re doing an awesome job with this challenge? I’m so proud of you. Don’t quit now! We’re heading into the home stretch. 🙂

Tomorrow’s topic might be a painful one, but I believe God has a lot of comfort and wisdom waiting for us in His Word. We’ll be lifting to the Lord prayers for a broken friendship – it’s a topic that hits close to home for me, so I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your prayers and your support.

Click here to navigate to the main page and find Day 15 of the challenge. If you’d like to share these prayers for your friend’s marriage, you can do so by accessing this page. Thanks for sharing!