12 Days of Fasting & Prayer for Marriages - Day 1

Prayer for the Institution of Marriage

Father God in Heaven, we come today thanking you for who You are. Thank You for creating the institution of marriage. Thank You for laying the foundation and giving us guidelines to live by for our marriages. Lord, today, we pray for the institution of marriage. Give us the strength and desire to have marriages that honor You. Help us remember why You created the institution of marriage and what it should look like. Help us trust and believe that since You are the Creator of marriage, that the application of Your guidelines will help us have marriages that bring glory to Your name. We pray and ask all these things in Your Son, Jesus' name. Amen.

Verse of the Day
“But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” - James 1:5 (NASB)

Food for Thought
“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” - Maya Angelou

I love this quote. It's simple and to the point. A lot of people get married with the right heart and the right intentions. They love each other and they want to live happily ever after. But most people, as they stand at the altar, take for granted the reality that marriage entails. It's not all roses and happiness all the time. It takes hard work and commitment to make it work and most marriages fail because they don't know any better.

The Creator of marriage has laid all the groundwork for us in His word and if you apply what He says, eventually, you'll have a marriage like He intended for you. The problem is we want to use God's word according to our will, not His, and that's where things go astray.

Marriage is a commitment and a covenant before God, not a contract that can be null and voided. When you study and learn more about what God says about marriage and apply what you've learned, you will do marriage better.

In your quiet time today, commit to study what God says about the institution of marriage. Discuss with your spouse how what you know helps you do better.