You can keep love alive and growing in your marriage. The most loving and powerful thing you can do is to pray for your spouse. Are there things about your spouse that you would like to see changed? Praying for those changes invites God to do great things in our lives. Without prayer, the success of our marriages depends on our own wisdom and efforts. But what a source for success we have when we pray! We also come to discover that prayer not only changes things, prayer changes us. You can’t truly pray for someone for long without God giving you more love and understanding for that person.

The couple that prays together stays together. It’s more than a cliché – it’s a tried and proven principle. Consult God about every detail of your marriage. (See Psalm 37:3-5 and Proverbs 3:3-10.) Be open with God and each other. Adam and Eve brought deceit into their marriage and then tried to hide from God. God never hides – only man does. God was involved in the first marriage and He is just as concerned about your marriage.

One thing I have learned about prayer is that if we have any unforgiveness, bitterness, selfishness, pride, anger, or resentment in our hearts, our prayers will not be answered. “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear” (Psalm 66:18). What is in our hearts when we pray has more effect on whether our prayers are answered than the actual prayer itself. When we come before God in prayer, we must first confess anything in our hearts that shouldn’t be there so that nothing will separate us from Him (I John 1:9, 10). The Bible says that if husbands have a wrong attitude, that their prayers can be hindered. (See I Peter 3:7.)

I was intrigued by the title of a best selling book “The Power of a Praying Wife”. I had considered reading it myself, but now the author, Stormie Omartian, has a new book out, “The Power of a Praying Husband”. I recommend that those couples that want to keep love alive and growing should purchase a copy of each and read them together. Then begin in faith to pray for your spouse. You’ll be amazed at the changes you’ll see in your marriage.

Another key principle is to guard your mouth. “Death and life are in the power of the tongue” (Proverbs 18:21). Speak wholesome, encouraging, edifying words to on another. Never allow criticism of your spouse to come out of your mouth in front of others. If you are doing so, stop it! Repent! (See Ephesians 5:28, 29.)

Never use the “D” word. Even in your most heated moments – never use the word divorce. A young wife confessed, “I wish now that I had never used the word divorce. We argued a lot. Things got pretty bad one day and I blurted out, ‘I think we ought to get a divorce.’ We were both shocked at first. But the seed of divorce had been planted. It was easier to say it the next time. The seed grew roots and finally strangled our marriage.”

Don’t clam up! Open up before you blow up. Don’t think that disagreements mean there is trouble in your marriage. Be honest when you disagree. Express your hurt. Learn to communicate “feelings”. People who look for a perfect relationship are heading for disappointment. (See Ephesians 4:25, 26.)

Practice complimenting each other and do it often. Partners tend to measure up to compliments paid them. Who doesn’t need encouragement and words of appreciation?

Learn to say, “I’m sorry!” and mean it! We must also forgive. Jesus said that the forgiveness of God depends on our forgiving those who trespass against us (Mark 11:25, 26).

Keep the joy flowing. “The joy of the Lord is our strength.” Strong marriages should abound in joy and laughter. Husbands and wives who no longer laugh and play together are losing love for each other. Enjoy doing things together. Try to “out serve the other”. See who can do the most for the other by demonstrating love. Be a fun person to live with. (See Proverbs 17:22.)

Marriages without at least on partner who keeps close to God have less likelihood to succeed. You need a hotline to heaven. Human love alone is not strong enough to keep marriages strong. Only God’s grace and power can do that. God’s grace, mercy, and power is healing and keeping marriages alive today. Where Jesus is Lord and King, marriages can make it.

Have you made Christ Jesus Lord and King of your life and marriage? Believe and receive Him today. “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name” (John 1:12). Invite Christ into your life and marriage today. You won’t be the same.