What are you getting your husband or wife for Christmas this year? TV commercials would suggest fuzzy pajamas, a new grill, a diamond ring or a new car. But much more than physical gifts, your spouse needs you. And one of the best ways to give from your heart is to start with a prayer.
This Christmas prayer for your marriage will get your heart in the right place and invite God’s presence where He is needed most.
Heavenly Father,
Thank You for the gift You have given me in my spouse. My vision is so often clouded by their failures and weaknesses that I forget to treasure who they are to me. Forgive me for taking them for granted. You’ve entrusted me with the privilege of caring for my spouse’s heart in a way no one else can, and I thank You for that honor. Fill me again with Your love for my spouse.
I ask You to bless me with special vision to see my spouse as You see them. Let me value them in the same way You do. Forgive me for trying to make my spouse into the person I want them to be. Help me to see the work You are doing in their life, and to support that work in any way I can. Let me rejoice in every step my spouse takes in becoming the person You have created them to be.
Give me an understanding and open heart to truly hear what my spouse wishes to communicate. When faced with a conflict, let me reserve judgement until I fully understand. Give me the courage and wisdom to stick around through difficult conversations and to always work toward not what is best for me but what is best for our marriage.
Let me see frustrations and conflict between us as opportunities to understand better and to offer my own character to You for any necessary changes. Show me who You need me to be in this season of our relationship. I give You permission to change me into the person You need me to be to my spouse. Use me in my spouse’s life in any way you can. I invite Your Holy Spirit to have full sway in my own heart and in my spouse’s heart.
Dear Lord, be the glue that holds us together. Surround our marriage and home with Your Divine protection from all that the enemy would do to drive us apart. Break down the walls between us, and show me whatever I can do to help that happen. Deepen the intimacy between us. Bring us closer together and closer to You at the same time.
I ask You to fulfill the purpose You have for our union. Heal us where we need healing. Change us where we need changing. Fill our marriage and home with Your divine presence, peace and joy.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Perhaps you will want to share this prayer with your spouse and pray it over each other.
My prayer for you this Christmas is that God bless you with His understanding, healing, courage and the wisdom you need to love well.
Your Turn: How does this prayer make you feel? What gift from your heart are you going to bless your spouse with this Christmas? Leave a comment below. {eoa}
Dr. Carol Peters-Tanksley is both a board-certified OB-GYN physician and an ordained doctor of ministry. As an author and speaker, she loves helping people discover the Fully Alive kind of life that Jesus came to bring us. Visit her website at drcarolministries.com.
This article originally appeared at drcarolministries.com.
Janet Perez Eckles 
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