Your Future Marriage: What Are You Asking God For?
Photo by Josh Felise
My grandmother married my grandfather when she was fifteen and he was seventeen. And they made it. Their marriage thrived, despite their youth, their need to grow in maturity, and the deaths of three of their children at an early age.
That last challenge alone would have been enough to devastate most marriages, but my grandparents didn’t allow the pain they faced to drive a bitter wedge into their relationship. My mother got to grow up in a house filled with laughter and the mischief of a brother and five sisters.
When Leon and I were engaged, I remember how my grandmother—then in her nineties—used to pray for every member of our family. “I’m praying for your gringuito,” she would tell me, and I knew she was.
Your Marriage and the Reality of Heaven
Leon, my gringuito, did not just marry me. He also married the prayers of my grandmother—and the prayers of my mother, who prayed for my future husband for years before I met him. Those prayers are part of the spiritual heritage of my marriage.
When we marry someone, we tend to think we are marrying only one person, but that isn’t the case. We’re actually joining a pre-established family structure that has strengths and weaknesses. Like every family, mine had some broken pieces, but it also had abundant life—in part because of my relatives who didn’t give up praying for us as a family.
God’s love through a family’s prayers is a powerful force that brings many blessings to their generations. We see signs of this abundance in Deuteronomy 7:9:
Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments. (NIV)
Prayer is not a waste of time, nor is it a distraction from more important or more effective things. Instead, prayer really is the door we step through to stand in God’s amazing will, which makes the reality of heaven a reality on earth. He will pour out blessings on us and our future generations for centuries to come.
As you pray, you invite that reality—all of heaven, the abundant blessings of God—into your life and future generations.
Jesus Is Praying for Your Marriage
Sometimes we get busy and don’t make much time for prayer, even to pray about the things that matter most to our hearts.
Yet those desires are precious to the Lord, who intercedes for us. He is praying for all the things you care about. He wants you to have a blessed marriage, and He wants you to grow closer to His heart, understanding who you are in Him and His infinite love for you. You increase your family heritage as you pray.
What do you want to ask Him? What are you hoping for? What prayer requests fill your heart concerning your future? Pray into all these things.
Who Can Pray for Your Spouse with You?
Start by praying on your own, but ask God if He has someone He wants to join you as you pray for your spouse. This prayer partner could be a grandparent, parent, another relative, or friend.
Don’t allow the enemy to talk you out of asking for prayer. When you ask someone to pray with you, you are changing things in the spiritual realm. Things are happening. The Lord remembers every one of the prayers my grandmother prayed for my gringuito, every prayer my mother prayed for him—and He will remember your prayers as well.
Take a moment and ask the Lord what He’s saying to you about your future spouse. Write down what He says so you can remember it later.
Interested in reading more about dating, relationships, and your walk with God? Here are a few articles on related topics:
For more information on sex, marriage, and finding the person who is right for you, get a copy of Becoming the One by Salomé Roat. Click here to learn more. The book is also available in Spanish.