Prayer is one of the most tangible and powerful ways you can love your spouse. For Christians, the importance of prayer is readily acknowledged but often forgotten. This tendency to forget is probably because we haven’t had a deep revelation of what prayer is and why we do it. NOTE: Our NEW prayer devotionals are here! Make sure to visit 40Prayers.com to get your copies.
4 Ways to Build Lasting Unity
Unity. Deep, true unity is unmistakable and irreplaceable in a healthy marriage. God’s word says “they shall become one flesh” (Genesis 2:24). Not two people with a common goal, but one flesh. Combined. Unified. God created us for deeper unity with our spouses than any other human. There are profound reasons for this, like the necessity of strong families for flourishing churches and societies. There…
A Wedding Sermon from a 1943 Prison Cell
I remember the sermon given at our wedding pretty well. It applied directly to Selena and me, and the pastor drew from things he knew were distinct to our relationship. Perhaps you remember the sermon given at your wedding? Perhaps it’s all a blur… mine is a mixture of vivid memory and foggy recollection. The below sermon is one written by Dietrich Bonhoeffer to his…
Loneliness within Marriage
It’s ironic, but many individuals and couples experience loneliness while married. God said, “it is not good for man to be alone”. Why? What else does the Bible say about being alone? In today’s episode, we discuss ways forward into healthy, gospel-driven community with your spouse and others that will bring greater joy to your marriage.
Crafting a Family Vision Statement: What It Is and Why You Need One
Few things have been as impactful in our lives and marriage as our family vision. Years back when we felt aimless and flustered, we took the time to have in-depth discussions about what matters most to us: as Christians, as a family, and as a couple. The result was our family vision statement, which has helped us immensely since. Listen to today’s episode as we…
6 Ideas for Unified Prayer in Your Marriage
Prayer is a core part of the Christian life; naturally, it should extend to our most intimate relationship: marriage. One author and theologian, Henri Nouwen says: “a spiritual life without prayer is like the gospel without Christ.” Two common questions about prayer and marriage People often write to us asking about prayer in their marriage. These are two of the most common questions we receive:…
Fight for Unity, Fight for Your Marriage
Your marriage is a union forged by God! He has sealed your covenant and joined you as one. Let not anyone separate what God brought together. Fight for unity! Fighting for unity means protecting yourselves from division and divisive people. This is especially true if you’re going through a hard time. Always remember: you can still be unified during a disagreement. Selena and I recently…
Video: 3 Bulletproof Ways to Build Unstoppable Unity
We’ve been through quite a bit in our 13 years of marriage. We’ve suffered loss together, faced life-threatening sickness, fought and argued countless times, and enjoyed a bounty of joyful seasons. It seems that most enter marriage expecting to experience the latter (joy) most if not all the time, but they forget to prepare for the difficult seasons. Every married couple struggles at some point.…
Tragedy, Community, and the Church Being the Church
Tuesday night I visited the family of a high school friend, Matt, in the hospital. Matt was hospitalized the Sunday prior because of an unknown congenital heart defect that resulted in catastrophic heart failure. I got to visit him in his room that night I went to visit. We prayed with him briefly and just stood beside the bed trying to make sense of everything. What…