The Covenant: Transforming the Heart of Your Marriage by Vance K. JacksonSample

Delight. 

“And the Lord God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden [delight]; and there He put the man whom He had formed (framed, constituted).” Genesis 2:8 AMPC. 

Notice that the Amplified Version declares that Eden was a “Delight.” According to Strong’s Concordance, the definition of Eden (H5731) means “Pleasure.” God created the Garden of Eden as a place of peace, pleasure, and delight. Marriage was created by God to be a place of peace, pleasure, and delight.

God wants your marriage to be whole. God wants your marriage to be healed. God wants your marriage to be sound. God wants your marriage to be fruitful. The Garden of Eden was full—nothing was lacking. 

The Garden of Eden was full of peace. The Garden of Eden was full of riches. God designed every aspect of the Garden of Eden to reflect His Peace and Wholeness. God wants your marriage to reflect His complete Peace and Wholeness. The Garden of Eden was whole and perfect until sin entered. Where did sin enter your garden?

Couples’ Prayer

Father God, in the Name of Jesus, we thank You for our marriage. Father, we thank You for each other. Father, we thank You for sending Your Son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sin. His Blood washes us. His Blood renews us. His Blood restores us.

Father, through Your Son, Jesus Christ, every generational cycle is broken. It is through Jesus Christ that our sins are washed away and every entanglement of sin is broken. Father, it is through Your Son, Jesus Christ, that our family is restored, healed, and made whole.

Father, we thank You for covering our marriage. We thank You for keeping Your Covenant with us. We surrender our marriage to You. We surrender our hearts to You. We submit our lives to You. We accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and we invite You into our home. 

Lead and direct our thoughts. Guide our path. Father, lead our ways and guide our actions. Lord, lead our marriage. Father, we surrender our family to You.

In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Action 

• Ask God to lead your marriage and to soften your heart as you read this devotional. 
• Choose to develop a prayer life together. Strengthen your marriage through prayer. Pray together. 
• Take some time today to outline and identify some areas of your marriage that need to be strengthened.