7 Ways to Prepare Your Heart for MarriageSample

Work on Personal Growth and Healing

Part of preparing your heart for marriage is getting yourself as healthy as possible. If you want a healthy marriage, it takes two healthy people. Do you have personal issues, past hurts, or unresolved conflicts? This could stem from your family of origin, friends, or past relationships.

If you said “yes” to any of these, what do you need to do? We know from Scripture that He heals the brokenhearted and binds their wounds (Psalm 147:3), so seek God for healing. Depending on the issue, you could join a support group or find a Christian Counselor. You may need to start with quiet times where you can read the Bible, journal, and pray. Ask God for guidance and wisdom. Ask Him to surface anything that He wants to help you deal with and heal the areas He wants to heal. One of my favorite prayers and scriptures is from Psalm 139: 23-24, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."

Working on yourself is never easy, but it is essential. We all have baggage from our past. But in Christ, you are made new! “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come,” (2 Corinthians 5:17). So you have a choice: You can either drag that baggage into your new marriage or check it at the door. I promise you as a counselor that you will have to deal with it sometime - either before marriage or in marriage. Save your marriage a lot of heartache and deal with it now.

The healthier you are emotionally and spiritually, the more you can do your part in building an awesome marriage.

Next Steps:

• Pray for God to reveal any personal issues, past hurts, or unresolved conflicts from your past.
• Take the necessary steps to begin dealing with these.