5 Prayers to Stop Thinking Negatively About Your SpouseSample

Today’s Prayer: God, help me look to you for the things only you can do.

“God, thank you for your unfailing love. Thank you that you see me not on the basis of what I have done, but on the basis of Jesus and his finished work on the cross. Help me to receive your love and acceptance in Christ, and to appreciate my spouse and marriage in the way you intend. Amen.”

Our spouse cannot love us with a perfectly unconditional love. No matter how much they want to, as humans we are conditional by default. Our best intentions can be taken down by something as simple as a terrible night’s sleep, low blood sugar, rushing to get out the door, or hurt feelings.

We may desire to love one another unconditionally, but the reality is that our best efforts will never be perfect. But there is so much hope when we look to the only One who is! For unconditional love, we can look to the true source: God is the only one who can provide true unconditional love.

This is why a marriage thrives when both spouses expect God to be God, and each other to be human. When we can accept our spouse’s humanity and fallibility, we will be much happier than when we hold them to unrealistic standards. We can appreciate them as a spouse, and go to God for total acceptance, validation and grace, knowing that He is full of unending kindness as we see in today’s verses from Ephesians 2. Thank Him for his goodness. Thank Him that His grace is sufficient in our weakness, and that in fact 2 Corinthians 12 tells us that He is glorified through our weakness when we allow Him to fulfill what we never could.