6 Prayers for a Marriage in Trouble
- Amanda Idleman Contributing Writer
- Published Jun 22, 2022
One of the most powerful ways we can fight for our marriages is by praying over them! When a couple we love is struggling, they need our support. Sometimes we have to rely on the faith of others to see us through hard seasons. We can rejoice because the Bible tells us that our prayers are powerful and effective! God hears us, and if we want to see our families thrive, we need to keep them lifted up in prayer to the Lord.
John 15:7 says, “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” Time spent on our knees before the Lord is well spent. In our fast-paced world, we are always looking for a tangible win. Yet, God calls us to live for the unseen rather than rely on only what we can see around us. When circumstances around us grieve our heart, the best thing we can do is first bring the needs we see before the Lord.
Nothing is impossible with God! God is able to heal our brokenness when we are willing to surrender our lives to him. Even if we aren’t struggling, we need God’s help to stay the course, especially in our marriages. Let’s commit to lifting our marriages in prayer to God daily. One thing is certain: we need God’s help to love each other well!
Here are some powerful prayers to pray over a troubled marriage:
1. A Prayer for Kindness, Compassion, and Forgiveness
Ephesians 4:32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Father, would you give the strength, grace, patience, and wisdom for this couple to display your kindness and compassion towards one another. Would you bring to light the ways unforgiveness has made way for a root of bitterness to poison this relationship? Give them the strength to unpack the baggage that the years have created gracefully. Open their hearts to experience your miraculous gift of forgiveness. May they follow your example of loving beyond what is reasonable. Amen.
2. A Prayer for Faithfulness in Marriage
Matthew 19:6 So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.
Jesus, we thank you that marriage is a gift you have given us. It is a beautiful convent relationship, designed to refine us but also to bring joy into our lives through the blessing of family. I pray that you would protect, nourish, and sustain this marriage relationship. Do not let outside stress, temptation, mistakes, pressure, negativity, or distractions steal from this sacred union. Let this husband and wife remain faithful to one another and to the family they have joined together to create. Amen.
3. A Prayer for Love and Respect
Ephesians 5:33 However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.
God, graciously give us the ability to see each other as you see us. Show them the ways that you love their spouse. Show them the mercy you have bestowed on each of us. Empower them to regard each other with love and respect. May they take the time to truly hear each other. Allow them to humbly be willing to serve their partner. Amen.
4. A Prayer for a Heart of Love
1 Corinthians 13:4-8 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.
God, I thank you that you are love, and you teach us to be like you. I am so thankful that your word instructs us on how to follow your ways and gives us practical advice for our lives. May you help this marriage to be filled with love. Give both the husband and wife the ability to be patient, kind, and humble, to protect each other, lay down resentment, and rejoice in all things. May you bear the heavy things they endure with them. Would you give them hope in the dark seasons of life! Bless them with a lasting love that carries them through a lifetime together. Bless them with a heart of love for one another. Amen.
5. A Prayer for Reconciliation
Matthew 6:14-15 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Lord, we praise you because you are the only one able to repair the brokenness that plagues our lives! No sin is too great for you to bring healing and restoration. When we surrender our lives to you, you are faithful to help us put them together in a God-honoring way. Would you graciously do what only you can do in this marriage! Bring healing, restoration, forgiveness, a fresh start, and a path forward! Let the trespasses of the past be left in the past, blotted away, and a new way forward become clear. Break off the chains of sin and death. Allow your healing power to bring freedom in this marriage. We thank you for your ability to reconcile us both to you and to each other. Amen.
6. A Prayer for Wisdom
James 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given to him.
God, give this marriage the wisdom it needs to step forward, one step at a time. Give this couple the strength to follow you first in a world that does not understand God’s way. Speak to their hearts about what the wise next right step is for their family. Help them to see past the distractions that are thrown at them and be able to follow your narrow way. Silence the voices of confusion, discouragement, distraction, or temptation that would want to entrap them in folly. Help them to trust you and follow you for all of their days. Amen.
Romans 8:31 says, “What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” When God is on our side, no challenge that life brings our way is too big for us to handle. Having a faith-filled community to rally around you when the going gets rough can make the difference between marriage failure or the strength to persevere. In our story, I know that there were many moments we would have been very tempted to throw in the towel if we did not have wise friends around us praying for us and cheering us on. It takes a village to live out our faith and shepherd our families well.
Photo credit: ©GettyImages/fizkes
