SPIRITUALITY AND YOUR MARRIAGE

(Marriage 101)

Genesis 3:6-8 NKJV

“So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.”

There has been this erroneous notion making the rounds in some quarters, that marriage is nothing spiritual and that it has nothing to do with spirituality. Well, I found that hard to believe because I cannot imagine that God who is a Spirit can make something that has no spiritual implications to it. Let me say here and now that marriage is a very spiritual thing and that it takes a whole lot of spirituality to make it work. In the first place, to be spiritual is to be in right standing with God, it is to be in correct alignment with God.

And for as long as Adam and Eve were correctly aligned with God by way of obedience, they remained spiritual. That spirituality helped them to live well with each other in nakedness. Genesis 2:25 records that the man and his wife were both naked and they were not ashamed. It must be understood here that they were not without some form of dressing in the garden, they were in the image of God and as such, they wore what God wears; and God covers Himself with light as with a garment, (Psalm 104:2). So they had a garment of light covering them, and that was part of the glory of God that they fell short of in the garden. But they were named to each other. That is why the word said "the man and his wife were naked". The bible was trying to let you know about their home life. They were transparent, they were honest with each other, they were trustful of each other, and they could see each other for whom or what they really were; and for all these they were not ashamed, or disappointed.

But as soon as man's relationship with God went bad through disobedience, they began to hide. And the first thing that was impacted by that disobedience was the marriage because they now had something to hide from each other. They quickly became ashamed of themselves and of each other. Another word for "ashamed" is "disappointed", so they became disappointed of both themselves and each other. It yet took another turn, as they began to hide from God too. Sin will make you hide, and it will make you run from God. Sin will make you unspiritual and by so doing ruin your relationship with people, especially your spouse.

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter - whenever your relationship with your spouse goes bad, query your relationship with God, it must have gone bad a long time ago. Whenever you notice unbecoming attitude in your spouse, then go to prayer and ask God to restore their spiritual lives because that is a sign that their stand with God is shaky. When people have sound spiritual lives, their relationships are blessed because of it.

Assignment

i. Take up a prayer of revival for your spouse today, and stop blaming them for all their negative attitude.

ii. Do less talking and do more of intercession for your spouse' spiritual life.

iii. Put a careful watch over your spouse and make sure they have not lost their prayer lives and study of the word.

Prayer

-Lord I pray for my spouse today in Jesus Name. Let there be restoration and revival in his/her heart in Jesus Name.

-Restore his/her first love in Jesus Name.

-Give my spouse practical encounters in your presence in Jesus Name.

Nugget

Whenever your relationship with your spouse goes bad, query your relationship with God, it must have gone bad a long time ago.