Proverbs 3:6 (TLB)
6 In everything you do, put God first, and he will direct you and crown your efforts with success.
Genesis 2:24 (TLB)
24 This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife in such a way that the two become one person.
John 2:1-5 (NASB)
1 On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there;
2 and both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding.
3 When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus *said to Him, “They have no wine.”
4 And Jesus *said to her, “Woman, what does that have to do with us? My hour has not yet come.”
5 His mother *said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.”

You might be thinking… What do these verses have to do with each other? And what does this have to do with prayer?

As I was studying the Bible and meditating on scripture this week, I was thinking about the institution of marriage. How interesting it is that God created man and woman, individuals with our own unique abilities and gifts. And yet, He also established in the beginning a union between man and woman in such a way that both become one person.

Is that the way you look at marriage? Was that your motivation for getting married? It seems that the primary motivation in “the world” can be quite different.

I used to think that pride was probably the biggest sin that we deal with in life, but recently I’ve realized that selfishness might be right up there. Especially when you look at how couples approach their marriage. There seems to be a strong motivation these days for people to remain as individuals, to be separate and unique, not to become one person under God.

There also appears to be a trend these days for individuals to wait later in life to marry. Nothing wrong with that as long as our motivations are in the right place. Do the youth do that so that they establish God first in their lives, so that when they marry they can come together as one to fulfill God’s will? I do see that in some, but others seem to delay because of selfish reasons.

How can we live our lives in marriage and make decisions in marriage that is honoring to God. Certainly prayer has to be a high priority. We can’t live together as one without help from the Holy Spirit. If you are married, do you constantly pray for your marriage, asking God to purify your heart in a way that is honoring to your spouse? Do you frequently pray with your spouse? If you are contemplating marriage, do you both put God first, then the other, before thinking of your individual needs? Or do individual needs take priority? Do you pray with and for each other?

I don’t think it was a coincidence that the first miracle that Jesus performed was at a wedding. Our union in marriage is to be just like our union with Christ, where two become one. And His mother’s command to the servants summarizes to me what is written in Proverbs 3:5. In everything you do, put God first.

Always praying for the glory of God,

Chris McKean