Directions: |
Directions:God of Love, You have established marriage for the welfare and happiness of mankind. Yours was the plan and only with You can we work it out with joy. You have said, “It is not good for man to be alone. I will make a help meet for him.” Now our joys are doubled since the happiness of one is the happiness of the other. Our burdens now are halved since when we share them, we divide the load. Bless this husband. Bless him as provider of nourishment and raiment and sustain him in all the exactions and pressures of his battle for bread. May his strength be her protection, his character be her boast and her pride, and may he so live that she will find in him the haven for which the heart of a woman truly longs. Bless this loving wife. Give her a tenderness that will make her great, a deep sense of understanding and a great faith in You. Give her that inner beauty of soul that never fades, that eternal youth that is found in holding fast the things that never age. Teach them that marriage is not living merely for each other; it is two uniting and joining hands to serve God. Give them a great spiritual purpose in life. May they seek first the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness, and the other things shall be added unto them. May they not expect that perfection of each other that belongs alone to God. May they minimize each other’s weaknesses, be swift to praise and magnify each other’s good points and strengths, and see each other through a lover’s kind and patient eyes.
Now make such assignments to them on the scroll of Your will as will bless them and develop their characters as they walk together. Give them enough tears to keep them tender, enough hurts to keep them human, enough of failure to keep their hands clenched tightly in yours, and enough of success to make them sure they walk with God. May they never take each other’s love for granted, but always experience that breathless wonder that exclaims, “Out of all this world you have chosen me.” When life is done and the sun is setting, may they be found then as now still hand in hand, still thanking God for each other. May they serve You happily, faithfully, together, until at last one shall lay the other into the arms of God. This we ask through Jesus Christ. Amen. |
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