{"id":3555,"date":"2023-11-15T20:48:06","date_gmt":"2023-11-15T20:48:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/allthecounselofgod.com\/?p=3555"},"modified":"2023-11-15T20:48:06","modified_gmt":"2023-11-15T20:48:06","slug":"practical-and-spiritual-things-that-you-can-do-now-to-prepare-for-a-better-and-more-successful-marriage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/allthecounselofgod.com\/index.php\/2023\/11\/15\/practical-and-spiritual-things-that-you-can-do-now-to-prepare-for-a-better-and-more-successful-marriage\/","title":{"rendered":"Practical and Spiritual Things That You Can Do Now To Prepare For A Better And More Successful Marriage"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As a man, here are some practical and spiritual things that you can do to prepare for your marriage, even long before you find the woman that you believe God would have you to marry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Establish consistent personal devotions<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 Ps 55:17 David prayed three times a day; Is 34:16 read your Bible daily; 2 Tim 2:15 study the words of God; 1 Tim 4:13 Paul exhorted Timothy to \u201cgive attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine\u201d \u2013 the best way to prepare yourself to love your wife is to love the Lord with all your heart, mind and soul \u2013 Jesus loves the church and we are to love our wives the way that Christ loves the church, Eph 5:25 \u2013 your love for your wife should always be secondary to your love for the Lord \u2013 if, therefore, you don\u2019t love the Lord very much, you won\u2019t love your wife very much either \u2013 or else you will end up loving her more than you love the Lord and that will cripple your marriage<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rule your spirit<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 Prov 25:28; 14:29 \u2013 loving relationships between men and women involve emotions \u2013 therefore, you have to have control of your spirit and your emotions to keep from rash statements and actions that will hurt your spouse \u2013 one thing with which women have a hard time is forgetting things that hurt them \u2013 many men have hurt their wives because they lost their temper at a time when they should have maintained control \u2013 their marriages have suffered from then on<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Control your eyes<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 Ps 101:3; Job 31:1 men have a terrible time with this problem, particularly today \u2013 you have to be disciplined to keep from developing an attitude about women that they are simply objects for your personal pleasure \u2013 so, don\u2019t watch TV, watch few movies [be sure there is nothing suggestive or explicit that you will view], don\u2019t surf the internet, don\u2019t lust after women Matt 5:28 \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Control your thoughts<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 2 Cor 10:4-5; Prov 16:3 \u2013 once you have an image, you have an imagination \u2013 and the trouble with our imagination is that \u201cthe imagination of man\u2019s heart is evil from his youth,\u201d Gen 8:21 \u2013 you have to control your thought life \u2013 if you don\u2019t you could very easily end up marrying the wrong woman for the wrong reason and be very miserable in your marriage \u2013 furthermore, with an out-of-control thought life, you will not be satisfied with the wife of thy youth [Prov 5:18-19] and before long you will be looking for pleasure from other women \u2013 follow Phil 4:8 and not the philosophy of the world \u2013 fill your mind with good things<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keep yourself pure<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 1 Cor 7:1 keep your hands to yourself; 2 Tim 2:22 flee also youthful lusts \u2013 the best way to avoid trouble here is don\u2019t play the dating game \u2013 and covenant that you will wait till you are married before physically loving your wife<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Find and do the Lord\u2019s will for your life<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 Phil 2:12-13 that way when you meet your future bride, you won\u2019t be pulled away from the Lord\u2019s will by trying to appease her \u2013 1 Cor 11:3 the head of every man is Christ \u2013 therefore, you have to be under his authority if your wife is ever going to be under your authority \u2013 many a man has left the path of the Lord\u2019s will for the sake of the woman he wanted to marry only to find that he could never get back to the Lord\u2019s will because she wouldn\u2019t let him without making his life miserable or without threatening to divorce him<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prepare yourself financially<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 2 Thes 3:7-10, Prov 24:27 \u2013 you have to be able to pay the bills without straining your marriage \u2013 it\u2019s too easy to crave the companionship of a bride so much that you neglect to be responsible about the future of your family\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Develop strong convictions<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 1 Tim 4:12 \u2013 as the old saying goes, \u201ca man that will stand for nothing will fall for anything\u201d \u2013 there is some truth to that statement \u2013 you have to know where you stand and then you have to stand there \u2013 that will make it easier for you and your bride to determine whether you are agreed on important matters \u2013 if not, then you\u2019ll find yourself giving ground that you cannot recover just to keep your marriage together \u2013 like Amos asks, \u201cCan two walk together, except they be agreed?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Study and develop leadership characteristics<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 Gen 3:16, about the woman, God said, \u201che shall rule over thee\u201d; 1 Cor 11:3, \u201cthe head of the woman is the man\u201d \u2013 how can you expect a woman to follow you if you cannot rule \u2013 a preacher said, \u201ca man will either rule his house or he\u2019ll wreck it\u201d \u2013 so you have to learn how to lead<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be very faithful in church<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 Heb 10:25 \u2013 attend all the services faithfully [i.e., Sunday school, preaching morning and evening, and prayer meeting] \u2013 occupy your time with things in the ministry \u2013 learn to be a helper and concentrate your efforts on getting lost people saved and in church \u2013 that way it will be natural for your family to grow together in church<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Honor the women who are in your life<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 1 Pet 3:7 \u2013 a man is to give honor unto his wife \u2013 so learn the proper honor and respect for the women who are in your life \u2013 honor your mother \u2013 treat your sisters with honor \u2013 treat your aunts and grandmothers and personal friends with honor and respect \u2013 that way when you marry, you will know how to honor your wife \u2013 too many men treat their wives with less honor than they do their dogs<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pray for the right woman<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 Prov 18:22; 19:14 \u2013 \u201ca prudent wife is from the Lord\u201d \u2013 God can direct you to the woman he wants you to have but you would be wise to start praying now for the discernment to know who she is when she shows up \u2013 a friend of mine prayed for years for a wife and when visiting a church he identified her \u2013 shortly thereafter they married \u2013 and they have been married now for over 40 years, with wonderful children and grandchildren faithfully serving the Lord<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Study spiritual qualities in virtuous women<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 Prov 31:10-31; Tit 2:3-5 \u2013 a man once told me what his mother told him about marrying the right woman \u2013 she said, \u201cDon\u2019t you marry no woman what you loves \u2026 you marry a woman who gonna prove she love you\u201d \u2013 now that\u2019s not good grammar but that is sound wisdom \u2013 she explained that a man is prone to fall in love with the first woman he sees who\u2019ll look back at him \u2013 forget about her physical qualities for a minute and check out her non-physical qualities to see if they match the qualities of a virtuous woman \u2013 remember that \u201cbeauty is vain\u201d \u2013 \u201ca woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised\u201d \u2013 I\u2019ll guarantee you this, if she\u2019s virtuous she won\u2019t let you start a physical relationship with her until you two are married<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be manly<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 Prov 13:22 \u201ca good man obtaineth favor of the Lord\u201d; Acts 11:24 Barnabas was \u201ca good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith\u201d \u2013 today there are many sissies in church because Christianity is soft and all about feelings \u2013 be a man \u2013 and like an old preacher said, \u201cIf you can\u2019t be a man, fake until you become one\u201d \u2013 a good woman deserves a man with a backbone \u2013 she\u2019ll be extremely insecure if you\u2019re backbone is no firmer than a wet noodle \u2013 and when a woman is insecure she will try to take control<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Develop friendships with good men<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 Prov 13:20 \u2013 most of the problems that young men have with young women stem from friendships with bad young men \u2013 you run with the wrong crowd and you will do the wrong things \u2013 and the converse is true \u2013 you run with the right crowd and you will do the right things<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Follow the example of men in successful marriages<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 Phil 4:9 \u2013 ask the men who have been married to the same woman for twenty five or thirty years or more how they did it \u2013 listen carefully and do those things \u2013 you will generally find that these men are stable, sober, compassionate, friendly, secure, humble, and good natured; they are good listeners and good leaders; they are not harsh and they are not cruel; they are honorable and trustworthy<\/p>\n<\/body>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"