No matter what we do in this life as Christians, we should always put God first – even in our marriages.

Marriage is hard for most of couples; they vowed before God and their loved ones that they would take their sacred vows of matrimony seriously; but nothing is more serious than our relationship with the Lord, the savior of our souls. Why would we want to leave Him out of our marriages, anyway? Without Him, nothing we do would be successful, let alone joyful, fulfilling, or rewarding.

You may say: “Tell me how to keep God in my marriage. I don’t know how.” That’s okay!

According to www.elevateyourmarriage.com, there are 16 ways that instruct us on how to keep God in our marriages.

  1. Read Christian literature together. Whether the text is the Bible, Christian novels, Christian non-fiction, autobiographies, etc., Christian literature can encourage you and strengthen you in your marriage.
  2. Pray together. If you can’t pray together, exchange prayer requests and pray for one another throughout the day or in your alone time with the Lord. Make prayer with your partner a daily habit.
  3. God for a walk and don’t feel afraid to hold hands and share that close, intimate moment with each other.
  4. Write your spouse a letter. Sometimes, it’s hard to express yourself. But by writing your husband or wife a letter, you have the opportunity to pour out your heart that you can end with a prayer.
  5. Go on a short trip. You don’t have to wait for those two weeks of vacation time to roll around. Jump in the car and leave this weekend!
  6. Talk 15 minutes a day. Turn off the T.V., put the cell phones on silent, sit on the couch and just talk to each other.
  7. Memorize scripture. Add of spice of competitiveness to your relationship. Challenge each other to memorize a passage of scripture that is relevant to your marriage. Then come up with a prize for the first person to memorize it – be creative!
  8. See a Christian counselor or therapist. There doesn’t have to be a crisis for you to find a third party to talk to. Sometimes it’s better to talk when there are no real problems, before emotional strains begin to strangle the relationship.
  9. Have a mid-day rendezvous. Meet for a quick cup of coffee at the local coffee shop during your lunch break.
  10. Get involved with a secret project. Engage your marriage in a project to help other in your neighborhood, church, or community. But keep it just between the two of you and God.
  11. Share the marital struggles that God has brought you through with a young couple. Being a source of encouragement to others is a great way to grasp the concreteness of what God has done for you.
  12. Spend time with older couples. Go out with an older couple that the two of you admire. Sometimes, God speaks to us through others. Find a couple that has been through some scrapes and bruises in their marriage and walk with God. The choice is yours about whether or not you want to ask them about their marriage – or you can just observe them throughout your conversation.
  13. Forgive each other.
  14. Meditate. Christian meditation differs from how other groups meditate. The goal is to get more of God’s truths into your heart and mind. Marriage and life provide a great backdrop to think deeply about the goodness, grace, and mercy of God.
  15. Practice unselfishness. Just as Christ demonstrated and unselfish love towards us = demonstrate an act of unselfish love toward your spouse.
  16. Bring God into the bedroom! It has been said that couples that pray together have better sex. So keep growing and praying in your relationship with God…as often and as passionately as the Lord allows.

So, the next time you wonder how to keep God in your marriage, don’t give up! There are 16 ways to practice, and when you do, your marriage will be blessed!