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Feeling God’s presence in your life is a lot like waking up on Christmas morning as a child and catching that first glimpse of presents under the tree. It’s an exhilarating sensation that leaves you feeling hopeful and eager for it to happen again. God’s love for us is indescribable. Because He made us in his image, He calls us to love others the way He loves us (John 15:12). Our call to love our neighbors includes loving our significant others in a godly way, whether we are dating or married.
Two years ago, I started dating the man who will soon become my husband. We were both followers of Christ but our busy work schedules occupied the majority of our time, and we left no room for Jesus. Although we loved each other in a godly way, we didn’t actively seek out God together. It wasn’t long before we hit bumps in the road of our relationship. We realized that however great our relationship was, it couldn’t get any better until we invited Jesus into our lives again. Changing our daily, weekly, and monthly habits to put our focus on God has brought our relationship from good to great.
Here are just a few of the practices we have taken on to honor God in our relationship:
Even though God doesn’t require our perfect attendance in church every weekend to be loved by Him, praising Him through worship and weekly sermons have a way of filling our cup. Whereas my favorite part of our hour in church is the worship, my fiance loves listening to the sermons. We both walk away feeling satisfied, closer to God, and have a new experience to talk about and share together. Even if we can’t make it to church on the weekend, we make sure to listen to the recorded sermon during the week.
Sticking to a routine of prayer at certain times in the day allows us to get more comfortable with talking to God. Prayer can sometimes seem intimidating, especially if you have to lead a group in prayer. In this modern era, I try to think of it as simply calling God on the phone. Like any loving parent, He wants to hear from us! If it’s on our mind, it’s on His heart. He cares about what we have to say and is the world’s greatest listener! My fiance and I have started to pray before each meal we share together. It is a time to reflect on our gratefulness and love for God and ask that He continue to show His blessings in our lives and make us aware of it. You can also start your day off right and pray before you even get out of bed, or you can pray to Him before you go to sleep. He doesn’t need words of grandeur to hear us and listen. He simply wants us to speak from our hearts.
An ongoing journey of faith means sometimes having questions. My fiance and I work to ensure we have a safe space together where we can voice our questions about God, His Creation, and everything in between. Feeling comfortable to have those discussions and let your curiosity run wild isn’t just important in a relationship–it’s crucial. God wants us to wonder about Him and rejoices when we ask questions. These conversations are important because they lead us back to the Bible and the answers we can find in God’s Word.
“The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple.” – Psalm 119:130
Making room for God in your relationship is a key part of its success. Dedicating time to Jesus through prayer, reading the Bible, and loving discussions will affect your relationship with Him in a positive light and will strengthen your connection with your partner as well.
Jesus follower, coffee addict, and lover of books. Intern for Sun Valley's Digital Strategies team.