Becky lives in Texas with her husband and two sons. She is passionate about supporting people in drawing nearer to Christ using Scripture, prayer, and journaling.
This post may contain affiliate links, which means we may earn a small commission from purchased products at no additional cost to you.
Use these 5 prayers for marriage reconciliation for more hope and peace as you seek the Lord for healing, forgiveness, and restoration with your spouse.
Marriage is a beautiful gift from God. He brings two broken people together and through them works out His love, grace, and mercy. For many couples, marriage often comes in seasons. There are seasons of joy and hope, but there are also seasons of discouragement and sorrow. For some marriages, the cold winter season may feel like it is prolonged or their boat has suddenly been rocked by an unexpected circumstance.
It is a painful time when two people, who have become one, have a wedge driven between them. Whether it is through stressors, unmet expectations, infidelity, or a personal sin that has caused pain and grief. Estrangement is never what we imagine ourselves to face and it is incredibly difficult to feel so alone when your spouse is sitting right next to you.
We know from Scripture that God cares deeply about both of your hearts, He takes marriage seriously, and He calls us to honor it too. Perhaps the most well-known verse regarding marriage comes from Mark 10:9, which says, “Therefore, what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
This is God’s will for marriage – that what He has brought together in unity will not be torn apart.
(If you are in an abusive marriage, this does not mean you need to stay and endure abuse.)
When you first get married, most Christians start their marriage with this in mind. No one gets married with the intention of being separated. But as we go through life, as sinful, broken people, we may find ourselves hurting the one we promised always to love and cherish, or being hurt by the one who said they would always be faithful to us. At other times people can find that they have drifted so far apart because they have forgotten to prioritize their relationship and have allowed it to grow stale.
God has done the greatest work of creation. That happened when He sent Jesus to be the sacrificial Lamb on our behalf. Through His blood, we now have peace with God. This work is all to God’s credit, as Christ loved us and died for us while we were sinners.
Whatever circumstances have brought you here, it is clear that you desire for your marriage to be reconciled. That is a good desire, and it is something that you can bring to God in prayer. He cares for you, your spouse, and your marriage.
I hope that these prayers for your marriage will encourage you, bring hope into the hopeless place that you find yourselves in today, but most importantly that you will be reconciled through Christ.
I also highly recommend reading through these 25 Bible verses on marriage, 29 Bible verses on husbands, and 29 Bible verses on wives to see how God describes marriage and each spouse’s roles in marriage, as well as more marriage prayers – 7 heartfelt prayers for my husband, 7 powerful prayers for my wife, 6 prayers for couples to connect, and 6 Prayers For A Broken Heart.
Prayers for Marriage Reconciliation
1. A Prayer for Reconciliation
“To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband. But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife.”
– 1 Corinthians 7:10-11
Dear God,
I don’t know where to begin. I never imagined that we would find ourselves in this place. It feels as though our marriage is on a ship that is quickly sinking, and we are struggling to work together to save it. You know every detail of what we are currently facing. There is not a single thing that we can hide from You.
Please help the root of our problems come to light. Help us be open and honest with one another, yet compassionate and gracious. We know that You have placed a high honor on marriage. Please remind us of the purpose that You have brought us together for. It is not for our own satisfaction or to mainly to get our needs met, but to serve one another and to glorify You together. I confess that it has been hard to do that lately.
The hurt and space between has grown, and we are in need of Your intervention, Lord. Please give us direction. Help us to seek reconciliation with one another, and to honor our commitment. If there is anything standing in the way of us being reconciled, I ask that You would reveal it to us and help us to work through it together. Please bring us together as one, once again, that we may serve You together.
In Jesus’ name, amen.
2. A Prayer to Show Forgiveness
“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.“
– Ephesians 4:32
Heavenly Father,
We come to You, knowing that we are absolutely undeserving of Your grace. Yet, You shower us with Your grace each day. It is not of our own doing, or our own goodness but because of Your goodness. Thank You for showing us mercy, and not giving us what we truly deserve. It is only when we come. to understand the extent that You have forgiven us that we can begin to share that same forgiveness with one another. Now, more than ever, our marriage is in need of forgiveness. Wholehearted forgiveness.
In our own strength it is hard to forgive. We see one another’s offense, and it is as though what the person has done to you is unforgivable. We can’t pretend that our actions and words don’t have real consequences. Please help us to process through the hurt with You and with one another. Help us to have an open dialogue and to own up to our offenses. Help us to show one another compassion and forgiveness, just as You have forgiven us. And help us to grow through this difficult time, and change for the better.
In Jesus’ matchless name, I pray, amen.
3. A Prayer to Be Unified
“Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
– Matthew 19:4-6
Father,
You have created marriage as a gift shared between one man and one woman. Since the beginning of creation marriage was a part of Your plan. Thank You for allowing us to be joined together in marriage. In this tough time, it can be easy to focus on all that is going wrong, and forget to simply thank You for marriage. We know that You have created it both for our enjoyment and for Your glory. But within that comes working through our differences, our failures, our sins, and our relationship with You and with one another.
Right now we feel anything but unified. Our marriage feels broken and we are in desperate need of reconciliation. We are in need of unity. Please help us to come together as one. I pray that You will lead us both to submit to Your word and that Your Holy Spirit will work in our hearts. Please help us to be unified in mind and in spirit, and to seek Your glory.
In Jesus’ name, amen.
4. A Prayer to Love and Respect
“However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.”
– Ephesians 5:33
Lord,
Thank You for my spouse. I confess, it is a hard time to feel grateful. When you are at odds with the one you love, and it feels as though you are moving in different directions, it can be hard to see any good. I know that You never promised marriage to be easy. But You have given us instructions to help us live together in harmony. Please help us to seek You individually and together.
Bring our hearts back to Your word. Remind us what You have called us to. You have been called not only to love their wives as they love themselves but, You have also been called to love their wives as Christ has loved the church. When we love ourselves, we take care of our needs, we consider our feelings and desires, and we look out for ourselves. I pray that You will make that true of my marriage. An even higher call, that is not only for husbands but for all of us, is to love as Christ has loved. This love gave its life, and came to serve not to be served. I pray that our marriage would be reconciled and defined by that kind of love.
You call on wives to respect their husbands. It is not always easy to respect one another, but I pray that our marriage will grow in both love and respect. Help us to honor one another, by honoring Your word.
In Jesus’ name, amen.
5. A Prayer to Bear with One Another
“Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”
– Colossians 3:13
God,
Though we have failed many times, You have not taken Your mercy and grace away from us. Even in times when we have been unfaithful to You, You have remained faithful. Please help us to learn from You, and to become more like You.
Our marriage feels as though it is on the rocks right now. It is as though the love we have shared has been replaced by so many other emotions and we have been driven apart. In these times it is easy to get frustrated with one another, and to believe the worst about each other. Please help us to look to You for strength and to find it in our hearts to forgive as You have forgiven us. Help us to bear with one another in love. Let our love not grow cold, but revive us Lord, and reconcile us once again.
In Jesus’ name, we pray, amen.