A marriage’s success depends on more than finding the right person—it depends on being the right person. Nothing just happens—including a great marriage and family life. A good marriage takes hard work. And an abundance of patience, commitment, determination, and time!
Ten Keys to a Better Marriage
- Work as a team. God asks husbands to lead and wives to follow (1 Cor. 11:3).
- Learn to communicate. Figure out the best time to talk to your mate. Your words are to be soft (Prov. 15:1), sweet (Prov. 16:21), pleasant (Prov. 16:24), scant (Prov. 10:19), and slow (James 1:19).
- Enjoy intimacy. God designed the two of you to come together in marriage and in sexual intimacy and to become one—complete in each other.
- Manage your money. Be content (Phil. 4:11–13). Grow in your understanding of budgeting, saving, bookkeeping, and giving
- Keep up the home. This is a vital area for a wife! Treat the upkeep and atmosphere of your home with utmost care (Prov. 24:3–4). Become a home-lover (Titus 2:5).
- Raise your children. Learn what the Bible says about child-rearing, discuss it with your husband, and agree on a plan for training your children (Deut. 6:6–7).
- Make time for fun. Perhaps you need to talk with your husband about when, how, and what you can do to make time for fun and laughter (Prov. 17:22).
- Serve the Lord. If at all possible, serve the Lord together. Look to our Savior, Jesus Christ, for a perfect model of a life of service (John 5:30).
- Reach out to others. Boldly ask God for His love to serve your husband and children. Also ask Him for His tender mercies to serve friends and foes, the familiar and the stranger.
- Grow in the Lord. The greatest influence on your marriage is spiritual growth. As you grow in the Lord, you become a tremendous support to your husband as you are available to listen, encourage, and give wise counsel.
Guard against anything that would divide you as a couple—“Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate” (Matt. 19:6). As a wife, be wholeheartedly committed to your marriage. Make every sacrifice to keep your marriage healthy, growing, and fulfilling.
RESPOND
Lord, thank You for my marriage. Please help both of us to be committed to making our marriage healthy and growing in You. Amen.
RENEWING RESOURCES 
15 Verses to Pray for Your Husband by Elizabeth George—Bring deeper unity to your marriage relationship and sharpen your awareness of God's work in your husband's life with this book for married women!
A Woman After God's Own Heart Bible—Written for all ages and for believers at any stage in their relationship with God, A Woman After God's Own Heart Bible offers fresh encouragement for everyday concerns and vision for a transformed life.
REFLECT
Read these verses with your spouse: Ecclesiastes 4:9–10; Matthew 19:5–6, Ephesians 5:33; and 1 Peter 3:1–7.
REMEMBER
A good marriage takes hard work. And an abundance of patience, commitment, determination, and time!
