Faith in marriage is one of the most beautiful gifts spouses can live. To cultivate it, both need devotion and openness toward the Lord, and their actions need to go hand in hand with their example.
Let’s talk about it in this article.
What is faith in marriage?
Faith in Christian marriage is built on God’s love. God is love, and he created man and woman in his image and likeness, that is, with human dignity and therefore capable of loving and being loved.
He also created them out of love and for love, not for loneliness. As a result, the personal dignity of man and woman is expressed in a special way in marriage.
Because divine love gives life, a man and a woman can give life to children and come together as a family, where they offer them protection and security with love and raise them.
Spouses are called to remain faithful to their love and to their children. God values marriage, and Jesus put it this way: “So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” (Matthew 19:6, NIV) This call to faithfulness is lived out in a relationship of respect and care. It does not ask anyone to put up with violence or to stay in danger.
Why is it important to strengthen faith in marriage?
Marriage and family life can present great challenges, but many families find in faith a support for caring for their children and for facing difficulties. Marriage and family relationships centered on Jesus Christ can help us draw closer to him and to our families, and find joy and meaning.
Jesus Christ is the perfect example of love and patience, humility and kindness, and selfless service, qualities that contribute to a healthy home.
Tips for strengthening faith in marriage
Keep these tips in mind for strengthening faith in your marriage:
Recognize the importance of faith
Faith can be like the air we breathe: a support in daily life, in school and in spiritual matters. Faith is “confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1, NIV).
Today we live in a world that increasingly believes there is no need to “believe” in things or people we cannot see or touch. Yet for many couples, faith is a source of strength, hope and meaning in hard times.
Practice honesty
Faith in marriage requires keeping up honesty. Keep these steps in mind:
- Honesty attracts honesty. Do what you say and say what you do.
- To develop honesty, it is important to know how to express feelings, emotions and experiences.
- First, learn to be honest with yourself. Be honest about your limits, strengths and flaws, including the ones you have never accepted and that can get you into trouble.
- Honest behavior makes good friends and earns positive moral approval from others.
- Honesty is trying to do something useful for the benefit of others without expecting anything in return.
- Honesty means respecting others, not lying and telling the truth, however hard it may be.
Make time for your spouse
It is part of faith that we make time to be together as a couple. This means quality time, not both of you lying down to watch television or look at your phones. You can enjoy talking, cooking or doing something where you both take part.
Listen and understand
Faith in marriage means that you both listen to and understand each other on every subject you discuss.
Do not interrupt. Show that you are truly interested in what your spouse is telling you. Put the phone or computer aside, and turn off the television or any other distraction.
Look your spouse in the eyes and make a gesture that shows you are willing to keep listening. You already know that we communicate more with the body, the expression on our face and the tone of voice than with words, so keep that in mind as you listen.
Sometimes what is said matters, and so does how it is said, so we should choose the right words and the best attitude. Always try to treat each other gently and with care.
You can talk about things at home, marriage, family or work.
Keep love alive
Just as we get up each morning to earn our living, love has to be given every day. Think about how to surprise your spouse instead of falling into routine: making new plans, traveling, taking a different route… All of that can renew the meaning of the relationship and of living together.
Is it healthy to focus only on the bad? There will definitely be things you do not like about the other person, but ideally you talk about them respectfully and look for solutions as soon as possible. As they say at weddings: “in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer.” If your spouse’s kindness is what made you fall in love, why always point out their flaws?
Faith in marriage means that every situation is faced out of love for God, for your spouse and for your home.
If there is something you would like to talk through, Dr. Duany and his team are available to walk alongside you.
What small act of faith could the two of you live out together this week, such as prayer, reading or gratitude?
Would you like to talk with a professional? Call (407) 559-7093 (Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern) or find professional help here. For general questions that are not an emergency, write to drduany@zodugroup.com. Please do not send health information by email.
If there is violence in your home
If you are in immediate danger, call 911. These lines are free and confidential.
- National Domestic Violence Hotline (U.S.): 800-799-7233, or text START to 88788. Available 24 hours a day.
- If you are thinking about hurting yourself, call or text 988 (988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, 24 hours a day).
This article is for education only. It does not offer diagnosis or personal advice, does not replace evaluation or treatment by a health professional, and reading it or writing to us through this site does not create a therapeutic or pastoral counseling relationship. This site is not an emergency service and is not monitored continuously: do not send health information through comments or public forms. The author is a licensed psychotherapist and pastor, and is part of ZODU.
Sources
Scripture quotations from the New International Version (NIV), copied from BibleGateway on October 25, 2026: Matthew 19:6 and Hebrews 11:1.
Keep reading
MarriageWhen the Romance Fades: How Disillusionment Becomes the Pursue-Withdraw Cycle
Why loving couples get stuck repeating the same fight. The pursue-withdraw cycle in Ian and Cary's marriage, from…
MarriageHow Can You Save a Marriage When Only One of You Is Trying?
For a marriage to work, both spouses have to be willing to keep going in love. God designed marriage as a lasting…
AddictionHow to deal with the insecurity in love
When we talk about the basis on which our affections work, we can easily think that the experiences that a person has…