Keep, renew, heal
Lord, You know our marriage better than we do. Where it is strong, keep it. Where it is tired, renew it. Where it is hurt, heal it. Make our love patient and kind again, and teach us to love each other the way You love us. Amen.
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.”
Prayer for marriage restoration when you have grown apart
Most marriages do not break in a day. They drift: busy calendars, small hurts left unspoken, separate screens at night. This prayer is for the quiet distance, when nothing dramatic has happened but you miss each other.
When the quiet feels normal
God of new beginnings, we did not mean to drift. Somewhere between the bills, the work, the errands and the tiredness, we stopped really seeing each other, and now the quiet between us feels normal. I do not want normal. I want us back. Soften what has grown hard in me first. Give me courage to start the conversation I keep putting off, and give us both patience to listen without keeping score. Teach us to turn toward each other again in small ways: a real question at dinner, a hand held, a word of thanks. You make rivers run in dry places. Do it here. Amen.
“Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.”
Prayer after a fight with your spouse
Pray this before you try to talk again. It is hard to listen while you are still rehearsing your side, and Scripture's counsel is short: “let not the sun go down upon your wrath” (Ephesians 4:26, KJV). If you need to ask for forgiveness yourself, a prayer for forgiveness may help too.
Before we talk again
Father, we hurt each other today. I said things I wish I could take back, and I heard things that still sting. Before I go over it all again in my head, I bring it to You. Cool my anger. Show me my part, not only my spouse's. Help me say sorry without excuses, and forgive without waiting to be asked. Do not let us go to sleep as enemies. Help us talk about what is really underneath this, and remember that we are on the same side. Amen.
“Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.”
Prayer for marriage restoration after adultery
Adultery is one of the deepest wounds a marriage can suffer, and no prayer makes it disappear overnight. Some couples do rebuild. When they do, it usually takes full honesty, real time and a good Christian counselor who knows how to help couples after an affair. Forgiving is not the same as pretending it did not happen, and it is not the same as trusting again right away; our page on how to forgive walks through the difference.
Here are two prayers, one for each side. The second borrows from Psalm 51, which David prayed after his adultery with Bathsheba.
If you were betrayed
God, I never thought I would be praying this. I am hurt and angry, and I do not know what to do next. Part of me wants to fix it and part of me wants to run. You see all of it, even the questions that keep me awake. Hold my broken heart, as You promise to. Keep me from making big decisions in the first wave of pain. Lead us to a good Christian counselor and to people who can help. If there is a way back for us, show it to us both. And in Your time, not by force, teach me to forgive. Amen.
“He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.”
If you are the one who broke trust
Merciful God, I broke a promise I made before You, and I hurt the person I vowed to love. I will not make excuses. Thank You that Your mercy is bigger than my sin, but do not let me use that mercy to rush my spouse. Give me a clean heart and the courage to be fully honest: to end what must end, to answer hard questions without defending myself, and to wait as long as trust takes to rebuild. Lead us to a counselor who can help, and make me someone my spouse can trust again. Amen.
“Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.”
When a marriage is not safe
Restoration is the right prayer for many marriages, but not for every situation. If your husband or wife hurts you, threatens you, or uses fear to control you, that is abuse, and it is not something to pray through alone. God does not ask you to stay in danger to prove your faith, and protecting yourself and your children is not a failure of love.
If you are in danger right now, call 911 in the US, or your local emergency number.
National Domestic Violence Hotline (US): call 1-800-799-7233 or text START to 88788. It is free, confidential and open 24/7.
Outside the US, findahelpline.com lists abuse and domestic violence helplines by country.
Then tell someone you trust, such as a pastor, a friend or a counselor, and keep praying from a safe place. Our page on what the Bible says about divorce also speaks to abusive marriages.
Prayer for my husband
A prayer to pray over your husband, whether things are good between you right now or hard. Praying for him by name also changes how you see him.
For his faith, his work and his heart
Father, thank You for my husband. You know what he carries that he does not always say: the pressure at work, the worries he keeps to himself, the places where he feels he is not enough. Strengthen him. Draw him close to You, and let his faith be his own. Give him wisdom for his decisions, rest when he is worn out, and friends who make him better. Guard his heart from temptation and his mind from discouragement. And help me to be on his side, quick to encourage and slow to criticize. Amen.
“And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither”
Prayer for my wife
A prayer for husbands to pray over their wives, with the verse that sets the measure for a husband's love.
For her rest, her joy and her heart
Lord, thank You for my wife. You see everything she holds together, and how tired she sometimes is. Give her rest, and a joy that does not depend on everything going right. Protect her health and her heart. Let her know she is loved, by You first and by me in ways she can see. Make me patient when I want to fix things instead of listening. Teach me to love her the way Christ loves His church: giving myself, not keeping score. Amen.
“Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.”
Prayer for a strong marriage
Good seasons are the best time to pray for your marriage, before trouble comes. For more Scripture to pray over your marriage, see these Bible verses about marriage.
Be the third strand
God, be the third strand in our marriage. Keep us honest with each other, quick to forgive and slow to assume the worst. Protect our time together from everything that crowds it out. Guard us from temptation, from bitterness, and from the slow drift that comes when we stop paying attention. Make our home a place where we are both safe and known. Give us friends who tell us the truth, and make us that kind of friends to others. Amen.
“And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.”
Anniversary prayer for your marriage
For a wedding anniversary, whether it is your first or your fortieth. Pray it together at dinner, or write it in a card.
Another year together
Lord, thank You for another year together. Thank You for the laughter and the ordinary days, and for carrying us through the hard ones. Thank You for the ways we have grown, and for the patience we have shown each other. Forgive us where we have failed. As we begin another year, keep our love awake and our promises fresh. Help us choose each other again, today and every day. You joined us together. Keep us together. Amen.
“Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
How to pray for your marriage when you are the only one praying
Pray for your own heart first
Your own heart is the one you can hand over. Ask God to show you your part, soften your words and keep you from bitterness. This is not taking all the blame; it is starting where you can.
Bless your spouse by name
Pray for your husband or wife, not against them. Ask God for good things for them: peace, wisdom, a softer heart. It is hard to keep despising someone you pray for every day.
Do one kind thing a day
Let prayer show up in what you do: a kind word, a cup of coffee, a thank you, given without announcing it or expecting anything back.
Get help, even if you go alone
A Christian counselor or a pastor can help you even if your spouse will not come yet. Going alone is not giving up; it is getting strong enough to keep going.
Keep a record
Restoration usually takes months, not days. Write down what you are praying for and look back now and then. You may see changes you would otherwise miss.
Frequently asked
How do I pray for my marriage to be restored?
Start with honesty: tell God where your marriage really is, without dressing it up. Ask Him to change your own heart first, since that is the one heart you can hand over. Then pray for your husband or wife by name, for wisdom about the next step, and for help from outside, such as a good Christian counselor or a pastor you trust. Keep praying over weeks and months. Restoration is usually slow, and small changes count.
Can God restore a marriage after adultery?
Yes, God can, and some marriages do heal after an affair, though not all. Healing usually needs the unfaithful spouse to end the affair, tell the whole truth and be patient, and it usually needs a counselor who knows how to help couples through betrayal. Forgiving and trusting again are not the same thing: forgiveness can be given long before trust is rebuilt. Churches also differ on whether adultery allows divorce, so talk with your pastor about your own situation.
What is a good prayer for my husband?
Pray for what he carries: his walk with God, his work, his health, his temptations and his worries. A short version: “Lord, draw my husband close to You. Give him wisdom, rest and courage, guard his heart, and help me to be on his side. Amen.” Praying for him by name also changes how you see him, which is often where restoration begins.
What is a good prayer for my wife?
Pray for her heart, her health, her rest and her joy, and pray for yourself, that you would love her well. A short version: “Lord, bless my wife. Give her rest and joy, protect her, and teach me to love her the way Christ loves His church. Amen.” Ephesians 5:25 sets that as the measure for every husband: a love that gives itself.
Should I keep praying for my marriage if my spouse wants a divorce?
Yes, you can keep praying. You cannot control your spouse's choices, but you can bring them to God, ask Him to soften both your hearts, and get wise counsel for yourself. Pray for your own heart too, so that hurt does not harden into bitterness. Whatever happens, God does not leave you, and your worth does not depend on how this ends.
What does the Bible say about restoring a marriage?
The Bible calls marriage a covenant (Malachi 2:14) and asks believers, husbands and wives included, to forgive one another as Christ forgave them (Colossians 3:13). The prophet Hosea's marriage became a picture of God's faithful love for an unfaithful people. Scripture does not promise that every marriage will be saved, but it does promise that God is near to the brokenhearted and can make a new beginning where none seemed possible.
Restoration usually comes in small steps
Many people hope for one turning point: a single talk, a single prayer, and everything is mended. It can happen. More often, restoration comes in small steps that are easy to miss: a softer answer, an apology with no excuse attached, a counseling appointment kept, a hand reached for at night. Prayer keeps your heart soft enough to take those steps, and to notice when your spouse takes one.
So pray the honest prayer, then do the next small thing. If you have children at home, these prayers for family can help you pray for the whole household. And if the words will not come, the Bible Guide in Faithero can help you find them; it writes its answers on your iPhone, so what you tell it is never sent to Faithero. God has been faithful to people in every kind of brokenness, and He is not finished with your marriage or with you.
A short prayer for marriage
If you only have a moment, start here. It asks God to keep what is good in your marriage, renew what is tired and heal what is hurt.