Reviving Marital Relationship (Part 3) by Pastor Faith Oyedepo
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Topic: Reviving Marital Relationship (Part 3)
Hello Dear Reader,
Welcome into another exciting moment in God’s presence. Since the month began, I have been teaching on reviving marital relationship and I wrote extensively on setting your expectation right and also on types of intimacy in a marital relationship. By the grace of God, this week, I will be discussing a few guidelines on intimacy. My focus this week will be How to Enhance Intimacy.
Intimacy is the closeness of your relationship with your spouse – emotionally, spiritually, intellectually, sexually, and in many other ways. Intimacy is not an end goal but rather a journey that lasts throughout your marriage.
Also Read: No Longer Two But One (Part 3) by Pastor Faith Oyedepo
Intimacy can have different meanings for men and women. However, all human beings have the basic need to be intimate with another person. Women are often portrayed as having the desire for emotional intimacy while men are portrayed as only having a desire for sexual intimacy. However, intimacy can be enhanced to get the best out of your spouse.
HOW TO ENHANCE INTIMACY
You Must be Open
To be intimate with your spouse, there must be no hide and seek game. You must be ready to open up to your spouse so that your spouse can trust you.
Embrace Trust
Trust is an essential and vital ingredient in our daily living. The very essence of life depends on trust. A marriage cannot survive without trust. Trust is not a gift but a virtue that must be built through experience and over a period of time. Trust is reciprocal. The more you express your trust for your spouse, the more he/she responds by trusting you. You must endeavour to believe your spouse.
Be Faithful
To enhance intimacy in your marriage, you must be faithful to your spouse. Learn to keep secrets concerning everything your spouse tells you (Proverbs 28:20).
Express Love
Be willing to express your love to your spouse more than anyone else. Let your spouse be your close confidant. Communicate and discuss issues with your spouse.
Be A Good Listener & Communicator
You must be a good listener. When your spouse is talking, you must not be too busy to listen to him or her. Be ready to listen, discuss and make some contributions as well. Engage in open communication. Open communication is the ability to discuss anything with your spouse. It includes a sincere expression of thoughts and feelings as well as careful listening.
Be Available
You must be willing to make yourself available to your spouse whenever he/she needs you. No matter how choked up you are in activities, you must create room for him/her by making yourself available. Learn to spend quality time with him/her. For fun, go out or stroll out together, play games together, etc. (Songs of Sol. 2:4).
You Must Be Caring
You must be ready to express a genuine concern for your spouse’s well-being. If you do things you know hurts your spouse, you cannot have healthy intimacy. You can develop a more caring heart and mind by learning to think of your spouse’s feelings before your own. Always ask yourself before acting or speaking, ‘If I do this or say this, will I hurt my spouse?’
BENEFITS OF INTIMACY
It brings about unity, which promotes God’s presence and blessings within the marriage (Psalm 133).
- It brings about a free flow of communication (Proverbs 27:19).
- It promotes longevity in a marriage (Proverbs 31:11, 28-31).
- It makes marriage more enjoyable (Proverbs 31:5; Isaiah 62:5).
- It brings about greater spiritual strength (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12).
The grace to build strong intimacy with your spouse is available when you get born again. You get born again by confessing your sins and accepting Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. If you are ready to be born again, please say this prayer of faith with me: Dear Lord Jesus, I come to You today as a sinner. I believe You died and rose on the third day for my sins. I accept You as my Lord and Saviour. Make me a child of God today. Thank You for accepting me into Your Kingdom, in Jesus name. Amen.
Congratulations! If you prayed this simple prayer of faith with me, you are now born again and a child of God. He loves you and will never leave you. Read your Bible daily, obey God’s Word and seek Christian fellowship (John 14:21). With this, you are guaranteed all-round rest and peace in Jesus’ name! Call or write to share your testimonies with me through contact@faithoyedepo.org, 07026385437 OR 08141320204.
For more insight, these books authored by me are available at the Dominion Bookstores in all Living Faith Churches and other leading Christian bookstores: Marriage Covenant, Making Marriage Work, Building and Success in Marriage (Co-Authored).
Pastor Faith Oyedepo is the wife of Bishop David Oyedepo, the founder of the Living Faith Church Worldwide a.k.a. Winners’ Chapel, and Senior Pastor of Faith Tabernacle, Canaanland, Ota, Nigeria.
