Wedding Prayer

I wrote this prayer for Ramon and myself as an assignment for our marriage counseling. It is what I am praying for us.

You have said, "It is not good for man to be alone. I will make a help-meet for him." Now Ramon and my joys are doubled since the happiness of one is the happiness of the other. Our burdens now are halved since when we share them, we divide the load. I pray you bless my future husband, Ramon. Bless him as provider of food and shelter and sustain him in all the stresses of work and life's pressures. May his strength be my protection, his character my boast and my pride, and may Ramon so live that I will find in him the haven for which my heart truly longs. Bless me Ramon's loving future wife. Give me a tenderness that will make me great, a deep sense of understanding and a great faith in God. Give me an inner beauty of soul that never fades, that eternal youth that is found in holding fast the things that never age.

Teach us that marriage is not living merely for each other; it is two uniting and joining hands to serve you. Give us a great spiritual purpose in life. May we seek first the kingdom of God and YOUR righteousness, and the other things shall be added unto us. May we not expect perfection of each other that belongs alone to God. May we minimize each other's weaknesses, be swift to praise and magnify each other's points of comeliness and strength, and see each other through a lover's kind and patient eyes. May we be blessed as we develop our characters as we walk together. Give us enough tears to keep us tender, enough hurts to keep us humane, enough failure to keep our hands clenched tightly in YOURS, and enough of success to make sure we walk with God. May we never take each other's love for granted, but always experience that breathless wonder that exclaims, "Out of all this world you have chosen me."

When life is done and the sun is setting, may we be found then as now still hand in hand, still thanking God for each other. May we serve God happily, faithfully, together, until at least one shall lay the other in the arms of God. Amen.