God designed your marriage partner to meet your physical needs, your emotional needs, and yes, even some of your spiritual needs. Adam enjoyed perfect health, worked at the perfect job, and lived in the perfect environment. He even went for walks with God every day. Nevertheless, he was lonely and incomplete. So God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.’ Note the word ‘helper’. God intended your partner to help you grow and fulfil your destiny. There is an intimate physical, emotional, and spiritual bond between you. No one on earth will ever know you better than your God-given mate. He or she should be your closest friend, counsellor, and confidant. That calls for communication! And good communication is based on asking the right questions and listening carefully to the answers. It calls for turning off the TV, your laptop, iPad, and mobile phone. It means asking, ‘How are things with you today?’ then listening long enough for hidden emotions to surface. Listen until you understand your spouse’s concerns, feelings, fears, hopes, and dreams. Listen accurately, so you can assess his or her real needs – needs you are best equipped to meet. Your questions reveal your level of caring, and the answers you get in return can become a foundation for a long, happy marriage. That’s exactly what God had in mind when he said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one’ (v. 24 NASB).

© 2024. Written by Bob and Debby Gass. Used by permission under licence from UCB International.