When your marriage is struggling and you feel like you’re losing the person you once loved so deeply, praying for your troubled marriage becomes one of the most important spiritual practices you can establish to invite God’s healing and restoration.
Marriage challenges can range from constant conflict and communication breakdowns to emotional distance, betrayal, or simply feeling like roommates rather than passionate partners who chose to spend their lives together.
While prayer isn’t a magic formula that instantly fixes everything wrong, praying for your troubled marriage positions you to partner with God in healing what’s broken and rebuilding what’s been damaged by time, hurt, or neglect.
Many couples suffer silently through marital problems, feeling ashamed to admit their struggles or believing that Christians should have perfect marriages that never experience serious difficulties.
The truth is that even godly couples go through seasons when their marriage feels more like a burden than a blessing, when staying together requires intentional effort and supernatural help.
When you engage in praying for your troubled marriage, you’re not admitting defeat or lack of faith; you’re acknowledging that you need divine intervention to save what you cannot fix through your own wisdom or effort alone.
In this comprehensive post, we’re sharing seventeen heartfelt prayers specifically crafted for when you’re praying for your troubled marriage in crisis or chronic difficulty.
Each prayer is grounded in Scripture and addresses different aspects of marital struggles, from asking for reconciliation and forgiveness to changing your own heart and protecting your marriage from the enemy’s schemes.
These prayers will help you cover your marriage with faith filled intercession that invites God’s power into your relationship and positions both you and your spouse to experience the transformation and healing you desperately need.
A Prayer For Restoration and Healing
Joel 2:25
"I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten—the great locust and the young locust, the other locusts and the locust swarm—my great army that I sent among you."
“Heavenly Father, I come before you praying for your troubled marriage by asking for complete restoration of what’s been damaged, broken, or lost through years of conflict, hurt, or neglect.
This marriage doesn’t look anything like what we started with, and I’m asking you to heal the wounds, restore the love, and rebuild the connection that’s been eroded by time and trials.”
“Restore the years that have been eaten away by problems, by unforgiveness, by patterns that damaged our bond day by day.
Bring back the joy we once felt, the friendship we once shared, and the passion that’s been buried under layers of hurt, resentment, and disappointment that have accumulated over time.”
“I believe you’re the God who restores and redeems, who can take the broken pieces of our marriage and create something beautiful that reflects your redemptive power.
Let healing begin today even if complete restoration takes time to fully manifest in our daily interactions and in our hearts toward each other.”
This foundational prayer when praying for your troubled marriage asks God directly to heal what’s broken and restore what’s been lost, expressing honest assessment of damage while maintaining faith in His restorative power.
A Prayer For Forgiveness Between Spouses
Colossians 3:13
"Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you."
“Lord, unforgiveness is poisoning our marriage, with both of us holding grudges for past hurts and keeping mental records of wrongs that we bring up during every new conflict.
I’m praying for your troubled marriage by asking that you would help both of us to forgive completely, releasing resentment and choosing to move forward without constantly dwelling on past offenses.”
“Help me to forgive my spouse for the ways they’ve hurt me, disappointed me, or failed to meet my expectations and needs over the years.
Give me the grace to forgive as you’ve forgiven me, remembering how much I’ve been forgiven and extending that same mercy to the person I chose to marry for better or worse.”
“I also ask for my spouse to forgive me for my own failures, my own hurtful words and actions, and my own contribution to our marital problems.
Break the chains of unforgiveness that keep both of us trapped in the past, unable to build a healthy present and future together because we’re constantly replaying old wounds.”
When praying for your troubled marriage, addressing forgiveness is crucial because resentment and unforgiveness are among the most destructive forces that prevent healing and keep couples stuck in patterns of hurt.
A Prayer For Changed Hearts
Ezekiel 36:26
"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh."
“Father, part of praying for your troubled marriage involves asking you to change my own heart because I know I’m part of the problem even if I can see my spouse’s faults more clearly than my own.
Remove my heart of stone that’s hardened toward my spouse through years of disappointment, and replace it with a soft heart that’s capable of love, compassion, and grace.”
“Change how I see my spouse, helping me to see them through your eyes rather than through the lens of accumulated resentment and criticism.
Soften my heart toward them, renew my love for them, and restore feelings that have died or gone dormant under the weight of our marital struggles and daily conflicts.”
“I also pray that you would change my spouse’s heart toward me, softening hardness that’s developed and renewing love that’s grown cold.
Do in both of our hearts what we cannot do for ourselves, creating new hearts that are capable of loving each other well despite our flaws and failures.”
This prayer when praying for your troubled marriage focuses on internal transformation rather than just external behavior changes, recognizing that heart change must precede lasting relational change.
A Prayer Against Divorce
Malachi 2:16
"The man who hates and divorces his wife," says the Lord, the God of Israel, "does violence to the one he should protect," says the Lord Almighty. So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful."
“Lord, divorce is being discussed in our marriage, whether openly or just in our private thoughts, and I’m praying for your troubled marriage by specifically asking you to prevent our union from ending in the tragedy of divorce.
You hate divorce because of the violence it does to families, and I’m asking you to intervene and save what you joined together when we made our vows.”
“Give both of us the will to fight for this marriage rather than taking the seemingly easier path of divorce that promises relief but delivers different pain.
Help us to remember our vows, to honor our covenant commitment, and to choose to work through our problems rather than walking away when things get hard or when we feel like giving up completely.”
“Close the door to divorce in both our minds and in our circumstances, making the path forward together clearer and more compelling than the path of separation.
Let this be a season of breakthrough rather than breakup, of healing rather than ending, of restoration rather than the finality of divorce that would affect not just us but our children and everyone connected to us.”
When praying for your troubled marriage that’s considering divorce, directly addressing this threat and asking God to close that door can be a powerful form of spiritual warfare against the enemy’s ultimate goal.
A Prayer For Better Communication
Ephesians 4:29
"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen."
“Father, communication in our marriage is toxic, with both of us speaking harshly, interrupting, not listening, or shutting down completely rather than engaging.
I’m praying for your troubled marriage by asking for better communication where we speak with respect, listen to understand rather than just to defend ourselves, and address issues honestly without attacking each other’s character.”
“Help us to use words that build up rather than tear down, to avoid sarcasm and contempt that destroy intimacy, and to express our feelings and needs clearly without blaming or criticizing.
Give us patience to hear each other out fully before jumping to conclusions or becoming defensive when we don’t like what we’re hearing from each other.”
“I pray that we would learn to communicate about difficult topics without yelling, stonewalling, or saying things we later regret but can never take back.
May our words be gracious, our tone respectful, and our body language open rather than closed off or hostile when we’re trying to work through conflicts or misunderstandings that arise.”
Praying for your troubled marriage must include communication because most marital conflicts either start with or are made worse by poor communication patterns that create misunderstandings and escalate tensions unnecessarily.
A Prayer For Physical and Emotional Intimacy
1 Corinthians 7:3
"The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband."
“Lord, intimacy in our marriage has died or become perfunctory rather than passionate and connecting, creating distance and frustration for one or both of us.
I’m praying for your troubled marriage by asking you to restore both physical and emotional intimacy that creates the bond and connection marriage is meant to provide for both partners.”
“Remove whatever barriers exist to intimacy, whether that’s unforgiveness that makes vulnerability feel unsafe, busyness that crowds out time for connection, or physical issues that make intimacy difficult or painful.
Help us to prioritize intimacy rather than treating it as optional or putting it last after everything else gets attention.”
“Renew passion, desire, and genuine enjoyment of each other’s company both in bed and out of bed.
May we experience the intimacy that marriage is designed to provide, the oneness that creates a bond strong enough to weather the storms and challenges that every long term marriage inevitably faces over decades together.”
When praying for your troubled marriage, addressing intimacy matters because emotional and physical connection are the glue that holds marriages together and their absence creates vulnerability to affairs and other destructive choices.
The Importance of Consistently Praying For Your Troubled Marriage
Before we continue with more prayers, it’s crucial to understand why making praying for your troubled marriage a consistent practice matters so much rather than just praying occasionally during acute crises.
Troubled marriages need ongoing spiritual covering, not just emergency intervention when things reach breaking points that force you to your knees in desperation.
Consistent praying for your troubled marriage also changes your own heart toward your spouse in ways you might not expect.
It’s difficult to maintain harsh attitudes, critical spirits, or contempt toward someone you’re faithfully bringing before God’s throne on a regular basis, asking Him to work in both of you and in your relationship dynamics.
Additionally, when you’re praying for your troubled marriage daily or weekly, you’re partnering with God over time in transformation that usually happens gradually rather than instantly.
Most marriages don’t get troubled overnight and they don’t usually get healed overnight either, requiring sustained prayer that covers the entire journey from crisis to healing.
Prayer Seven: A Prayer For Protection From Temptation
1 Corinthians 10:13
"No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it."
“Father, our troubled marriage has created vulnerabilities where one or both of us might be tempted to seek emotional or physical connection outside our marriage with someone who seems to understand us better or who doesn’t trigger the same conflicts.
I’m praying for your troubled marriage by specifically asking for protection from affairs, emotional entanglements, or any temptation to seek fulfillment outside our covenant.”
“Give both of us strength to resist temptation when it comes, to recognize dangerous situations before we’re in too deep, and to choose faithfulness even when our marriage feels unfulfilling or when others seem more attractive or compatible than our spouse currently feels.
Provide ways of escape when temptation arises so we can endure without compromising our vows.”
“Protect us from people who would purposefully or accidentally become threats to our marriage through inappropriate emotional connections or physical attraction.
Help us to build appropriate boundaries with others and to invest in our marriage rather than giving time, energy, and emotional intimacy to people who should remain just acquaintances or friends with appropriate limits.”
When praying for your troubled marriage, addressing temptation is essential because dissatisfaction in marriage creates vulnerability to affairs that would deliver the final blow to an already struggling relationship.
A Prayer For Wisdom and Guidance
James 1:5
"If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you."
“Lord, we need wisdom for how to navigate our marital problems because what we’ve tried so far hasn’t worked and we’re making things worse.
I’m praying for your troubled marriage by asking for divine wisdom about whether we need counseling, what changes to make, how to communicate differently, and what steps to take that will actually improve our situation rather than just perpetuating destructive patterns.”
“Give us wisdom to know when to speak and when to be silent, when to address issues and when to let things go, when to stand firm and when to compromise.
Help us to discern which battles are worth fighting and which issues we’re majoring on minors while ignoring major problems that really threaten our marriage foundation.”
“Lead us to resources, counselors, books, or people who can provide wise guidance based on biblical principles and proven methods for healing troubled marriages.
Give us the humility to seek help rather than continuing to do the same things that have kept us stuck in destructive cycles that are slowly destroying what we once had.”
Praying for your troubled marriage must include wisdom because often couples lack understanding about what’s really wrong, what changes would actually help, or what resources could provide the breakthrough they desperately need.
A Prayer For Your Own Change
Matthew 7:5
"You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."
“Father, I’m praying for your troubled marriage by starting with asking you to change me rather than just praying for my spouse to change.
I know I can only control myself, and I know I’ve contributed to our problems even if I can see my spouse’s faults more clearly than my own contributions to our dysfunction.”
“Show me my blind spots, my flaws, my hurtful patterns, and my share of responsibility for our marital problems.
Give me the humility to look at my own issues first before pointing out everything wrong with my spouse, to take the plank out of my own eye before trying to remove the speck from theirs.”
“Change me into the spouse I should be rather than focusing all my energy on what my spouse needs to change.
Help me to love better, communicate better, forgive more readily, and extend more grace even when my spouse hasn’t done their part yet to improve things.”
When praying for your troubled marriage, making yourself the focus of change rather than just your spouse demonstrates humility and wisdom about what you actually have power to control in your relationship.
A Prayer For Breaking Destructive Patterns
Romans 12:2
"Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."
“Lord, we’re stuck in destructive patterns and cycles that repeat over and over, with the same triggers leading to the same conflicts playing out the same way.
I’m praying for your troubled marriage by asking you to break these patterns, to help us recognize when we’re starting down familiar destructive paths, and to choose different responses that create different outcomes.”
“Transform how we think about each other and about our conflicts, renewing our minds so we’re not just automatically reacting the same ways we always have.
Help us to identify our patterns, to understand what triggers them, and to develop new ways of interacting that don’t just repeat history but create new possibilities.”
“Break generational patterns too, unhealthy dynamics we learned from our families of origin that we’re now repeating in our own marriage.
May we be transformed rather than conformed to patterns that damage rather than build, that destroy rather than create, that push us apart rather than drawing us together.”
Praying for your troubled marriage includes asking God to break patterns because most marital problems aren’t isolated incidents but predictable cycles that must be disrupted for real change to occur.
A Prayer For Perseverance
Galatians 6:9
"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."
“Father, I’m exhausted from trying to fix our marriage, tired of the constant effort with little visible progress, and tempted to give up.
I’m praying for your troubled marriage by asking for perseverance to keep working, keep praying, and keep believing when I don’t see the breakthrough I’m desperately hoping for and praying for.”
“Give both of us the endurance to keep choosing our marriage even when it feels hard, keep investing in our relationship even when we don’t feel like it, and keep believing better days are possible even when current circumstances suggest otherwise.
Help us not to become weary in doing good but to trust that we’ll reap a harvest at the proper time if we don’t give up.”
“I’m asking for supernatural strength and perseverance because my natural reserves are depleted and I don’t have much left to give.
Renew my commitment to this marriage, restore my hope that change is possible, and give me the long term perspective needed to stay when short term feelings scream to leave.”
When praying for your troubled marriage over time, asking for perseverance becomes crucial because healing usually takes longer than we expect and requires sustained effort when we’re exhausted and tempted to quit.
A Prayer For Healing From Betrayal
Psalm 147:3
"He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds."
“Lord, betrayal has broken trust in our marriage, whether through infidelity, financial deception, broken promises, or other violations of the trust that marriage requires.
I’m praying for your troubled marriage by asking you to heal the devastating wounds that betrayal creates, wounds that make rebuilding feel impossible without supernatural intervention.”
“Help the one who was betrayed to truly forgive even when the hurt runs deep and even when trust hasn’t been fully rebuilt yet.
Help the one who betrayed to truly repent, to understand the depth of damage done, and to commit to rebuilding trust through consistent honesty and changed behavior over time.”
“I ask for healing from the trauma of betrayal, for restoration of broken trust, and for the ability to move forward together rather than being permanently stuck in the past.
May we build something new on the ruins of what was broken, something stronger because it’s been rebuilt with intention and with your help.”
Praying for your troubled marriage after betrayal acknowledges that some wounds run especially deep and require specific healing prayer beyond general requests for marital improvement.
A Prayer For Financial Peace
Philippians 4:19
"And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus."
“Father, financial stress is a major source of conflict in our marriage, with disagreements about money management, spending priorities, and financial goals creating constant tension.
I’m praying for your troubled marriage by asking you to provide for our financial needs and to give us wisdom about how to handle money in ways that create peace rather than constant fighting.”
“Help us to get on the same page financially, to communicate about money without it becoming a battle, and to make joint decisions that both of us can support even when we have different natural tendencies around spending and saving.
Remove the financial pressure that compounds all our other marital problems and makes everything harder.”
“Provide for our needs according to your riches in glory, not according to our limited resources.
Give us both the ability to be content with what we have while also stewarding our finances wisely, to give generously while also planning responsibly, and to trust you as our ultimate provider rather than fighting over money constantly.”
When praying for your troubled marriage, addressing finances matters because money conflicts are among the leading causes of divorce and create ongoing stress that poisons other aspects of the relationship.
A Prayer For In-Law Boundaries
Genesis 2:24
"That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh."
“Lord, in-law interference is causing problems in our marriage, with parents or extended family members not respecting our autonomy or creating division between us.
I’m praying for your troubled marriage by asking you to help us establish appropriate boundaries that honor our parents while protecting our marriage as the primary relationship.”
“Give us wisdom to navigate family relationships in ways that strengthen rather than threaten our marriage.
Help extended family members to respect our boundaries, our decisions, and our unity rather than trying to control, manipulate, or create division between us through criticism or taking sides in our conflicts.”
“May we truly leave father and mother to cleave to each other as Genesis instructs, making our marriage the priority rather than allowing parents to have inappropriate influence or access that damages our relationship.
Help us to present a united front to extended family even when we disagree privately, protecting our marriage from outside interference.”
Praying for your troubled marriage sometimes requires addressing in-law issues because extended family dynamics can significantly impact marital health and create conflicts that wouldn’t otherwise exist.
A Prayer For Hope
Romans 15:13
"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."
“Father, I’ve lost hope that our marriage can be saved, that things can actually get better, or that we’ll ever experience the love and joy we once had.
I’m praying for your troubled marriage by asking you to restore hope when everything looks hopeless, when circumstances suggest our relationship is beyond repair, and when I can’t imagine how things could possibly improve from where they are now.”
“Fill me with supernatural hope that doesn’t depend on circumstances looking promising but comes from trusting your character and your power to transform what seems impossible by human standards.
When my own hope runs dry, let your Holy Spirit overflow in me with hope that’s confident assurance in your goodness even when I can’t see the path forward clearly.”
“Help me to remember other impossible situations you’ve transformed, other marriages you’ve healed, other relationships you’ve restored when everyone thought they were finished.
May these testimonies feed my faith and restore hope that our marriage could be one of those miracle stories of redemption and restoration.”
When praying for your troubled marriage that feels hopeless, directly asking God to restore hope keeps you from giving up prematurely and maintains the faith necessary for breakthrough to occur.
A Prayer For Spiritual Unity
Amos 3:3
"Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so?"
“Lord, spiritual division is creating problems in our marriage, with different beliefs, different levels of commitment to you, or conflicts about faith issues affecting our ability to be truly unified.
I’m praying for your troubled marriage by asking you to bring spiritual unity, to draw both of us closer to you, and to help us walk together spiritually rather than being divided by faith differences.”
“Draw my spouse to you if they’re not walking with you, or deepen their relationship with you if they know you but aren’t growing spiritually.
Help us to pray together, worship together, and seek you together rather than having completely separate spiritual lives that create distance rather than closeness between us.”
“May our marriage have Christ at the center, making us a three cord strand that’s not easily broken rather than two people trying to make it work in our own strength without your presence and power holding us together through difficulties.”
Praying for your troubled marriage must sometimes address spiritual issues because marriages with spiritual unity have an advantage that marriages divided spiritually lack in weathering storms and maintaining long term commitment.
A Prayer For God’s Presence
Matthew 18:20
"For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them."
“Father, as I conclude praying for your troubled marriage, I ask most of all for your presence in our relationship.
We need you to show up in our marriage, to fill our home, and to work in ways we cannot work in our own strength, wisdom, or ability to transform what’s broken.”
“May we experience you powerfully in our marriage, may your presence change the atmosphere in our home, and may your Spirit convict, comfort, guide, and transform both of us into the spouses we need to be.
Where we’ve tried to fix our marriage without you, help us to invite you into every aspect of our relationship.”
“I trust that where we gather, you are present, and I’m asking you to manifest that presence in powerful ways that heal our marriage, restore our love, and save what seems beyond saving by human standards.
Do what only you can do in transforming our troubled marriage into a testimony of your redemptive power.”
This final prayer when praying for your troubled marriage acknowledges that ultimately only God’s presence and power can truly heal marriages that human effort cannot save.
Moving Forward with Faith
As you begin using these prayers consistently when praying for your troubled marriage, trust that God cares, that He hates divorce, and that He will work as you partner with Him through prayer and obedience to bring healing and restoration to your relationship.