Ekaete Bailey Updated February 21, 2017
Most Christian prayers and blessings are inspired by the Holy Bible, and wedding themed prayers and blessings are no different. The Bible is full of inspirational anecdotes and verses on marriage that can be altered into wedding blessings for an engaged or newly married couple. Often recited during the wedding ceremony, prayers and blessings may also be said at the rehearsal dinner, or during the wedding reception.
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1 Corinthians 13:4-8
Even in non-church weddings, the poignant words in 1 Corinthians, chapter 13 are recited. Paul, the author of this letter to the church at Corinth, states: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.” This sacred text can be used as a prayer during a Christian wedding.
Opening Wedding Prayers
Opening your Christian wedding with a prayer is a good way to acknowledge your relationship with Christ and your status as a Christian couple. An example of an opening prayer is:
Dear Father God,
Thank you for all you have done for (couple’s names) today and thank you for every day that has led them to this joyous occasion. You have blessed this couple with the gift of marriage and with a special love. Shine on them today, as they take their vows and enter into the blessed covenant of marriage.
In the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Closing Wedding Prayer
The idea of a closing wedding prayer is to acknowledge the covenant that has already been made, and pray for its strength and longevity. An example of a closing wedding prayer is:
Heavenly Father,
We thank you in advance for surrounding (couple’s names) with your love, comfort, joy and peace. We expect that you will keep their marriage strong and that you will shine on them all the days of their lives. Thank you for keeping them faithful to you and to one another.
In the precious name of Jesus. Amen.
Bride and Groom Blessing
Blessing the bride and groom can be done by any well-meaning wedding guest, however, the parents or grandparents will usually do this type of blessing over their newly married children. Here is an example of a Christian wedding blessing:
Father God, by the authority that you have given me as a believer in you and your son, Jesus Christ, I bless (couple’s names). I pour out your Spirit this moment, and I pray that you would speak to me and through me as I bless this new couple.
You put this couple together with your divine skill. You allowed them to marry and you have a great plan for their future. Begin to touch their hearts so that they may know the exact path to follow. May they always be on one accord. I pray this husband always honour and adore his wife, preferring her above all others. I pray this new wife would respect and love her husband always.
Give them both an extra portion of your grace to deal with some of the disappointments life may throw their way. Most importantly, keep them close to you. You word says that you will never leave us or forsake us. Help them to turn to you first, and then to each other. We ask all of these things in Christ’s name. Amen.
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Getting a blessing from the Lord as you walk into your newly formed marriage is just one way to find long term success. Whether the prayer is recited by both the bride and groom or said by the officiant during the exchange of vows, this can be an important addition made to any Christian wedding. Here is a look at some of the best Christian wedding prayers for the bride and groom.
Prayer #1
Heavenly Father,
We come to you asking your blessing and favor on (Bride Name & Groom Name). We pray for patience, tolerance and understanding as they begin to adjust to wedded life. May theirs be a home where there is much joy, laughter, support and an atmosphere of acceptance and safety. We pray that they will always respect each other and may both of them enjoy the freedom to become all that you want them to be individually and as a family unit. Grant them courage to choose God’s instructions in a world that often abandons these. May their trust in you increase. May their home be filled with your peace. We ask this in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen
Prayer #2
Dear Lord Jesus,
Thank you for this beautiful day. You have fulfilled the desire of our hearts to be together in this life.
We pray that your blessing will always rest upon our home; that joy, peace and contentment would dwell within us as we live together in unity, and that all who enter our home may experience the strength of your love.
Father, help us to follow and serve you with an ever growing commitment because of our union. Guide us into greater love and sacrifice as we care for each other’s needs, knowing you will care for us.
May we always be as keenly aware of your presence as we sense it today on our wedding day. And may our devotion in marriage be a radiant reflection of your love for us.
In the name of Jesus, our Savior, we pray.
Amen.
Prayer #3
Most gracious God, we give you thanks for your tender love in sending Jesus Christ to come among us, to be born of a human mother, and to make the way of the cross to be the way of life.
We thank you, also, for consecrating the union of man and woman in his Name.
By the power of your Holy Spirit, pour out the abundance of your blessing upon this man and this woman.
Defend them from every enemy.
Lead them into all peace.
Let their love for each other be a seal upon their hearts, a mantle about their shoulders, and a crown upon their foreheads.
Bless them in their work and in their companionship; in their sleeping and in their waking; in their joys and in their sorrows; in their life and in their death.
Finally, in your mercy, bring them to that table where your saints feast for ever in your heavenly home; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
Prayer #4
Hand in hand, we come before you, O Lord.
Hand in hand, we are stepping out in faith.
We, who are gathered here, ask that you would take this couple into your hands. Help them, O Lord, to keep firm in the commitments they have just made.
Guide them, O God, as they become a family, as they each change through the years. May they be flexible as they are faithful.
And Lord, help us all to be your hands if there be need. Strengthen, tenderly all of our commitments, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Prayer #5
May your love and deep respect for each other sustain throughout the years to come. May your life together flow with peace and harmony. May your vows be fully realized and may you realize their own true nature together. May you both promise to do what you think to be right; speak what you think to be the truth; help others in what is fair, accept your mistakes without excuses for them. May you both accept full responsibility for your actions and reactions. May sincerity of this resolution give you both strength to fulfill your duties towards yourself and others. Amen.
Prayer #6
Loving Spirit, grant Bride and Groom, that in giving and forgiving they may receive from each other everlasting joy. Bind them together with cords that cannot be broken. Bind them together with love. Grant that they may always take delight in each other, and that each will remain in the other’s heart and desire.
Heavenly Spirit. Everlasting God, have compassion with Bride and Groom, as they process of committing to each other and professing their vows. I ask you to be with them in all their undertakings, and I see them both blessed with an abundance of all good. Furthermore I see their minds illumined by divine wisdom, and their hearts quickened by divine love. And now, let us affirm these things in an awareness that we are in the living, loving, indwelling Presence of God. Amen.
Prayer #7
Family and Friends, this is a very sacred time for Bride and Groom, so – let us begin with prayer.
I invite you to close your eyes and turn within yourselves to the presence of God; and let us now realize that God’s riches blessings are being poured out on Bride and Groom. We see them both blessed with an abundance of all-good and see their minds illumined by divine wisdom, and your hearts quickened by divine love. And now – let us affirm these things in an awareness that we are in the living, loving indwelling presence of God. Amen.
Prayer #8
Let us go into prayer now as we close our eyes, resting in the quietness and the goodness within.
Heavenly Father we give thanks for the miracle of life that you bestowupon us on this glorious day. We give thanks as you weave the spirit of love throughout every heart, body and mind within this gathering. May the blending of our herts prepare us to remember the truth of Oneness as we bear witness to the sacred ceremony of marriage. May the radiance of joy on this special day, overflow with peace and harmony throughout the rest of Bride & Groom’s life together as husband & wife. And may peace and harmony continue to expand, bringing joy to their families and friends and to all others who enter their home and circle of life.
In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit…Amen
Prayer #9
God, as you join us today, we ask for your blessings upon this couple as they unite in marriage. Let all their days together be happy and all their words to each other be sweet. Though their paths are intertwined, let them be aware of each other’s separateness. Bless their home and allow it to be a place of joy and serenity. Remind them to nurture each other’s body with mutual love, honor and respect. Let their spirits dwell within. As they learn from one another, may they grow stronger as individuals and closer as a couple. And as their wedded life begins today with prayer, so may they continue it, praying for and with each other. Amen.
Prayer #10
In acknowledgment of this holy purpose, and of the power of this occasion, let us pray.
Dear God, One who gives us the longing for love and the capability of loving, we give thanks to You for BRIDE and GROOM, for their open hearts and willing spirits, and for the love that they embody here in our presence.
Be with them on this joyous occasion as two become one, and be with us, their witnesses, as we rejoice in what is said and witnessed here.
Prayer #11
God, as you join us today, we ask for your blessings upon this couple as they unite in marriage.
Let all their days together be happy and all their words to each other be sweet.
Though their paths are intertwined, let them be aware of each other’s separateness. Bless their home and allow it to be a place of joy and serenity.
Remind them to nurture each other’s body with mutual love, honor and respect. Let their spirits dwell within.
As they learn from one another, may they grow stronger as individuals and closer as a couple.
And as their wedded life begins today with prayer, so may they continue it, praying for and with each other.
Amen.
Prayer #12
Let us pray. God, we ask for your blessings upon this man and woman, as we celebrate this momentous occasion in their lives.
Grant them happiness and contentment as they establish their new home, create a new family and explore the depths of their love for one another and for you.
Bless their families and friends and the relationships, which have supported, strengthened and sustained them throughout their lives.
Bless their home as a place of love and of peace.
And if times grow hard and tempers grow short, help them to look into their hearts and remember the love that brought them here today
Amen.
Prayer #13
Father of mankind, whose nature is love, look with favor upon this woman and this man who desire to make their vows before you.
We are grateful for the providence that has led to this union.
Grant this to be more than an outward union, but also the blending of hearts and spirits and purposes.
Bless each with the inward qualities of integrity, trust, cooperation and forgiveness, that they may live together in love and peace.
Amen.
Prayer #14
The Lords’ Prayer
Our Father who art in Heaven, hallow be thy name.
Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth, as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. (For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever.)
Amen
Prayer #15
Gracious God, spirit of life and love, we ask all blessings upon Groom and Bride in their life together.
May they be blessed with patience, to see them through times of tensions or conflict.
May they be blessed with kindness, to enable them to nurture and care for one another in times of pain or sorrow.
May they be blessed with a spirit of play and joyfulness, that they may participate fully in the beauties and pleasures of creation.
May they be blessed, finally, with a knowledge of the ever-flowing presence of love in the world, that they may be channels of this love to one another and to all whom they meet in their life’s journey.
Amen.
Prayer #16
Blessed are the man and the woman who have grown beyond themselves and have seen through their separations.
They delight in the way things are and keep their hearts open, day and night.
They are like trees planted near flowing rivers, which bear fruit when they are ready.
Their leaves will not fall or wither.
Everything they do will succeed.
Blessed is one who comes in the name of Love.
Praying for victory in your marriage is an important part of gaining success in your daily life as husband and wife. Here is one couple’s prayer titled ‘Shield of Faith’ as they go on to have their newly form relationship bonded.
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