Paul W. Powell Legacy Library

The Bible assumes that God will be a part of every marriage. In most instances a man needs a wife for love and companionship. Ordinarily a wife needs a husband. But both of them need God. That’s why prayer is such an essential part of a good marriage. The apostle Peter recognizes this when he urges husbands and wives to live together in a harmonious relationshi...

Former advice columnist Dear Abby once said: “If my mail rings true there are almost as many marriages on the rocks as there are rocks.” This is tragic! Marriage is supposed to bring joy, completeness, and fulfillment to life. However, I don’t know of anything that starts with such tremendous hopes and fails so regularly as marriage. What does it ta...

I wrote this piece on the day that my wife and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary. As you could guess, in our 25 years we’ve had many ups and downs, joys and sorrows, victories and defeats, but all in all, for me, it has been a confirmation of the scripture, “Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing and obtaineth favour of the Lord” (Proverbs...

John Wooten, the great UCLA basketball coach who won 10 National Championships in 11 years said, “No team ever won the National Championship with the nation’s leading scorer on the team.” Then he added, “It takes teamwork to make the dream work.” This principle is just as true in marriage, in business, and in the Christian life as it is...

There is nothing more common nor more detrimental to marriage than an irritable, quarrelsome, critical spirit. It is so ordinary because it takes no brains, no talent, and no self-denial. It is so detrimental because it makes life miserable for everyone. The Bible warns us against this when it says, “Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter [irritable, quarr...

There is a great deal of talk nowadays about reforming or abolishing marriage. Some psychologists are saying that marriage as it now exists is failing to meet the needs of modern society and that we have put the cart before the horse in the past. They say we have been forcing men and women to conform to the mold of marriage, when what we should be doing is changing ma...

The Bible is the greatest textbook on marital relations ever written. All other books are but amplifications, illustrations, and applications of the basic truths in the Bible. In many places the Bible sets out the duties of a husband to his wife. Here they are as a good reminder to every husband. 1. Love her. The first and most often–mentioned responsibility o...