Marriage

Developing Effective Communication
This material appears courtesy of Covenant Keepers

Are You Willing?
Here is where all effective communication begins. Change in any area of your life requires a willing heart. God will not force you to communicate anymore than He would force you into a relationship with Himself. Remember what Jesus said to the religious leaders of His day: "How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing" (Matthew 23:37)? How often a spouse will say this same thing to me in counseling. "I want a close relationship and intimacy, but he (she) is simply unwilling." In this passage Jesus points out that willingness is the key to any relationship. In most cases when communication is suffering in a marriage, it’s not a question of a person’s lack of ability to communicate, but simply their unwillingness to do so.

Therefore, how willing are you to spend the time necessary to build your communication skills? Are you ready and willing to ask forgiveness for any failure in this area of your relationship? Are you also eager to learn new ways of becoming a better communicator?

• Give Up Your Excuses
  
• Acknowledge Your Failures
  
• Make Time
  
• Reduce Your Distractions
  
• Dates and Recreation
  
• Prayer Together
  
• Meaningful Content
  
• Be More Encouraging
  
• Make Christ Your Example

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