Topic: COMMUNICATION IN MARRIAGE (Part 2)
THEME SCRIPTURE:
1 Corinthians 7:5 (NKJV)
Do not deprive one another except with consent for a time, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again so that Satan does not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.
MESSAGE:
Our theme Scripture is about sex between married couples. Husbands and wives are admonished not to deprive one another of sex, except with consent for a time, if either the husband or the wife, or both of them want to spend some time fasting and praying.
The key word in this verse of Scripture is “CONSENT.” It is from a Greek word which also means, “that agreed upon.” There cannot be mutual agreement between a husband and his wife without proper dialogue and communication.
Communication is both an art and a skill. An introvert will communicate differently from an extrovert. Sometimes, the best way to communicate is using non-verbal means, such as a touch, or an eye contact. Due to our individual differences in temperaments, communication between married couples will differ from couple to couple, based on how the married couple have gotten to know each other through relationship, and the extent to which they have developed the art and skill of communicating with each other.
Our theme Scripture further instructed, that, after the couple have agreed to abstain from sex so as to give themselves to fasting and prayer, they should come together again, so that Satan does not tempt any one of them for lack of self-control. Certainly, the art of coming together again will also require a form of communication. The point is, if meeting the sexual needs of a spouse requires communication, it’s obvious every other aspect of the marital relationship will also require constant and continuous communication.
Communication in marriage is a subject that cannot be exhausted in a single teaching. But suffice it to say that, regardless of how much a husband and a wife love each other when they’re newly married, it will take communication between the two of them to sustain that love.
