He made their hearts,
    so he understands everything they do. Psalm 33:15 (NLT)

And this I pray: that your love may abound yet more and more and extend to its fullest development in knowledge and all keen insight, that your love may display itself in greater depth of acquaintance and more comprehensive discernment. Phil. 1:9 (Amplified)

Paul wanted followers of Jesus to increase in their ability to understand one another. Sometimes tools help gain these insights. Until I learned that Mark thinks out loud, his ideas sometimes sounded wild and outlandish to me. They seemed to come out of no where, and I wondered, “What in the world in he thinking?!”  My temperament waits to externalize ideas until I’ve processed them internally for a period of time, then I bring them up in conversation, sharing with him what I’ve already chewed on. Mark processes thoughts while talking, so his ideas formulate differently than mine. Knowing this, I now know that I don’t have to be afraid of his brainstorms; he’s only working through them. He hasn’t run ahead of me, or made decisions based on these thoughts; they are just trial balloons, and he gives me opportunity to ponder them with him. These discussions used to lead to frustration and fear and argument. Now that we know each other’s temperaments, we have the understanding we need to maintain peace in our relationship. Let’s pray for this understanding in our marriages:

Father,

You have knit us together very differently. The fibers of our temperament are vastly different, yet you brought us together to complement one another, to be strong in the other’s weakness. How vast is your wisdom! Thank you! Still, we need your help to understand one another, to appreciate our differences, and to honor each other’s perspectives even when they are different from our own. So we receive the understanding that your Spirit has to offer. We commit ourselves to study each other’s temperaments, love languages, passions, and traits. To become experts in each other so that we can love one another more deeply. Thank you, Lord.

Let it be so. Amen.

Understanding is like a fountain of life to those who have it. Proverbs 16:22

No matter what it costs, get understanding. Proverbs 4:7

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