40 Day Love Dare Challenge

You may have heard about or even seen the movie a number of years back
called, Fireproof, about one man’s story to save his marriage. It is a
powerful story worth seeing.

In the movie the lead character, played by Kirk Cameron, realizes that his
marriage is on the brink of divorce. He is challenged by his father to take
part in a 40-day Love Dare Challenge. Reluctantly he agrees, and the movie
tells his story. The movie is based on a book by the same name by Eric
Wilson (Author), Alex Kendrick (Author), Stephen Kendrick (Author).

Consider taking the 40 Day Love Dare Challenge. Below are the 40 love
dare challenges. This can be done by the husband for the wife, as in the
movie, or by the wife towards the husband. Either way, it is sure to help
your marriage grow, maybe even in areas you didn’t realize needed
strengthening.
_________________________________________________________
Day 1: Resolve to say nothing negative about your spouse today.
Ephesians 4:2 “with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with
one another in love,”

Day 2: Do at least one unexpected gesture to your spouse as an act of

kindness.
Ephesians 4:32 “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one
another, as God in Christ forgave you.”

Day 3: Buy your spouse something that says, “I was thinking about
you today.”
Romans 12:10 “Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one
another in showing honor.”

Day 4: Contact your spouse sometime during the day and ask how he
or she is doing and if there is anything you could do for them.
Psalm 139: 17-18 “How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast
is the sum of them! If I would count them, they are more than the sand. I
awake, and I am still with you.”

Day 5: Ask your spouse to tell you three things that cause him or her
to be uncomfortable or irritated with you. You must do so without
attacking them.
Proverbs 27:14 “Whoever blesses his neighbor with a loud voice, rising
early in the morning, will be counted as cursing.”

Day 6: Choose to react to tough circumstances in your marriage in

loving ways instead of with irritation.

1
Proverbs 16:32 “Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he
who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.”
Day 7: On a sheet of paper, write out positive things about your
spouse. At some point during the day, pick a positive attribute from
the list and thank your spouse for having the characteristic.
I Corinthians 13:7 “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all
things, endures all things.”

Day 8: Share with your spouse how glad you are about a success he or
she recently enjoyed.
Song of Solomon 8:6 “Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon
your arm, for love is strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave. Its
flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the Lord.”

Day 9: Think of a way to greet your spouse today to reflect your love
for them, and then do it with a smile and enthusiasm.
I Peter 5:14 “Greet one another with the kiss of love. Peace to all of you
who are in Christ.”

Day 10: Do something out of the ordinary today for your spouse.
Romans 5:8 “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still
sinners, Christ died for us.”

Day 11: What need does your spouse have that you could meet today?
Example: Choose a gesture that says “I love you” and do it with a
smile.
Ephesians 5:28 “In the same way husbands should love their wives as their
own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.”

Day 12: Demonstrate love by willingly choosing to give in to an area

of disagreement between you and your spouse.
Philippians 2:4 “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also
to the interests of others.”

Day 13: Talk with your spouse about establishing healthy rules of
engagement and resolve to abide by them when the next
disagreement occurs.
Mark 3:25 “And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be
able to stand.”

Day 14: Purposefully neglect an activity you would normally do so you

can spend quality time with your spouse.
Ecclesiastes 9:9 “Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of
your vain life that he has given you under the sun, because that is your
portion in life and in your toil at which you toil under the sun.”

2
Day 15: Choose a way to show honor and respect to your spouse that
is above your normal routine.
I Peter 3:7 “Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding
way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs
with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.”

Day 16: Pray for three specific areas where you desire for God to work
in your spouse’s life and in your marriage.
3 John 2 “Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be
in good health, as it goes well with your soul.”

Day 17: Determine to guard your mate’s secrets and pray for them.
Proverbs 17:9 “Whoever covers an offense seeks love, but he who repeats a
matter separates close friends.”

Day 18: Prepare a special dinner at home and focus this time on
getting to know your spouse better.
Proverbs 3:13 “Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets
understanding,”

Day 19: Ask God to show you where you stand with him, and ask for
the strength and grace to settle your eternal destination.
I John 4:7 “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and
whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.”

Day 20: Dare to take God at his word and trust Jesus Christ for
salvation.
Romans 5:6 “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for
the ungodly.”

Day 21: Make time to pray and read your bible today.
Isaiah 58:11 “And the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your
desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like
a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.”

Day 22: Choose to be committed to love even if your spouse has lost
most of their interest in receiving it.
Hosea 2:20 “I will betroth you to me in faithfulness. And you shall know
the Lord.”

Day 23: Remove anything that is hindering your relationship, stealing

your affections and turning your heart away from your spouse.
I Corinthians 13:7 “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all
things, endures all things.”

3
Day 24: Identify every object of lust in your life and remove it.
I John 2:17 “And the world is passing away along with its desires, but
whoever does the will of God abides forever.”

Day 25: If there is anything you haven’t forgiven in your spouse,

forgive it today.
2 Corinthians 2:10 “Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. Indeed, what I
have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the
presence of Christ…”

Day 26: Ask for God’s forgiveness for your areas of wrongdoing, then
humble yourself enough to admit them to your spouse.
Romans 2:1 “Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who
judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because
you, the judge, practice the very same things.”

Day 27: Think of one area where your spouse has told you you’re
expecting too much, and tell them you’re sorry for being so hard on
them about it.
Psalm 25:20 “Oh, guard my soul, and deliver me! Let me not be put to
shame, for I take refuge in you.”

Day 28: Purpose to do what you can to meet the greatest need in your
spouse’s life right now.
I John 3:16 “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we
ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.”

Day 29: Before you see your spouse again today, pray for them by
name and for their needs.
Ephesians 6:7 “rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to
man…”

Day 30: Ask the Lord to reveal anything in your own heart that is
threatening oneness with your spouse and, if appropriate, discuss it
openly and seek God for unity.
John 17:11 “And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and
I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have
given me, that they may be one, even as we are one.”

Day 31: Commit to God and your spouse to make your marriage the
top priority over every other human relationship.
Genesis 2:24 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and
hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”

Day 32: If at all possible, try to initiate sex with your spouse today (in
a way that honors them).
4
I Corinthians 7:3 “The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights,
and likewise the wife to her husband.”

Day 33: Tell your spouse that you desire to include them in your
upcoming decisions, and that you need their perspective and
counsel.
Ecclesiastes 4:11 “Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can
one keep warm alone?”

Day 34: Verbally commend your spouse about a recent time when
they demonstrated Christian character in a noticeable way.
I Corinthians 13:6 “[love] …it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices
with the truth.”

Day 35: Find a Christian marriage mentor. Ask God to direct your
decisions and discernment.
Proverbs 15:22 “Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they
succeed.”

Day 36: Commit to reading the bible every day. If your spouse is open
to it, see if they will commit to reading with you.
Psalm 119:105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”

Day 37: Ask your spouse if you can begin praying together.
Matthew 18:19 “Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about
anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.”

Day 38: Ask yourself what your spouse would want if it was
obtainable, then map out a plan for meeting some (if not all) of their
desires.
Psalm 37:4 “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires
of your heart.”

Day 39: Spend time in personal prayer, then write a letter of

commitment and resolve to your spouse. Leave it in a place where
your mate will find it.
I Corinthians 13:8 “Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass
away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.”

Day 40: Write out a renewal of your vows and place them in your
home. Ruth 1:16 “But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to
return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge
I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.”