From before creation your life was known to God and planned by Him. In that plan was a person to marry. God knew who it was and planted in your heart an image of that person so that your spirit would recognise them and ‘jump for joy’ when you met them.

This book hopes to help you recognise this person and then inform you how to behave in the betrothal and marriage stages of this precious relationship God has planned for you.

May it bless you as it has blessed us in the writing of it.

Neville and Susan Salvetti

The following prophecy was given to me as I was writing this book (before Susan came along to be my wife) and contains God’s promise to those who follow Him in these relationships of betrothal and marriage:

Definitions used in this book

Courtship

This is Satan’s way of having couples come together and decide who to marry as they seek the person who is their ideal ‘wife’ usually at the expense of the one God wants them to have. God is not usually consulted until after the decision is made.

‘court’ = to pay attention with the aim of obtaining favour

‘-ship’ = behaviour

So courtship is the behaviour of seeking favour of another with the objective of marrying them (getting their attention).

Betrothal

This is God’s way where He puts a desire for the other person in your heart and brings you together to get married.

‘be’ = belong too

‘-trothed’ = truth (its original meaning)

So betrothed people truthfully belong to each other (as God has put them together).

Marriage

This really refers to the act of marriage and not married life. Matrimony correctly refers to that. I use marriage in this booklet as matrimony is not a word used these days to describe the married state.

‘mar’ = one who mars

‘-age = that which belongs or is a function related to

So marriage act is the act of marring something. It is the act that removes the virginity of a man and woman and mars it. It culminates the betrothal period which is the period of preparation for marriage.

Matrimony

This is really the word to describe the married state.

‘Matri’ = mother

‘-mony’ = occurring only in

Only in marriage is a natural birth mother found showing how important they are to a marriage that even the word used to describe marriage (matrimony) is derived from the word for mother. This is why Satan does so much to destroy women as destroying them destroys the household.

It is so different to other relationships because: God initiates it, puts you both together, trains you in the betrothal period for the act of marriage and matrimony and then blesses the union for His sake and of course, your best. It is up to you to do your part in this process as God can only do His side of the work He is doing in you.

So this book is about betrothal and matrimony: God’s way of bringing people together for matrimony (marriage) using the betrothal period as a period of preparation for the marriage act and matrimony.