Normally we pray for about 10-15 minutes in the morning before I head off to work. I start by asking my wife what her big issues are for the day. Then I share mine. These are usually things that are bothering us or worrying us. It could be our kids, job, finances, families, friends, health, or whatever. We thank God for answered prayer and for each other too.
My wife and I pray together perhaps seven out of 10 days. I travel, and so am not always home. Then sometimes life causes our schedules to become so complicated that we just don’t take time that day to pray.
Of course, there are those days when we have conflict and we really don’t want to pray with each other. It is curious, though, that when we have conflict and are not praying, I feel tension (conviction from God?), that I need to be praying with this woman. This adds to the desire to resolve conflict.
I am not sure that we would say praying together has brought us more intimacy. Prayer is hard work and usually we are just broken people asking God to help us make it through the day because we are a mess. Certainly we do have a better understanding of what each of us is stressing about, though.
We have seen God answer our prayers in wonderful ways and that brings us great comfort. But we have also seen Him not answer some prayers that have dragged on for years.
Is praying with your spouse a magic bullet that will keep you from getting divorced? Probably not since all of us are just a couple of steps away from making selfish choices. But for us it is a way of fertilizing the soil in which our love for each other and for God grows. That’s something we want to do.
A great way to experience the power of praying with your spouse would be to participate in our 30-Day Oneness Prayer Challenge. You can sign up to receive a daily email or text message with a short devotional with Scripture and a suggested prayer to go through with your spouse.
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