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Pray with Your Husband or Wife Every Day

(c) 2002 Doug Britton (Permission granted to print for personal use)

Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD
watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain (Psalm 127:1).

Praying with your spouse daily is the key a great marriage

(This study is adapted from Making Christ the Cornerstone, book 2 in Marriage by the Book.)

I have counseled with hundreds of married couples over the years. After seeing marriages improve, I used to ask what one piece of advice made the greatest difference. Over and over, I got the same answer ... learning how to pray together.

It makes sense that praying together would bring a couple together. Jesus often prayed with his disciples. And Paul wrote, "Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful" (Colossians 4:2). Prayer is our opportunity to connect with God, our Creator. It's practical. And it is a wonderful privilege to be able to approach Him together. Yet most couples do not pray together regularly.

A good way to get started is to make a prayer plan. The following pattern is one I often suggest when counseling. Feel free to change it in any way that is comfortable for both of you.

Pray at one or more regular times each day

The following biblical pattern is for a couple to pray three times a day. If praying together three times a day seems overwhelming, start with once or twice a day.

Morning prayer: Pray for each other.

At the beginning of the day, or before either person leaves for work, one person asks the other for prayer requests, and then he or she prays. After the first person finishes praying, the second person asks the first one for prayer requests and then prays. After that, both could pray for family members or other people.

If one person is asleep when the other one goes to work, pray for each other's requests the night before. If one person is away on a business trip, pray by phone.

Early evening prayer: Pray for a servant's heart.

Most of us feel tired at the end of the day. We enter the evening hours hoping for support and understanding from our spouse. Yet God wants us to look for ways to serve, not to be served. As Jesus said, "Even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve" (Mark 10:45).

To prepare your hearts for the evening, have a short prayer time as soon as both of you are home after the workday. Take turns praying, with each person praying to be a loving, sensitive and helpful spouse that evening. You could also pray to be free from any tensions or problems from the workplace.

Bedtime prayer: Pray for God's protection.

Before you go to sleep, ask for God's protection over your home and for each member of your family, your relatives and others with needs. If one person goes to bed before the other, pray when he or she goes to bed.

Suggested guidelines for rewarding prayer times

Either person can suggest it is time to pray.
You could agree about who will suggest praying at the different times of the day, or you could be informal, with each taking the responsibility to say, "Let's pray."

Invite your spouse to pray.
Don't be pushy.

Both husband and wife should pray out loud.
If you are shy about praying out loud, fearing you don't pray well enough, let me encourage you not to feel embarrassed. Prayer is talking to God. (It's also listening to him.) Speak simply. He is the most understanding and forbearing of listeners.

Choose a position that is comfortable for both.
You can pray standing, kneeling, sitting, hugging or lying in bed. The main thing is to pray!

Pray for a reasonable amount of time.
There is no need to have prayer marathons. Pray for a length of time that is comfortable for both of you.

Consider using a couple's prayer chart

Place a chart somewhere each of you looks every day to remind yourselves to pray. Feel free to print and use this online prayer chart: Keep a Couple's Prayer Chart.

Click below for more information

•  Laying a Solid Foundation (Book 1 in Marriage by the Book)
•  Making Christ the Cornerstone (Book 2 in Marriage by the Book)
•  Encouraging Your Spouse (Book 3 in Marriage by the Book)
•  Extending Grace to Your Mate (Book 4 in Marriage by the Book)
•  Talking with Respect and Love (Book 5 in Marriage by the Book
•  Improving Your Teamwork (Book 6 in Marriage by the Book)
•  Putting Money in its Place (Book 7 in Marriage by the Book)
•  Fanning the Flames of Romance (Book 8 in Marriage by the Book)
•  Group Leaders' Guide for Marriage by the Book

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