Praying in Marriage

 

 This month's topic for Marriage Monday is "Prayer in Marriage".

Now let me start off by saying that Dave and I rarely pray together. 

But...we do pray.

We believe in "praying without ceasing" as the Scriptures tell us.  This does not mean we are in a room, on our knees, around the clock!  We can't even manage one hour.  What it does mean is that we are in what I call "Prayer Mode" often, throughout our day or evening.

As the Holy Spirit prompts us, we pray.

Have we ever prayed together as a couple?

YES!  It was much easier when we were newlyweds....yet even back then, we probably only prayed together 2 or 3 times per week.

What have I learned about prayer as a wife?

Prayer is Powerful:  when we pray together...those few times we do, the praying is powerful.  We have interceded for friends, family members, unsaved friends/family, church situations, and school situations.  I learned to trust God more and more for the little things through praying with my husband.

And we have seen direct answers to prayer.  We have seen Him say "yes", "no" and "wait". (the wait is the one that is always the hardest for me!)

Prayer is Personal:  we both have our own way of praying.  For years I prayed directly to Jesus, and often still do.  My husband addresses Him as God, or Father God.  I now address Him as either Father God or Jesus my Redeemer....Dave is more eloquent when he prays...I am more casual, and like I'm talking to a good friend.  Dave tends to be long-winded....I tend to be short and to the point and I am the one who tends to follow the "ACTS" formula (adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication/asking).  Dave is not one to jump right into prayer with me but he will if I ask him.  He is definitely my prayer partner when it comes to our daughters.  He also prayed over me many, many days and evenings while I was dealing with lyme disease.  If I know he is having a bad day or evening, or is struggling in an area that is difficult for him, I will ask him if he wants me to pray right then and there.  

Prayer brings Peace:  praying, either in one accord on our own, or sitting together on the couch and actively praying together, brings peace to our minds, souls, and to the atmosphere of our home.  Our children need to see parents praying together, even if it is just a little bit.  More importantly, our children need to see us praying. Period.  We teach by role modeling.  Neither of my daughters is very comfortable praying aloud and I think it stems from Dave and I not doing much of it when they were younger.  My daughters both know that prayer is simply talking to God but....although I know my teenager prays aloud during her small group that meets weekly, I know also that she is not at all comfortable praying aloud here in our home with Dave and I.  And that is ok with us.....I just wish I could redo that part of their early childhood and role model it better for them. However, we do have the mercy of God, don't we?  The girls know that Dave and I pray for them daily because we tell them. This brings peace to them.  They know they are covered in prayer as they head off to the school bus/classrooms, as they engage in extracurricular activities, and as they serve at church.  Peace comes to me when I know my husband is praying about a certain situation.  I can rest in Him, knowing that the partner He gave me for life, is praying for me and lifting me up.  The same goes for Dave. He will have peace when he knows I am praying for him about his job, his leadership with the teens at church, as a dad, and as a husband.

And I always like to say "the family that prays together, stays together".  This doesn't mean we have to have these long, nightly prayer meetings in our family room.  What works for us is telling each other we are praying about whatever it is we need prayer for, or telling the girls to pray for a certain relative, etc.  Each evening, my youngest still insists that I pray over her as I turn off her light for bedtime.  Dave sometimes does this task, but she prefers me to do it for some reason.  I don't mind a bit because it shows me that prayer in our marriage has been modeled as something important and something we naturally do.

I am blessed to have a godly, praying husband.

What about you?  Do you pray with your spouse?  Do you prefer to pray alone?

let me know your thoughts!

A big thank you to E-mom at Chrysalis blog for hosting this monthly online ministry!  If you have a blog, you can link up with her by clicking here.

God bless your week!!