11. Pray With Your Spouse

I believe that Christian spouses should pray regularly together. Think of it as a meeting with the two of you before the Lord. If it is important for the body of Christ to pray together, how much more important is it for those who share the most intimate relationship God has created to do so…. Because of the closeness of husband and wife, praying together as a couple can be even more wondrous. Let me suggest four reasons: (1)It promotes a more deeply meaningful marriage. The key to your unity as a couple—the meaningfulness of your marriage—is found in your relationship with Christ and his plan for you as a team of kingdom agents. Talking together to the Father through Christ with the help of the Spirit as you face the opportunities and challenges before you is an important way to experience the fulness of the unity that God designed for marriage. (2) It promotes increased understanding and wisdom. As you study God’s Word together and then decide on the implications for prayer, your understanding of God’s Word is enriched and your wisdom about how to apply it increases. (3) It promotes decisions that advance God’s kingdom. Praying together around God’s Word enables you to keep your priorities straight as a couple and as a family. It provides the kingdom perspective you need to discern the things that take priority and make productive and wise decisions. (4) It provides insight into the meaning of life. The unity and diversity of the Trinity is both a mystery and a revelation to us of how God made us and the world. More than any other creation of God, marriage is designed to give us insight into this mystery. When two people get married, the two become one (Genesis 2:24)—a clear reflection of the unity and diversity of the Trinity. As a married couple prays together in a Biblical way about the situations they face, they gain greater insight into the mystery of the Trinity and how this unity and diversity should work in every sphere of life.