One of the most intimate things you can do together as a couple is to pray to your Creator. One thing you can be sure of when you and your spouse come together in prayer is that God is present.
For where two or three gather in my name, there I am with them. – Matthew 18:20
Prayer is a time to be open, to tell God all the things that are on your heart — good and bad. It is a time for thanks and a time for requests. Listening to your spouse pray is a great way to know what is on their heart, what is worrying them, and what they desire. As a Christian woman, there is nothing more attractive than hearing my husband pray, seeing him reading his Bible, hearing him singing next to me in church, or discussing God and the Bible with him.
Praying together as a couple is a great way to keep God first in your marriage and your lives. It’s a way to stay accountable. And it’s an intimate practice that helps you connect and stay close.
There are several ways to pray together. You can do whichever one makes you both feel most comfortable, or you can switch it up and try all of them.
6 Ways to Pray Together
1. Out Loud
You’re probably going to read this and think, “duh.” But it is a way to pray and it’s the most common, so I had to include it. This is where the husband or wife will pray out loud while the other is silently praying to themselves. I suggest you both pray out loud together rather than always having the husband pray or always having the wife pray.
2. Taking Turns
Travis and I tried this once, and I really liked it. Travis started the prayer by praying for a certain topic such as thanking God for our day and other blessings. He stopped and I started praying for another topic such as praying for our families. I stopped and he started the next topic of praying for our marriage. Back and forth we went until neither of us had anything left to say, so one of us closed out the prayer. This gives you both an opportunity to talk out loud.
3. Two in One
Each person prays out loud, but you do it at the same time. I’ve done this before in a larger group and it was awesome. You can hear all these prayers at once — so many voices being lifted up to Heaven. It was beautiful. It might be a little awkward just the two of you, especially if one prayer is a lot longer than the other. But it’s definitely worth a try!
4. Silently
You don’t always have to be praying out loud to be praying together. This is a great one to try if you are new to praying and uncomfortable with saying your prayers out loud. Sit somewhere comfortable, close your eyes, and hold hands. Each of you prays silently. When one person is finished, they should squeeze their spouse’s hand. When the other person is finished, they squeeze the other person’s hand.
5. Write It
You can write out your prayers separately on a piece of paper. Your words do not have to eloquent or profound. Just keep it simple. Once you have both finished, come together and read the prayers you’ve written to each other.
6. On the Spot
When you are discussing something as a couple, having an argument, talking about worries or one or both of you is upset, stop the conversation and pray on the spot. I think Travis and I need to do this more often. There are so many times where I will get worked up about something, and I know if we just stopped and took a moment to pray about whatever is upsetting me it would help so much. It would calm me down, put things in perspective, and help me put my focus back where it needs to be. This is a great method if one person is really upset (aka me) the other person can pray for them. It doesn’t have to be a long prayer. A short, to-the-point prayer is perfect in this moment.
Praying together as a couple is important — whether you are married, engaged, or just dating. If you want your relationship to be serious and you want your relationship to last, if you want God to be your focus and the center foundation for your relationship — then prayer is the key.
Things to Pray About:
- Each Other
- Families
- Friends
- Your Relationship
- Your Future
- Provision (finances)
- Your Jobs
- Thankfulness
Travis and I pray together almost every night –unless we are so tired we just fall asleep the second we hit the pillow! — but for the most part, every night before bed. I encourage you and your significant other to find a time each day to pray together. Make it a habit. Make it a routine. Because…
A cord of three stands is not easily broken. (Ecclesiastes 4:12)
Read more of my posts about marriage here, and be sure to follow my Pinterest board Marriage: Loving My Hubby.
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I love this piece. Prayer is so important. I currently do not pray often with my husband except at dinner time. When we first got married we would go to bed at the same time and I cherished that time together. Your words have made me think about this and remember this tume we used to share. We have started doing this again with the addition of prayer. We are blessed to have this prayer time together. Thanks for the inspiration.
I’m glad to hear it! Prayer is such an important part of a marriage. Just this week, Travis and I were arguing and instead of letting that build and having bad attitudes all day, we stopped and prayed. We both apologized to each other, asked God to give us better attitudes, and the rest of the day was great!