Do you pray with your wife?
If you do, is it focused and consistent? If you don’t pray with your wife, what’s getting in the way? Keep reading this post, and I guarantee you that within days you’ll be praying with your mate on a consistent basis if you use the three “I’s”.
I’ve been married for 14 years, and one of the things I struggled with is praying consistently with my wife, Cetelia. When I say consistently, I mean each day with a specific prayer focus in mind. I’m not sure why this has been so hard, but it has been a major challenge.
The lack of consistent prayer has made me feel guilty, especially when I heard other husbands talk about praying with their wife, and how important it was. Because I could never make the practice stick, I tuned out all the “prayer warrior” husbands, and patted myself on the back whenever I would pray.
Well, after years and years of struggle, I’m happy to say that I am finally praying consistently with Cetelia. The best part? It’s not a struggle anymore. Moreover, instead of it feeling like a burden, I look forward to it.
So, you may be wondering what happened that made things change in my marriage … here’s the secret: I pray about items that pass the I-Test.
Important.
Cetelia and I pray for our marriage, our three children, and Marriage Works! (the marriage ministry we own and operate). All three of these issues impact our life greatly, so we’re happy to pray about them and get God’s wisdom. A lot rides on these three areas, so knowing how to handle each of them is critical if they’re going to be successful.
Interesting.
In addition to these topics being important, Cetelia and I both very interested in their outcome. We care about our marriage deeply, so we pray for it instead of leaving it to chance. They same goes for our children and marriage ministry. While Cetelia and I both have an equal interest in our marriage, I’ve noticed that Cetelia’s maternal instinct and homeschooling duties cause her to have an elevated interest in our children’s welfare. On the other hand, because I am the primary operator of Marriage Works!, I have an elevated interest in it that Cetelia may not ever have. That’s not a negative, rather a fact of life that we have both embraced. Our interest in the topics drive us to our needs.
Immediate.
Aside from the topics being important and interesting, they are also immediate. What happens in our marriage is not only important down the road, but also today. We also care about what’s happening with our children and Marriage Works! now. While we care abut the future, what’s happening presently drives us to our knees.
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If you’ve been struggling to pray with your wife, find topics that pass the I-Test: important, interesting, and immediate. You’ll find yourself drawn into prayer with your mate and disappointed when you miss a day – especially when you begin seeing answers to those prayers.