How would you like to practice something in your marriage for five minutes a day that can improve your communication, could stop the possibility of a divorce and even help your sex life? What could bring about those kind of results?

Simple. It’s praying together daily. That’s right. Gallup did a poll on prayer over 12 years ago and discovered that couples who consistently prayed together had a divorce rate of 1 out of l,052 rather than the national average of one out of every two-and-a-half marriages. You might be asking, “How can this be?”

We discovered the answer years ago when we developed the habit of praying together.

We did not know what to expect but within a short period of time we experienced God’s transforming power in our stressed-out marriage. As we placed God at the center of our attention we found it helped take the focus off of our own self-centeredness. That really impacted our marriage. Then as we started to practice what the Bible tells us to do in Galatians 6:2 – “carry each other’s burdens”- we found that God was molding our hearts together as we gained more understanding into each other’s lives. It was through this understanding that God built into us more compassion for each other which in turn increased our sexual intimacy.

We hope you will be convinced that praying together can change your marriage. If so, we hope you do want to get started. You need a game plan so you will be successful in discovering what God has in store for your marriage. We are going to share with you our game plan and offer it to you for your consideration.

Three P’s of Praying Together

1. Priority
Talk with each other and see if this is something you want to do. Be open with your expectations and hopes. Then make a covenant with each other and with God that praying together will be a priority.

2. Planning
Do not try winging this area as you will find yourselves having a difficult time forming a habit. The plan needs to include when you will pray, how long you will pray, where you will pray and what you will be praying.

When we first started we decided to pray twice a day, morning and evening for five minutes each time and we would do this five times a week. When we prayed, we used the two pillars of prayer ? “Help us Lord” and “Thank you Lord”. We would begin our mornings on our knees beside our bed asking the Lord to help us. We would ask God for guidance, help with our day and schedule, and that He would place people in our lives that day that He wants us to speak to. Then in the evening before we would fall asleep we would thank the Lord for the day stating one specific thing we were thankful for that day. That is how simply we began.

3. Persevere
Expect obstacles. Satan will do everything to distract you from spending time talking with God; the phone will ring, kids will start fussin’, your mind will wander ? but ? do not get sidetracked. Stay focused.

A suggestion: At the beginning, until praying together becomes a habit, decide who will remind the other it is time to pray. We suggest it be the husband because it has been found when he takes on the responsibility the couple was more successful in their prayer life.

The 30 Day Challenge

Now that you know the many benefits of praying together as a couple, are you ready for The 30 Day Challenge? We think you are. Start with praying five minutes twice-a-day for the next 30 days, and then watch what God will do in your marriage.

May you have a productive and fulfilling 2011 with your spouse – your family – and with Jesus!

And to be sure that you have Peace With God we would like to encourage you to visit www.billygraham.org and then click on Spiritual Help followed by clicking on Steps To Peace With God. You may want to share this link with family and friends.