21 Marriage Devotional: Praying for Your Spouse: Deepening Intimacy and Unity in Marriage

Show notes

About This Episode Praying for your spouse is one of the most powerful ways to grow in intimacy and unity. Building on our last episode about praying for yourself, we look at the one-flesh passages in Genesis 2, Mark 10, and Ephesians 5 and the Golden Rule in Luke 6:31, which show that praying for your spouse is also praying for yourself. We share the simple habit of leaning over and asking, "How can I pray for you?" We talk about the awkwardness and vulnerability of praying out loud, including with an unbelieving spouse, and we warn against using prayer to manipulate or belittle. The goal is to pray for God's will in your spouse's life, not to change them into who you want.

About Aaron & Jennifer Smith Aaron and Jennifer Smith are the founders of Marriage After God and authors of Husband After God, Wife After God, and Marriage After God. Married since 2007 and raising six children in Bend, Oregon, they started Husband Revolution and Unveiled Wife to share what God was teaching them, not from a place of having it figured out, but as fellow travelers pointing couples back to Jesus.

In This Episode One flesh — why praying for your spouse is also praying for yourself (Genesis 2:24, Mark 10, Ephesians 5) The Golden Rule — Luke 6:31 applied to how we pray for each other A simple starting point — leaning over and asking, "How can I pray for you?" Praying out loud — working through awkwardness and fears of vulnerability An unbelieving spouse — what 1 Peter says to the spouse praying alone Guarding your motives — never using prayer to manipulate or belittle your spouse God's will, not ours — praying for your spouse's growth instead of trying to change them (James 4) Spiritual warfare — remembering our battle is not against each other (Ephesians 6:12)

Scripture Referenced Genesis 2:24 Mark 10 Ephesians 5 Luke 6:31 1 Peter James 4 Ephesians 6:12

Resources from This Episode Husband After God Wife After God Shop Marriage After God Full show notes and blog post

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