Recently my wife and I made the commitment to prayer walk our neighborhood street every day for a week. This is a practice that we are desiring to continue on a regular basis. As we have been prayer walking together, I have been thinking about how this daily routine strengthens our marriage relationship.
And so here are four ways I believe prayer walking with your spouse is good for your marriage.
1. You are spending time with your spouse
When you make the daily commitment to prayer walk your street or neighborhood with your spouse, you are also making the daily commitment to spend time with your spouse. One of the best things we can invest in our marriage is our time. Marriages that grow apart are marriages that often simply stop spending time together. A commitment to prayer walk together requires that we are setting aside time each day to be together. And while the time to actually walk your street is short, how often do couples go a whole day (sometimes a week) and not actually have intentional alone time together? Some days we have to walk late at night. Sometimes in cold weather. Sometimes in rainy weather. But the commitment to prayer walk, is also a commitment to be with each other.
2. An opportunity to hold hands with your spouse
When my wife and I prayer walk together, we always hold hands. The act of holding hands is one of the simplest ways couples draw close to each other. When couples are dating and newly married, there is a natural desire to be close to each other which is why couples often are holding hands. But over time, whether because of busyness or a fading desire for closeness, those physical connections can get neglected. And so when my wife and I make the commitment each day to prayer walk, we get to participate in a physical act that allows us to draw emotionally closer to each other.
3. You get to pray with your spouse
I believe one of the best ways to guard and nurture the intimacy of a marriage relationship is to spend time praying together as a couple. Prayer brings both the husband and wife together in a very vulnerable and humble way before God and before each other. When couples pray together, they are actively fighting against the selfish pride that can so easily destroy a relationship. Prayer becomes the spiritual glue that binds our hearts together in Christ. Prayer is also a wonderful way to hear and discover your spouses heart as they pray for their neighbors. When my wife and I were dating one of the ways I really got to get an insight into her heart is when I heard her pray. And today, I still love to hear her pray. It is through our prayer life that we continue to grow closer together.
4. You get to participate in the work of Christ together
One of best ways that prayer walking together is good for the marriage relationship is that you get to participate in Kingdom work together. Philippians 1 talks about the body of Christ standing side by side for the sake of the Gospel. One of the ways a church maintains unity is when they work together for the sake of Christ. And the same is true of a marriage relationship. When a husband and wife partner together for the sake of the Gospel, they build a spiritual unity and a spiritual bond that is firmly rooted in Christ. Too often husbands and wives can have separate ministry pursuits and they never experience Kingdom work that unites both of them together. Prayer walking allows a couple to enter into ministry together as they prayer for their neighbors standing (or walking) side by side for the sake of the Gospel.