My husband Jim and I have published a book we’ve written together. We believe there are a number of areas to consider before marrying again. We made it interesting with stories from our own personal lives as well as stories from those we’ve met throughout our lives. If you are already married, a friend or family member might be interested.

“That’s not for me, I’m married already,” you might say. We have a chapter just for you titled “How to Have a Charmed Marriage.”We listed eight areas we believe will enrich your marriage.

If you know me, you know I am not a counselor, nor am I licensed to practice counseling, but with Jim, we have 87 years of marriage experience. Yes. I said eighty seven, including our seven years together!

For the next few weeks, I’ll be writing about each of these eight areas. Even if your marriage is really good, it can always be improved, right? If you don’t have a mate and don’t intend to have one,  pass on the information to a friend or loved one.

We often say we are standing on the shoulders of our previous mates. Our previous marriages have benefitted this marriage. Although not perfect, our marriage is as close to heaven as it can be. We are two imperfect people married until “death do us part.”

There are eight areas we are considering in this final chapter and the first area is perhaps the most important one: 1. Pray together.

Did you know that if a married couple prays together daily, there is a ninety-nine percent chance for success in that marriage? Ninety-nine. That is a heady statistic given by author and pastor, Craig Groeschel.

At Jim’s suggestion, we prayed together aloud on our first date and it set a precedent. But you can start any time if you haven’t prayed together just yet.

If at first you are not comfortable praying aloud in front of someone, we recommend you sit together, hold hands, bow your heads and close your eyes and pray silently for a minute or two. When you feel comfortable doing that, start saying one sentence out loud, if only nothing more than, “Thank you for this day, dear Lord.” The more you do it, the easier it becomes.

Some people are afraid to pray together because they think they’re not spiritual enough. Simple prayers are fine. Certainly with God. We know praying together creates intimacy—spiritual intimacy. It naturally overflows to other aspects of your married life. Emotionally and physically.

Most likely you will begin to pray about other things. It is a wonderful, mystical moment in joining together with the Creator of the world and asking for his blessing on your day. On your family. On your marriage. On your world.

How about you who are married to an unbeliever or one not interested at all in praying? I suggest you set aside a few minutes each day in prayer for your marriage.

Are you so intrigued with what I’ve written you want to read the whole book? Here’s the link. 

I hope you can incorporate prayer into your marriage. Write your experiences in praying together in the comment section below. I’d love to hear about it.

One last thing. I did not always have the luxury of praying with my husband. In fact, for a long time, I prayed my husband would want to pray with me. It happened years later. Don’t give up hope. Keep praying!