"Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh." Genesis 2:24

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Prayer: The Secret to a Lasting Marriage
by Dennis Rainey

Maybe you’ve had a similar experience with your own spouse:

One night, my wife Barbara and I ended up in bed facing in opposite directions.

Since early in our marriage, we have prayed together each night before we go to bed. But that night, I didn’t want to pray with her. In my conscience, however, Jesus Christ was asking me, “Are you going to pray with her?”

“I don’t like her tonight, Lord,” I replied.

“I know you don’t,” He said. “But you’re the one who tells people that you pray with your wife all the time.” Slowly, the Lord turned me over, and I said, “Sweetheart, will you forgive me?” And Barbara and I talked and prayed.

I thank God for that tradition of prayer He has helped us build early in our marriage. I am not exaggerating when I say that Barbara and I might not still be married had it not been for daily prayer.

If there is one simple ritual I would urge couples to begin adopting in their marriages, it is this one -- the habit of praying together every day.

When I was still a newlywed in 1972, I asked my boss and mentor, Carl Wilson, for his single best piece of marital advice. He and his wife had been married 25 years and had four children.

“Denny, that’s easy,” he said. “Pray daily together. Every night for 25 years we have prayed together as a couple.”

Since that day nearly three decades ago, Barbara and I have missed daily prayer fewer than a dozen times. That discipline has helped resolve conflicts, kept communication flowing, and, most importantly, acknowledged our utter dependence upon Jesus Christ as the Lord and Builder of our family.

Surveys at our FamilyLife Marriage Conferences indicate that less than 8 percent of all couples pray together on a regular basis. I suspect that less than 5 percent of all Christian couples pray together daily.

Let’s bring back a popular slogan from the 1950s: “The family that prays together stays together.” I believe that if every Christian couple would pray together regularly, our nation would experience a spiritual renewal of historical proportions, including a dramatic drop in the Christian community’s divorce rate.

And when the divorce rate drops within the church, we will see a spiritual and moral awakening in America.

I want to challenge you to something today: to commit to praying with your spouse for one week before you go to bed each night.

Please don’t say you’re too busy for this. Don’t let time in front of the TV watching a ball game or a sitcom keep you from praying together. The average American adult watches 30 hours of television a week -- and there has to be a little time in there to pray!

By the same token, don’t let hobbies, singing in the choir, or working at the church keep you from praying together. It’s easy to get busy -- we all have a lot going on in our lives. But don’t get so busy that you can’t make the time to pray together with your spouse. Avoid living independently of one another. God gave you your spouse, and your marriage is the single most important relationship you have on this earth.

Of course, you’ll have interruptions when you pray together. Anyone with a telephone, children, or even pets can be guaranteed of that! But I encourage you to go past the interruptions. Time for devotion and prayer with your wife or husband is just too important.

When you pray together, you multiply your joys, divide your sorrows, add to your experiences with God together, and help subtract your haunting past from your life. During the rugged times of your marriage, you can share your burdens. Prayer can also take away the desire to get even and replace it with a willingness to work things out.

I urge you to make this commitment with your spouse. You may be afraid to start, and let me assure you, you are not alone. Many people are hesitant to start praying with their spouses. If this is the case, try saying this prayer: “Lord, teach me how to pray with my spouse. I’m afraid.”

I can promise you; it will be one of the most rewarding things you will ever do for your marriage and for your family.

About the author: Dennis Rainey is the executive director of Family Life, an organization founded in 1976 with the goal of effectively developing godly families, one home at a time. Parents of six children, Dennis and his wife, Barbara, have written numerous books, including best-sellers Moments Together for Couples and The Questions Book for Marriage Intimacy. Visit them on the web at www.familylife.com

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You Can Have Peace With God

Do You Feel ALIVE?

Are you as happy as you could be? Do you wake up each day with energy and enthusiasm? Are there any doubts about what is going to happen to you in the future? Do you want a life based on a rock-solid promise of Eternity? Real living, abundant now and into the future. This Life can be yours but you can not earn it. All you have to do is ask. God is the Life source, and if you make peace with Him you will have Real Life in abundance. This is a salvation prayer for you. If you will say this prayer and believe it in your heart, God will forgive your sins and give you a new life. And you can start experiencing a loving relationship with God today.

1) Acknowledge.
If someone gives you new clothing, you must throw away the old. Tell God that your old ways are not working and that you reject those ways. God is a loving Father, He knows what you need- you are His child. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. (Luke 18:13)

2) Repent.
This means to turn away from your old life. If the old way is not working, get rid of it. If you want to receive strength and energy you must abandon the old ways. I tell you, Nay: but except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. (Luke 13:3)

3) Confess.
Simply talk to God like you would a father. Tell Him the bad things you have done and He will forgive. Make sure that you immediately pray whenever you fall back into old ways. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9) That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shall believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. (Romans 10:9)

4) Forsake.
Now make every effort to clean up your life. Do not let the old ways steal your new life and happiness. Clean out everything. Let the wicked forsake his ways, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon. (Isaiah 55:7)

5) Believe.
God wants us to have Faith in Him. He does not want us to seek proof? The words of Jesus are like no other. These words alone are all you need to find Life. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16). And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: He is risen, He is not here: behold the place where they laid Him. (Mark 16:6)

6) Receive.
Receive Jesus Christ now as your personal Lord and Savior all you have to do is say this prayer now with your mouth and believe it in your heart:
God, be merciful to me a sinner. Save my soul. I now confess with my mouth the Lord Jesus and I believe in my heart that God raised Jesus Christ from the dead, therefore I am saved. Jesus you are my Lord. Jesus, you are my Savior. I belong to you Lord Jesus Christ now and forevermore. I now renounce all the works of the devil. Father God, I thank you now for my salvation in the name of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. He came to His own, and His own received Him not. But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name. (John 11:12)

7) Peace.
Now your life is based on the rock. Accept the peace that God now gives you. You are completely new. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. (2 Corinthians 5:17). Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 5:1)

CONGRATULATIONS!
The next thing for you to do now is to get a Bible and read it regularly, pray and go to a Bible believing church. Please check out the links on this page for additional helps.

Our Mission

The Mission of the Happily Married is to help married couples share their experiences of married life with other married couples, especially with newly married couples. To be tool that God can use to reach the People for the Lord Jesus Christ and to teach born-again Christian on how they can be more effective in Soul Winning and disciples making For Our Lord and Savour Jesus Christ.