German pastor, Dietrich Bonhoeffer once called praying together the heartbeat of the Christian community.
It’s true for marriage, too.
Married couples are designed for intimacy. Yet, like Adam and Eve in the garden, they often hide from God and each other. Some couples avoid intimacy because it feels safer than risking exposure and shame. But long-term, hiding has the opposite effect. Instead of feeling more loved, we feel more lost. Instead of feeling more accepted, we feel more alone.
How can couples break free from isolation and connect with each other?
Married couple and authors Ryan and Selena Frederick answer, “Prayer. Specifically, praying together.” Prayer opens the door for grace and truth in a relationship. The more grace and truth a couple has the better they’ll be at dealing compassionately yet honestly with each other’s limitations. Where there is honesty, there is the potential for solutions and healing.
Ryan and Selena are joining me on Focus on the Family with Jim Daly to share about how they initiated and navigate what they call a “lights on and windows and doors open” policy to their marriage. That means no secrets, no hidden pasts, and a present commitment to creating a relationship of safety where they can talk openly about their mistakes, shame, and pain.
They don’t do transparency perfectly, and neither will you, but Ryan and Selena will teach you how to bring prayer into your marriage in ways that help each of you live as authentically as possible.