We have all heard that couples who pray together stay together, yet, most couples do not pray together. For me it is one of those things that roll around in my brain as something I will eventually get around to doing. Like the infamous I’ll-start-tomorrow-diet. So, I thought Couples Who Pray might be just the ticket for getting prayers with my husband rolling.Rushnell and DuArt present readers with the challenge of praying with your spouse for 40 days and readers will experience wonderful changes in their marriage. They claim praying together not only improves communication but, also intimacy, among other things. Throughout the book, stories are told of the effects of prayer in the lives of celebrities and other high-profile individuals. Big names like Denzel & Pauletta Washington, Frank & Kathy Lee Gifford and Scott & Tracie Hamilton tell their experience with praying as a couple and the positive results.
I appreciate the message of Couples Who Pray but struggle with the marketing tactic for the concept. I wholeheartedly agree that if my husband and I spend a few minutes each day praying together our marriage will benefit beyond our expectations. However, I do not like the author’s use of celebrities (who do not always live what I would consider a Christian lifestyle) to sell the idea and, in turn, books.
Couples Who Pray has a lot of fluff. The number of pages needed to present the idea, back it up, explain the logistics and give a few testimonies is about half the number of pages in the book. There are too many stories from the high-profile people to suit me and many of these stories are not related to the concept of praying as a couple. The 40 Day Prayer Challenge resources included in the book play a vital role in the appeal of this book. Without these tools Couples Who Pray would be even more unbalanced with irrelevant anecdotes.
All in all, Rushnell and DuArt’s book is good. As I stated, I fully support the notion of praying with your spouse and reaping the benefits of this intimate time together. As for jump starting this new habit with my own husband, Couples Who Pray has not inspired as I hoped. Yes, I would like to commit to the 40 day challenge but not because Denzel, Kathy Lee or Scott did.
I received a complimentary copy of Couples Who Pray from Thomas Nelson as a participant in their blogging for books program, Booksneeze.com.
