Couples Who Pray by Squire Rushnell and Louise DuArt

This was a well-written book about the power of prayer, especially when couples join together in prayer. Just when you thought the most intimate act between a couple was...well..sex, you are told quickly in the book that that is not the case. The most intimate act between a couple can and should be prayer. The book is divided into three sections, each one building on the other. The first section dives into the benefits of praying couples. Testimonials from celebrities as well as regular people are plentiful. The 40 day challenge is the second section, with factors during the forty days being the third section. The book also provides a couple of appendixis with extra information.

I really liked this book. It was very easy to read, and I loved the plethora of testimonials sprinkled throughout the book. I'm also a recipe kind of girl. If you give me a recipe I will follow it to the letter. If you just throw ingredients at me you will not receive anything edible in return. This book provides a recipe for couples to follow if they want to add prayer to their lives. I think my favorite section was section 3 because there was a lot more practical information there letting you know what you could expect during and after the 40 days. I would love to add that my husband and I took the 40 day challenge and now we pray every single day, but I would be lying. I hope that one day we can get there. We did pray once together, and it lasted longer than 5 minutes. We didn't lock our door so it lasted till our 1 year old son came bouncing in. :) I think I need to challenge myself to do the 40 day challenge--even if it is by myself--and pray for God to give my husband the desire to make it a priority as well. As is the case with most families we are extremely busy--both spouses with full-time jobs, raising 4 kids, responsibilities in our own church, etc. The list could go on and on. If there is anytime that we need to be praying together it's now! I believe both my husband and I have the desire to have closer relationships with our heavenly Father and with each other. Often the hardest step is getting started.

My recommendation would be to go out and get this book. Even if just one person has the desire to make prayer a higher priority I believe it could have huge effects. That's what I'm praying for my marriage. I pray that I will be able to update this post at a later time and sing the praises of how God has done miraculous things in our married life. He has already blessed us with so much already!