This past Thursday at SWF we were honored to hear from our very
own beloved mentor Becky Santhouse and her Moody publisher-extraordinaire husband,
Paul. They spoke to us about their
journey as a couple with prayer and all they’ve learned along the way. Both shared vulnerable moments detailing how
God has brought them from places of autonomy from God up to moments of deep
connectedness and dependence on God and one another.
Perhaps as you sat in the room you thought to yourself all
the ways in which your prayer life is boring, forced, or even nonexistent
(maybe this is on your mind right now).
Becky shared how in the early years of their marriage she didn’t pray
with or for her husband nearly as much as she does now, because she didn’t know
how much they really needed God and how much God works through prayer.
They then gave us a quote by Hudson Taylor that profoundly
shaped the way they view prayer. Taylor
writes, “Move men, by God, through prayer.”
Becky encouraged us to pray for our spouses because God
works in our spouse’s life in ways that we as their mate, in our finiteness, simply
cannot. By praying we are inviting God,
our Creator who knows every intimate detail of our life, into our
marriage. We also pray for our spouses
because we want the very best for them. To love is to have the highest good of the
other in our heart. Only God can supply them
with that. And so as they beautifully
taught us tonight, “Prayer is the work, marriage is the fruit.”
In closing, they left us with some practical ways that we
can effectively pray for and with our spouses.
They mentioned things such as being intentional with time set apart for
prayer, praying as you are in conversation about things that are burdening you,
and don’t feel the need to present verbose, flowery prayers to the Lord. He is
closer then our next breath, knowing our prayers before we even utter them. Use determination in your prayer life,
seasons of life are trying and prayer will be a constant friend.
And finally, rely on the beauty of what’s in Scripture to
make your requests known before God.
Substitute your spouses name in places of Scripture (David is patient,
David is kind…) and press into the fullness of God on their behalf. By praying together with and for your spouse
God will “move men.”
