Praying More: A Wife’s Goal for 2017

Each year, I try to set a goal for the year and for my readers. In 2014, it was about being happy. In 2015, it was feeling beautiful. In 2016, it was knowing scripture.

I sincerely hope you expanded your memorized scripture with at least a few of the verses I shared on Saturdays last year. I definitely learned some new ones and gained a lot from thinking about how they apply to my marriage, and to my marriage bed.

As I considered what challenge to take on in 2017, I kept coming back to this one: prayer. I say that I kept coming back, because when the topic came up in my mind, I tried to leave it. Sure, I knew that I needed to work on prayer in my own life, but I faced several reservations:

1. How was I supposed to create blog posts related to prayer? Should I discuss prayer itself? Post actual prayers for our marriages? Record videos in which I lead prayers for wives?
2. What did I really know about prayer? I’d made great strides in becoming happier, in feeling more beautiful, and I knew how to memorize scripture … but prayer has always been a bit of a struggle for me. As much as I desire and encourage it, I’m less a “prayer warrior” than  “prayer foot soldier” — getting the job done, but not all that well. So who was I to address prayer?
3. Who would read these posts? How engaging can I possibly make this topic so that people will come to blog and walk away with something useful for their marriage bed? Will people even see the connection between being on the knees in prayer and on their backs in the bedroom? Is this what my readers really need?
4. Why won’t God leave me alone? Because, seriously, I just don’t wanna! I know, I know. I should be a paragon of faith and obedience, eager to do my Lord’s bidding at his first nudging. But I’m a bit stubborn (if you’re reading this, husband, stop laughing), and prayer simply wasn’t what I wanted for my 2017 goal.

As stubborn as I can be, God is far more persistent. While I kept bringing up new ideas in my mind of topics I could address, He kept popping the word prayer back into my mind. Having learned my lessons in the past, I surrendered. As well I should, don’t you think?

I’m inviting you to surrender with me, as we set a goal this year to pray more.

But by pray more, I don’t mean merely more frequently. The word more involves several possibilities:

• Pray more frequently
• Pray more honestly
• Pray more fervently
• Pray more intentionally
• Pray more with your husband
• Pray more with your friends
• Pray more with your family
• Pray more on your knees
• Pray more in day-to-day activities
• Pray more in crises
• Pray more in successes
• Pray more for others
• Pray more for yourself

1 Thessalonians 5:17 says, “Pray continually.” Continually is defined as either regularly or constantly, but regardless, it’s probably more than we’re doing. Yes, some of you are prayer warriors — and I am genuinely thankful for you — but many others struggle.

I once told my minister that I say “Amen” to maybe half of the prayers I start. He answered, “That’s pretty good.” (See why I like my pastor?) Let’s just be honest: We often start to pray, and life interrupts or our minds wander. Our good intentions aren’t realized with the kind of prayer life we want to have.

I want a stronger prayer life. Not simply because that’s what God (clearly) wants me to focus on. Not because I know I should be doing it more. Not because I want stuff from God, and the only way to get it is to ask. I want a stronger prayer life because I want to be closer to God.

Don’t you?

Please stay tuned on Saturdays in 2017. I’m still working out what this will look like, but I will be focusing on prayer. Of course, I’ll be applying it all to nurturing our marriages and godly sex in our marriage beds. Because I strongly believe that marital intimacy which honors God is a prayer He longs to answer.