Married Couples Praying Together

[mkipp]

I was wondering if any married couples pray together everyday. My wife is Catholic, but does not pray regularly. I am starting RCIA and thought that it would be good for us to pray together. I assumed that it would be great to show god our worship, and bring us closer together. If you do pray together, do you have certain prayers?

 

[jwashu]

I pray with my sons every night and we pray as a family from time to time but in general my wife and I don’t pray together. However I’ve thought about adding this into our marriage, but something always comes up. I’m definitely interested in hearing what others are doing.

Joe

 

[kevinsgirl]

DH and I try to pray together every night. Sometimes he leads, and somtimes I do. Usually it’s a couple standard prayers (Hail Marys, etc.) and a little praying that God blesses our marriage and helps us through whatever we’re dealing with.

 

[water]

When asking few priests if their families prayed together, they said “yes”.

 

[Shirley_Bite]

My husband and I pray every morning. When we get ready to leave for work, along with the good-bye kiss and the “Have a great day at work!”, we will bow our heads together and my husband leads the prayer - he starts out saying “We love you, Lord” and continues with whatever we are thankful for and continues on to intercede for our children. He will usually end with a request that God bless our day and help us in living his will.

All this from a man, who up until about a year ago was agnostic!!! He now attends an Evangelical church and goes with me to Mass each Sunday. I joke with him about being in a half-way house in his church.

This single habit has brought us closer together than ever before.

I highly encourage any praying couple ot pray before leaving for work, if at all possible. It is such a peaceful way to start the day.

 

[lizaanne]

My DH and I pray every night together. We start by thanking God for our day, for the goodness and grace He is brought to our lives, our home, our jobs, our family and friends. We pray for whatever intentions of others we have at the time, for ourselves that He make us more holy and to be more like Him. We pray for the conversion of our friends and family by name. We then recite the green scapular prayer (for the conversion of those named), then for the intentions of those who belong to my Catholic Bridal Forum by saying the Hail Mary and Hail Holy Queen, then we finish up with the Saint Michael Prayer for the intentions of The Legion of Saint Michael.

It sounds like a lot, but it doesn’t take very long. Sometimes we substitute parts with a rosary or chaplet. Lately I’ve been saying a consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus while I’m waiting for the DH to finish getting ready for bed.

Only on extreme occasions when one of is (usually me) is really tired do we not go to bed as the same time. In that case who ever goes to bed first says the prayers for both of us.

Oh - and we take turns every night leading.

I hate it when we don’t get to pray together - it is the most loving thing we do together.

~Liza

 

[BeeSweet]

The Rosary is a beautiful prayer to share with your spouse. A leader recites the first part of the prayers, and then the couple recites the second part of the prayers together. I think it’s just a beautiful devotion.

This prayer came from a little booklet titled “Family Prayer”

Prayer of Spouses for Each Other
Lord Jesus, grant that I and my spouse may have a true and understanding love for each other. Grant us the grace to live with each other in peace and harmony. May we always bear with one another’s weaknesses and grow from each other’s strengths. Help us to forgive one another’s failings and grant us patience, kindness and cheerfulness and the spirit of placing the well being of one another ahead of self. May the love that brought us together grow and mature with each passing year. Bring us both ever closer to You through our love for each other. Let our love grow to perfection.

I have this prayer on a little prayer card:

Lord, help us to remember when we first met and the strong love that grew between us.
To work that love into practical things so nothing can divide us.
We ask for words both kind and loving and for hearts always ready to ask forgiveness as well as to forgive.
Dear Lord, we put our marriage into Your hands. Amen.

Another prayer card:

We thank You, O God, for the Love You have implanted in our hearts.
May it always inspire us to be kind in our words, considerate of feelings, and concerned for each other’s needs and wishes.
Help us to be understanding and forgiving of human weaknesses and failings.
Increase our Faith and Trust in You and may Your Prudence guide our life and love.
Bless our Marriage, O God, with Peace and Happiness, and make our Love Fruitful for Your Glory and our Joy both here and in eternity.

Another prayer card:

13 rules for a Happy Marriage

1. Never both be angry at the same time.
2. Never yell at each other unless the house is on fire.
3. If one of you has to win an argument, let it be your mate.
4. If you have to criticize, do it lovingly.
5. Never bring up mistakes of the past.
6. Neglect the whole world rather than each other.
7. Never go to sleep with an argument unsettled
8. At least once every day try to say at least one kind or complimentary thing to your life’s partner.
9. When you have done something wrong, be ready to admit it and ask for forgiveness.
10. It takes two to make a quarrel, and the one in the wrong is the one who does the most talking.
11. Yield to the wishes of the other as an exercise in self-discipline, if you can’t think of a better reason.
12. If you have the choice between making yourself or your spouse look good - choose your spouse.
13. Never meet without an affectionate greeting.

And another:

A Wife’s Daily Prayer
As a wife I beseech Thee, O Triune God, make me cheerful, trustful, unselfish, thrifty, and an affectionate companion. If I am blessed with Motherhood, I ask the additional grace of patience and good example. May our family be modeled upon the Holy Family. Amen.

And another:

A Husband’s Daily Prayer
As a husband I beseech Thee, O Triune God, make me unselfish, cheerful, trustful, thrifty, and a devoted companion. If I am blessed by Fatherhood, I ask the additional grace of helpfulness and good example. May our family be modeled upon the Holy Family. Amen.

I just found these prayer cards a few hours ago forgotten in a box.

My husband is not Christian. I tried praying with him once, but he’s not interested. I pray for him now, so that someday I can pray with him. Please remember us in your prayers with your wife. May God grant you every blessing!

 

[kage_ar]

Start off small -

Maybe in the morning, before you leave for work, just grab hands and pray an “Our Father”. Work up by adding a “Hail Mary” and a “Glory Be”.

Before you eat dinner, pray.

 

[Shirley_Bite]

BeeSweet

My husband is not Christian. I tried praying with him once, but he’s not interested. I pray for him now, so that someday I can pray with him. Please remember us in your prayers with your wife. May God grant you every blessing!

---

Keep praying. It took me 32 years of praying. It’s ALL worth it! You are in my prayers.

 

[whatevergirl]

I was wondering if any married couples pray together everyday. My wife is Catholic, but does not pray regularly. I am starting RCIA and thought that it would be good for us to pray together. I assumed that it would be great to show god our worship, and bring us closer together. If you do pray together, do you have certain prayers?

Most of the time, we do as a family, actually…not just my husband and me. But, my husband works off hours from me, so we do it when we’re all together. I think that would be a great start together…you could perhaps buy a DVD of the Rosary, or Chaplet, to get you both started…or just pray quietly together holding hands, etc…there are a lot of creative ways to pray together–good luck to you in RCIA!

 

[BlestOne]

This is what I learned…

Average rate of divorce… 50%
Average rate of divorce in a Christian marriage… 50%
Average rate of divorce in a Catholic marriage… 50%
Average rate of divorce where both regularly attend church together… 35%
Average rate of divorce Catholics that attend mass together more than once a week … 20%
Average rate of divorce Catholics who attend mass together AND practice nfp… 10%
Average rate of divorce Catholics who attend mass together more than once a week, practice nfp and pray together…1%

I wish I still had the paperwork that referenced this… we got it at RCIA when I was sponsoring dh.

It pretty much speaks for itself huh?

 

[agapewolf]

This is what I learned…

Average rate of divorce… 50%
Average rate of divorce in a Christian marriage… 50%
Average rate of divorce in a Catholic marriage… 50%
Average rate of divorce where both regularly attend church together… 35%
Average rate of divorce Catholics that attend mass together more than once a week … 20%
Average rate of divorce Catholics who attend mass together AND practice nfp… 10%
Average rate of divorce Catholics who attend mass together more than once a week, practice nfp and pray together…1%

I wish I still had the paperwork that referenced this… we got it at RCIA when I was sponsoring dh.

It pretty much speaks for itself huh?

This is what I have:

age divorce rate 50
catholics 33
catholics practice NFP 3
catholics practice NFP and go to church 1
catholics practice NFP , go to church, and pray at home together .09
(yes, thats point zero nine)

 

[BlestOne]

This is what I have:

age divorce rate 50
catholics 33
catholics practice NFP 3
catholics practice NFP and go to church 1
catholics practice NFP , go to church, and pray at home together .09
(yes, thats point zero nine)

End result is still about the same… best chances for a successful marriage… go to church, pray together, and practice nfp…

 

[newbetx]

I was wondering if any married couples pray together everyday. My wife is Catholic, but does not pray regularly. I am starting RCIA and thought that it would be good for us to pray together. I assumed that it would be great to show god our worship, and bring us closer together. If you do pray together, do you have certain prayers?

I’d say it’s all about habit. We never really developed it too much. On special occaisions and after family meetings, we all say a prayer together.

I now understand the value of joint prayer, but we’re not there yet.

 

[newbetx]

This is what I have:

age divorce rate 50
catholics 33
catholics practice NFP 3
catholics practice NFP and go to church 1
catholics practice NFP , go to church, and pray at home together .09
(yes, thats point zero nine)

Is there a published reference for this? That would be very handy!

 

[agapewolf]

I WISH!

I heard an NFP talk in Kansas City by a priest. He gave these stats out and I wrote them down. He said it was a study done in Wisconsin.

This talk was given in 2001. Sorry I don’t have more info.

 

[mkipp]

I appreciate all the suggestions, but what exactly is NFP and how does it work. Sorry, I am new here.

 

[kevinsgirl]

I appreciate all the suggestions, but what exactly is NFP and how does it work. Sorry, I am new here.

NFP is Natural Family Planning as opposed to ABC (Artificial Birth Control). There should be plenty of threads on here about NFP if you’re interested in learning more.

NFP is a natural way approved by the Catholic Church to use the fertility signs of a woman to decide when she is fertile. The couple then abstains during that period if they wish to avoid pregnancy at that time.

 

[mkipp]

IS NFP reliable?

 

[Belgarion]

I REALLY look forward to praying together with my future wife…
Perhaps that kind of attitude is why the divorce rates are so low? Because both love each other enough to spend that kind of time together…So perhaps the statistics show that couples that are truly in love pray together, rather than just showing that the simple act of praying help…Or perhaps its just both together…I’m confusing myself now…