Divorce-Proof Your Marriage (Well, Almost)

What would you do if you learned that there is a common factor in marriages that reduces the divorce rate from about 50% to less than 0.1%, or one out of 1,152?  Does that grab your attention?  Does that make you want to apply it to your own marriage?

Many studies have shown that the divorce rate in the United States today is approximately 40% to 50%.  In other words, very close to one out of every two marriages in the U.S. today ends in divorce.

What about marriages of people within the church?  Well, many of those same studies reveal that, very sadly, church-goers get divorced just about as frequently as everyone else in America.  Some studies reveal that this statistic depends of what kinds of Christians are being surveyed, and others provide possible explanations for such a high divorce rate.  But nevertheless, the sad statistic remains that the divorce rate within the church is very close to the divorce rate of the general public – almost one out of two.

However, a Gallup Poll that was conducted in 1997 by the National Association of Marriage Enhancement in Phoenix, Arizona revealed that the divorce rate among couples who pray together regularly is 1 out of 1,152.  That’s a divorce rate of less than one-tenth of one percent.  

Praying together can bind two hearts together with the heart of God.  Praying together can lubricate the frictions of daily marital life much like oil lubricates the engine of a car.  Praying together can smooth away the rough edges and put problems into perspective.  Praying together can touch the heart of God and tap the power of God in your marriage and in your lives.

Does the idea of praying with your spouse intimidate you and make you a little uneasy?  If so, you are not alone!  Why not start small – choose two days of each week on which you will hold hands and each one offer a one- or two-sentence prayer.  Then maybe after a few weeks, you’ll be able to build on that foundation and grow in frequency and length of praying together. 

Certainly there may be extenuating circumstances for which praying together regularly will not preclude the prospect of divorce.  But in most cases, praying together regularly dramatically reduces your chances of divorce.

Why not give it a try this week?  Why not ask your spouse if they will pray with you on a regular basis?  Something that lowers the divorce rate from 50% to 0.1% sure gets my attention!  I hope it grabs yours as well.