by jimwalton » Tue Oct 15, 2013 1:24 pm
I am hesitant to speak with any kind of authority on a subject that the Scripture doesn't address, so you have to understand that my answer to you is an opinion.
My bottom line: It depends on the couple. I think that prayer together strengthens many marriages, and I have heard plenty of testimonies from married Christian couples who say that prayer together is one of the richest parts of their relationship. I can also say with great confidence that I know many married Christian couples who find it very awkward to pray with their spouses, and they find it best to seek the Lord individually. The Word doesn't give us direct guidance on this matter, and so I would say, "Let each couple decide." Given all possible scenarios, I would guess that to have couples praying together is a value to be pursued, and it's a good thing, but there are many couples that just don't fit that mold, and they shouldn't be made to feel guilty.
Jesus' teaching in Mt. 6.6 is not suggesting that Christian never pray in groups. There are many examples in Scripture to let us know that praying in groups is a great idea (Mt. 18.20; Acts 2.42 [where the emphasis is on their community and actions together]; and Acts 12.12, for some examples). The context of Matthew 6 is that the Pharisees were being hypocrites by using God and the things of God as a means to some other end. Their priority was social status, not a relationship with God; God was just a tool to help them get the praise they wanted from people, and Jesus despised that attitude and action. Jesus is not saying we should always pray alone, but that our prayer should always be sincere and the means to a deeper relationship, not the means to more social status. Prayer, whether alone or in a group, is shutting out the world and communing with God.
We have examples in Scripture of married couples who experience God together: Abraham and Sarah (Gn. 18.9-14), and Manoah and his wife (Judges 13.15-23). Of course, there are many married couples in Scripture who experience God separately. There is no hard-and-fast rule, and no Biblical revelation. There are not even any commands in Scripture for a church to pray together, though the Bible often tells us that one of the things Christians did when they were assembled was pray. It would be the same for a married couple, in my opinion.
Hope that helps. Feel free to ask for clarification if needed, for further explanation if needed, or to ask something else.
I am hesitant to speak with any kind of authority on a subject that the Scripture doesn't address, so you have to understand that my answer to you is an opinion.
My bottom line: It depends on the couple. I think that prayer together strengthens many marriages, and I have heard plenty of testimonies from married Christian couples who say that prayer together is one of the richest parts of their relationship. I can also say with great confidence that I know many married Christian couples who find it very awkward to pray with their spouses, and they find it best to seek the Lord individually. The Word doesn't give us direct guidance on this matter, and so I would say, "Let each couple decide." Given all possible scenarios, I would guess that to have couples praying together is a value to be pursued, and it's a good thing, but there are many couples that just don't fit that mold, and they shouldn't be made to feel guilty.
Jesus' teaching in Mt. 6.6 is not suggesting that Christian never pray in groups. There are many examples in Scripture to let us know that praying in groups is a great idea (Mt. 18.20; Acts 2.42 [where the emphasis is on their community and actions together]; and Acts 12.12, for some examples). The context of Matthew 6 is that the Pharisees were being hypocrites by using God and the things of God as a means to some other end. Their priority was social status, not a relationship with God; God was just a tool to help them get the praise they wanted from people, and Jesus despised that attitude and action. Jesus is not saying we should always pray alone, but that our prayer should always be sincere and the means to a deeper relationship, not the means to more social status. Prayer, whether alone or in a group, is shutting out the world and communing with God.
We have examples in Scripture of married couples who experience God together: Abraham and Sarah (Gn. 18.9-14), and Manoah and his wife (Judges 13.15-23). Of course, there are many married couples in Scripture who experience God separately. There is no hard-and-fast rule, and no Biblical revelation. There are not even any commands in Scripture for a church to pray together, though the Bible often tells us that one of the things Christians did when they were assembled was pray. It would be the same for a married couple, in my opinion.
Hope that helps. Feel free to ask for clarification if needed, for further explanation if needed, or to ask something else.