The 2024 100-Day Prayer Challenge
I’ve shared in prior posts about the challenges Kristen and I have faced in marriage when it comes to prayer. I’ve confessed before to many different reasons why praying together had not been a priority in our marriage.
At times I didn’t believe in the power of prayer or understand why we pray.
Other times I simply didn’t make time for it due to the busyness of life.
I’ve blamed our different schedules and morning routines for a lack of prayer and I’ve made lots of excuses in other seasons.
The bottom line is that I didn’t make prayer a priority in our marriage and I largely believe we’ve missed out on intimacy with the Lord and with each other. We missed opportunities to pursue the Lord together in prayer. We’ve missed occasions to truly understand what the other was walking through or how they were struggling. We depended on our strength and resources instead of leaning on the Lord.
A few years ago, we finally made some changes. We made praying together on a consistent basis a higher priority in our marriage. We grew in our marriage. We brought our dreams, hopes, questions, and prayers to the Lord. We pursued the Lord together.
But, there are still times when prayer isn’t a priority, life is too fast, or I just don’t feel like it. One of my goals for 2024 is to make prayer an even greater priority in our marriage. No couple has ever gotten to the end of their lives and regretted praying together. No one has ever said, “I’m so mad we prayed together so much. I wish we would have spent more time watching Netflix or scrolling Instagram.” Rather, I consistently hear the other way around—couples wished they spent less time consumed by TV, politics, or social media and desired more consistency in praying together.
The 2024 100-Day Prayer Challenge
To help us pray together more consistently in 2024, I’m taking on a 100-day prayer challenge. Kristen and I are going to go through my new book The Ready or Knot Prayer Guide together. Starting January 1, we’re going to read each day’s devotional and pray together. Each day’s devotional focuses on a Christlike attribute. My hope is that we’ll both become more like Jesus Christ in 2024. In the process, I believe we’ll grow in our marriage and grow in our understanding of God’s design for marriage. More than anything, I am confident we’ll grow closer to the Lord together as a couple.
I’d love to have some company! I’ve learned it’s much more fun to take on challenges and goals with others. And I always appreciate some accountability. I don’t care if you go through my prayer guide or (k)not. You can find any other 100-day devotional (so many options on Amazon) or just pray together without any kind of guide or devotional. What you read or pray through is secondary. The bigger challenge is for you and your spouse to pray together on a consistent basis. Let’s build prayer into our lives as a daily habit!
This post goes live on Wednesday, December 20th. That gives you 11 days to initiate a conversation with your spouse and decide if you want to take this 100-day challenge. Of course you can always jump in after we start! I’m going to post some encouragement weekly on Instagram with some great discussion questions and may even do some Instagram Lives to share some of what God teaches me/us during this challenge.
Are you interested in joining me and Kristen in our 100-day prayer challenge? I hope so! Life is so much more fun lived together. If you’re in, comment below or send me a message!