Squire Rushnell - Couples Who Pray: The Most Intimate Act Between a Man and a Woman

2007 SQuire Rushnell and Louise DuArt

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Couples Who Pray is an official publication of SQuire Rushnells The 40 Day Prayer ChallengeTM.

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible: New International Version. 1973, 1978, 1984 by the International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked CEV are from the Contemporary English Version. 1991 by the American Bible Society. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked NCV are from the New Century Version. 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the Holy Bible, King James Version.

Scripture quotations marked NASB are from the New American Standard Bible, by The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are from the New King James Version. 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NLT are from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation. 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.,Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked MSG are from The Message by Eugene H. Peterson. 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. All rights reserved.

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA

RUSHNELL, SQUIRE D., 1938
COUPLES WHO PRAY : THE MOST INTIMATE ACT BETWEEN A MAN AND A WOMAN / SQUIRE RUSHNELL AND LOUISE DUART.
P. CM.
INCLUDES BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES.
ISBN 978-0-7852-2794-6 (HARDCOVER)
1.MARRIED PEOPLE--RELIGIOUS LIFE. 2.PRAYER--CHRISTIANITY. I.DUART,
LOUISE. II. TITLE.
BV4596.M3R87 2007
248.3'208655--DC22

2007044354

Printed in the United States of America

08 09 10 11 QW 5 4 3 2 1

To you and all couples who,

by adopting the powerful

principles of this book, fuel

The New Movement 2 Praymeasurably

changing lives and igniting joy,

evidenced by declining divorce rates

throughout the world.

CONTENTS

This book comes with a warning:

BE AWARE

READING THIS BOOK WILL
CHANGE YOUR MARRIAGE!

THE MOST INTIMAT E AC T

Menmost of you will want to know that the most intimate act between a man and a woman will greatly enhance the frequency and ecstasy of lovemaking.

Womenmost of you will want to know that the most intimate act will greatly expand meaningful communication with your partner almost overnight.

And, if you are like most of the couples who tell their stories in this book, you will soon realize a remarkable elevation in mutual respect. Youll find yourself agreeing with each other more, and your gauge of happiness will absolutely soar!

You may ask:

What do I have to do to get these results?

Invest five minutes a day, minimum, praying with your partner.

What is the cost?

Commit to a pattern of daily prayer for an initial period of forty days.

Is this some kind of new discoverya long-hidden secret?

No. The principles discussed here are found in the instruction manual to life; youll find it in the top drawer of just about every hotel room in America: the Bible.

Why is this called the most intimate act between a man and a woman?

Name one thingfrom sharing a toothbrush to soaking in a hot tubthat is truly more intimate than simultaneously exposing your vulnerabilities to your spouse and your Creator.

How can I trust your claims?

Astonishing researchconducted by Gallup and Baylor Universityunveiled in these pages, substantiates our premise, over and over.

How come Ive never heard about this before?

It is true, the vast majority of coupleseven Christian coupleshave not been told about, let alone practiced, the extraordinary power and intimacy of joint prayer for a few minutes every day. If they did, divorce rates would plummet and permanent smiles would be etched on the faces of millions of men and women.

The most intimate act is prayer.

As you will learn in the pages that follow, couples who bare themselves before God in prayer for a minimum of five minutes a day for forty days have extraordinary results:

Satisfaction in lovemaking soars.

Spousal communication elevates.

Respect rises.

Agreement becomes the norm.

Happiness is a way of life.

Your marriage can have the same results. And that is a promise.

WHAT QUALIFIES US TO WRITE THIS BOOK

When we look back at our past marriages, we realize that there was a cloud of sadness that always lingered. We didnt have the freedom to share our innermost thoughts and concerns with our spouses. We were playing the role of happily married couples but there was always the feeling of emptiness. Here is how we came to this point:

Louise: I was living on the West Coast, going through the motions of life, an empty shell, wearing a fake face. I attended church every Sunday morning, all by myself. My husband wasnt a believer. As an impressionist, I study people for a living. There Id sit, studying couples. It wasnt hard to determine which were whichthose who simply existed in a dormant marriage versus those whose love for each other simply radiated.

SQuire: I was living on the East Coast, drifting through a similar faade; a failure at marriage for the second time.At a little country church, where Id go alone, Id gaze at a couple who always sat three rows ahead of me. I envied those twothe way their shoulders touched, the brightness in their eyes as they glanced and smiled at each other. I deduced they were communicating in some secret language. They were. It was the language of love. For me, love was a distant, unfulfilled dream.

Louise: Later on, I was in New York appearing in a Broadway show. I was no longer marriedmy husband had run off with another woman.