Book Review: Couples Who Pray by Suire Rushnell & Louise DuART

Title: Couples Who Pray
Author: Squire Rushnell & Louise DuART
Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Couples Who Pray: The Most Intimate Act Between A Man and a Woman

This book intrigued me because it listed quite a few celebrity couples such as Denzel & Pauletta Washington, Donna Summer and Bruce Sudano as well as Scott and Tracie Hamilton. The reason for my intrigue was two-fold. I wanted to know how and why these people were involved in this book and secondly, and maybe even a little skeptically, I wanted to know if this book was just an attempt to cash in on the wave of pseudo spirituality that Oprah’s camp seems to capitalize on. Do you want to know my thoughts? Read on…

The book plain and simply makes a good case of the need for prayer in a marriage. I wholeheartedly agree. Although often repetitive, the book makes a good argument that not many could argue with even if you were looking at this from a purely “Spiritual” or worldly meditative perspective. At the very root of it all, the act of prayer is intimate; involving your marital partner in honest and heartfelt prayer can only improve your relationship.

If I have any issues with this book it would be that there were times I couldn’t relate to some of the stories from the couples. In particular, a story comes to mind where one couple talks about a discussion they had in a casino while they were on vacation. This bothered me slightly, as a born-again Christian, I was always taught that gambling is wrong so I left this story a little confused. My only other complaint about this book would be that it comes off just a little too watered down for my tastes. I understand the need to appeal to a mainstream audience, but I’m afraid there’s not enough meat for the Christian audience and quite possibly just a little too much for a complete non-Christian to stay engaged until the end.

The perfect audience for this book would be an engaged or newly wed couple with a background in the church. Maybe they’ve slipped away during their college years or haven’t really committed themselves to their faith. For those who have been married and grown up in the church, there are probably better places to spend your money.