Cherish by Gary Thomas
Week 7: Chapter 6 — Cherishing Your Spouse with Your Prayers
Read Chapter 6 of Cherish by Gary Thomas. Key passages: Ephesians 6:18; Job 1:5; Philippians 1:3–4.
Previewing Week 7 of Cherish
Read 3 of 7 discussion questions below. Unlock the complete 13-week guide when you’re ready.
Of all the ways we can cherish our spouses, prayer may be the most powerful and the most neglected — this chapter invites us to bring our spouses before God with intentionality and love.
Discussion Questions
7 questions1.Thomas suggests that praying regularly and specifically for your spouse is one of the most profound acts of cherishing available to you. How often and how specifically do you actually pray for your spouse? Be honest — what does your prayer life for them reveal about how you cherish them?
2.He draws on the example of Job, who regularly offered prayers and sacrifices on behalf of his children (Job 1:5), as a model of intercessory love. What would it look like to build the kind of regular, structured intercessory prayer for your spouse that Job modeled for his family?
3.Thomas makes the point that when we pray for our spouses, our own hearts are changed — we begin to see them the way God sees them, and our love and concern for them deepens. Have you experienced this? Has praying for someone ever changed how you felt about them?
a.What do you currently pray for when you do pray for your spouse — their safety, their work, their spiritual growth?
b.What might it look like to pray more specifically into their gifts, their struggles, and their calling?