The Dance of Prayer

“Sun shines, clouds rain

Train whistles blow and guitars play

Preachers preach, farmers plow

Wishes go up, and the world goes round

 

And I love you

It just come natural

It just comes natural

 

Seasons change, rivers wind

Tumble weeds roll, and the stars shine

Wind howls, dawn breaks

Cowboys riding time slips away

 

And I love you

It just come natural

It’s what I was born to do

Don’t have to think it through

Baby, it’s so easy loving you

It just come natural”

 

Portions of “It Just Comes Natural” by George Strait

 

This is the song my husband Seth and I chose for our first dance at our wedding. Our actual dance was nothing to write home about. We did not take dance lessons prior to our wedding, have it choreographed, or even rehearse this dance. We just picked a song we liked and moved around to it while our guests watched from the perimeter of the dance floor. Like many things about our wedding, I was just excited to marry Seth, and didn’t think too much about the details. 

While neither one of us is known for our dancing skills, we still do a type of dance these days. A much more important type of dance. I like to call it the dance of prayer. 

Why do I think of prayer as a dance? There is a movement to it- a back and forth, an up and down, a give and take. Most importantly, we hold on to each other through it. 

We physically hold hands or have a hand on the other’s shoulder or knee as we lift our needs, thankfulness, grief, pain, praise, and many more things up to God. When I am at my lowest, Seth prays for me. When Seth is at his lowest, I pray for him. It’s usually not too long before we are lifted out of that low place and praying together again. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7).

Sometimes we are engaged in warfare prayers for each other. The clearest example of this came one Christmas Eve when I was curled up in a ball underneath a blanket on our couch. I was experiencing an attack of depression and despair that came upon me seemingly out of nowhere. The intensity of it was overwhelming. I had recently been counseling and praying for another family member who had been struggling in this area and it felt like this evil had just decided to descend upon me for trying to help a loved one. However it happened, it was Christmas Eve, a time to be happy and joyful. We were to be leaving for church in a few hours. While I was unable to pray for myself at the moment, I was able to tell Seth I needed him to fight this thing for me. And boy, did he pray! He got mad at that thing. He started cursing at it and telling it to go back to hell where it belonged. He fought/prayed the whole drive to church while our kids sat riveted in the back seat of the car. “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12). Prayer, and especially praying God’s Word, is the mighty weapon we have at our disposal to battle against and defeat evil. “Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests” (Ephesians 6:17-18).

Within the first few Christmas hymns at the beginning of the service, with my hands raised praising God, I was delivered. Immeasurable peace and joy washed over me. Notice the timing of that though. AFTER I raised my hand in worship, the peace and joy came. Praise Him IN the storm. Even if you don’t feel like it yet, praise and worship Him anyway. Your deliverance WILL come. Thank Him for it before it arrives.

There are also many examples of times when my prayers have lifted Seth out of a deep, dark place. We have made a habit of praying together every morning, and sometimes in the evening before we fall asleep. There are other times we stop everything and pray over a specific issue in the middle of the day. The Amplified Bible explains in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 that we are to “be unceasing and persistent in prayer.” 

Prayer is the dance that makes a good marriage great. It’s how we serve and help each other by inviting God into every aspect of our lives and our marriage as “a cord of three strands is not quickly broken” (Ecclesiastes 4:12). It’s ultimately God’s power, God’s presence, and God’s peace, but prayer is how we position ourselves to initiate and receive what only God can provide.