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Awesome Marriage Podcast

Build Your Marriage with Prayer with Brad and Heidi Mitchell Ep. 731

Awesome Marriage Podcast

Dr. Kim Kimberling

Christianity, Relationships, Society & Culture, Religion & Spirituality

4.9 • 813 Ratings

🗓️ 2 June 2026

⏱️ 54 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

One of the greatest privileges we have as spouses is coming before the Father and lifting up our marriage—leaning on Him for protection, provision, and strength.

Today, special guests Brad and Heidi Mitchell join Dr. Kim to talk about how foundational prayer is for intimacy and the overall climate of your marriage. Many couples struggle to develop this rhythm—not because they don't want to, but because they simply don't know where to start.

Be encouraged today as Brad and Heidi share from their newest book, Build Your Marriage With Prayer, and talk about how guided prayers, daily readings, and reflection questions can help couples grow a consistent and meaningful prayer life together.

 

Episode Highlights:

Husbands don't have to know it all to lead- they can be simply willing to initiate.

Wives can come alongside and encourage their husbands to step into the role God created them for. 

Don't weaponize prayer against your spouse.



Quotes from this Episode:

Kim Kimberling Quotes:

  1. "The first time Nancy and I really started praying for something together and saw God show up, it was like, 'This is awesome.'"

  2. "Prayer bonds us together in a way nothing else really can."

  3. "Most guys feel inadequate spiritually, but prayer was never about performing."

  4. "You don't have to know more than your spouse to lead spiritually—you just have to initiate."

  5. "When couples begin praying together, they stop fighting against each other and start fighting for each other."

  6. "Inviting God into conflict changes conflict from something destructive into something that can grow your marriage."

  7. "The more we pray, the more prayer becomes part of the fabric of who we are."

  8. "God wants to be involved in the middle of our everyday lives—not just the big emergencies."

  9. "When you pray over your spouse, it creates empathy, connection, and unity."

  10. "Prayer gives God a chance to show up in your marriage over and over again."

Brad Mitchell Quotes:

  1. "A lot of men don't pray with their wives because they're afraid of looking inadequate."

  2. "Men don't need to be spiritual experts—they just need to become spiritual initiators."

  3. "The things you most want to lean away from are often the very places God wants you to lean in."

  4. "When you pray about the issue instead of against each other, nobody wins or loses—God wins."

  5. "The enemy whispers, 'You're not good at this,' because he knows how powerful prayer is in marriage."

  6. "Every wife would love for her husband to stop and pray over her before the day begins."

  7. "Surrendering your schedule to God changes interruptions from frustrations into opportunities."

  8. "Prayer protects your marriage because it keeps both of you surrendered to God instead of fighting each other."

Heidi Mitchell Quotes:

  1. "Make prayer a positive experience for your spouse, not a performance."

  2. "There's really no wrong way to come before God together."

  3. "Encouragement from a wife can completely change a husband's confidence in leading spiritually."

  4. "If prayer becomes weaponized, couples will stop wanting to pray together."

  5. "Not every thought deserves a place to stay in your mind."

  6. "Ask yourself: Does this thought line up with who God says my spouse is?"

  7. "Praying together helped us move from surface-level faith into authentic dependence on God."

  8. "When my husband prays for me, I feel protected, cared for, and truly seen."

  9. "The spiritual connection we share through prayer has become one of the greatest strengths in our marriage."



Time to Talk About it:

  1. What would it look like for us to make prayer feel more natural and encouraging in our relationship instead of pressured or performative?

  2. Is there an area of our marriage right now where we've been "fighting each other" instead of "fighting for each other," and how could prayer help shift that?





Mentioned in this Episode:

 

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

let's say we have an issue and I have to forgive him for something. We work through it. I forgive him.

0:05.8

And then the temptation in your thought life can be, you know, I want to go back and kind of pick that up

0:11.0

and maybe, you know, throw it in his face or maybe kind of accuse him with it or maybe be prideful with it.

0:19.3

And I've just kind of said to myself, I've kind of set

0:22.0

this standard up for myself that if I'm going to act in a prideful, if I'm going to bring something

0:27.5

up so that I look better than he does in my mind or in somebody else's mind, or if I'm going

0:33.9

to accuse him, which, you know, Satan's the accuser, I don't want to be that. Or if I'm going to bring it up to kind of, yeah, or if I'm going to accuse him, which, you know, Satan's the accuser, I don't want to be that,

0:38.3

or if I'm going to bring it up to kind of, yeah, or if I'm going to bring it up to kind of,

0:42.6

you know, put him in his place, those aren't good motives for me. They're impure motives. And

0:49.1

only I and God can judge my motives. But I know what my motives are. And so if I have a motive like that,

0:55.8

I really need to stay away from that accusatory type of thought that then we end up talking about.

1:03.5

What a stronger marriage without another overwhelming to-do list?

1:06.9

Well, the awesome marriage One Thing email series delivers one simple, meaningful action each day to help you reconnect, communicate better, and grow closer, emotionally and spiritually.

1:17.9

One thing? When email, healthier marriage, sign up today.

1:22.4

You know, one of the greatest privileges we have as spouses is coming before God and lifting up our marriage and our spouse,

1:28.5

leaning on God for protection, provision, and strength. Today, I am so thrilled to be talking with

1:34.2

Brad and Heidi Mitchell as they share about their new book, Build Your Marriage with Prayer.

1:39.3

The Mitchells are the co-founders of Build Your Marriage. It's a ministry that was birthed out of a season

1:43.7

of their own

1:44.3

brokenness and now encourages in as far as godly marriages around the world. Brad and Heidi live in Ohio where Brad serves as the lead pastor at the River Church. Let's go to the studio so you can meet them now. Well, Brad and Heidi, welcome the Loss Marriage Podcast. It's so good to see you guys. So glad to have you here.

2:01.3

I love this book

2:02.4

and love to have a chance to share it with other people. So welcome. Well, thank you so much.

...

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