Creating Spiritual Intimacy

Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2

Most of the couples I meet wish that they could share more freely with each other about their spiritual journey. We often speak of emotional intimacy or sexual intimacy, but we seldom talk about spiritual intimacy. Yet this affects all other areas of our relationship.

Just as emotional intimacy comes from sharing our feelings, spiritual intimacy comes from sharing our walk with God. We don’t have to be spiritual giants to have spiritual intimacy as a couple, but we must be willing to share with each other where we are spiritually.

The husband who says, “I’m not feeling very close to God today” may not stimulate great joy in his wife’s heart, but he does open the possibility for her to enter into his spiritual experience. If she responds with, “Tell me about it,” she encourages spiritual intimacy. If, however, she says, “Well, if you don’t feel close to God, guess who moved?” she has stopped the flow, and he walks away feeling condemned. The apostle Paul challenged us to share each other’s burdens, and those often include feelings of spiritual dryness or difficulty. Spiritual intimacy within a marriage requires a willingness to listen without preaching.

PRAYER
Father, I want to be able to talk with my spouse about my walk with you—and I want to hear about his or her experiences too. Please help us to be kind as we listen to each other and share each other’s burdens. Develop spiritual intimacy in us, I pray.