"Within the Christian vision for marriage, here’s what it means to fall in love.  It is to look at another person and get a glimpse of the person God is creating, and to say, ‘I see who God is making you, and it excites me!  I want to be part of that.  I want to partner with you and God in the journey you are taking to his throne.  And when we get there, I will look at your magnificence and say, ‘I always knew you could be like this.  I got glimpses of it on earth, but now look at you!’”  (The Meaning of Marriage, by Timothy and Kathy Keller)

After Adam and Eve partook of the forbidden fruit, they became seized with fear regarding their newly discovered nakedness.  They immediately began hiding from one another, from God, and even from themselves.  Given the fact that husbands and wives have been doing the same thing ever since, we have here an ancient explanation as to why prayer in marriage is so difficult.

Prayer, by its very nature, is coming to God, rather than running from Him.  Prayer is dependence upon God, rather than independence from Him.  Prayer is nakedness, self-disclosure, and vulnerability before God and man, rather than the nervous concealing that comes so naturally to us.  Hence, there is nothing that cuts against the grain of our fallen tendencies more than praying with our spouse.

The Genesis narrative tells us that God did not want the first husband and wife hiding from Him and from each other, so He slew an animal and clothed them both with garments fashioned from the skin of that animal.  Adorned with such attire, Adam and Eve can now approach each other with confidence. Whenever Adam looks at Eve, he sees her dressed in the atoning garb. Whenever Eve looks upon Adam, she sees him dressed in the same God-given material. From now on, whenever they look upon one another, they see not each other's sin, but the skin of the animal which God had sacrificed for them.  Even more wonderfully, Adam and Eve now can come to God and enjoy fellowship with Him.  The need to hide is removed.  They have atonement.  Their shame is covered.  They now can come freely into God's presence and enjoy full communion with Him again.  Because of God's provision, husband and wife can come together, and together they can approach God.

The slain animal prefigures Christ's atoning sacrifice; and the skin of the animal prefigures the righteousness of Christ that God Himself places upon us who are believers in Him.  A husband and wife who have atonement through Christ and who are fitly clothed with His perfect righteousness can now come together into God’s presence and pray.   A married couple thusly adorned and together before God in prayer is enjoying Eden’s greatest treasure -- the fellowship of husband and wife with God.

“We tell ourselves, ‘Strong Christians pray a lot.  If I were a stronger Christian, I’d pray more.’  Strong Christians do pray more, but they pray more because they realize how weak they are.  They don’t try to hide it from themselves.  Weakness is the channel that allows them to access grace.”  (Paul Miller, A Praying Life)