A pastor friend of mine recently shared two striking stats: ~51% of US marriages end in divorce, but only ~1 in 1,000 do if couples pray together daily, specifically for their marriage (more than just over meals). He’s older (83) and couldn’t recall the source, so I investigated to track down the truth behind these claims. Here’s the detailed scoop:
General Divorce Rate: The 51% Claim
The “51% of marriages end in divorce” figure sounds close to the oft-quoted “50%” statistic, but it’s not quite accurate. Recent data paints a clearer picture:
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Current Stats: According to Forbes Advisor, ~43% of first marriages in the US end in divorce, with higher rates for second (60%) and third (73%) marriages. The CDC reports the divorce rate dropped from 4.0 per 1,000 people in 2000 to 2.5 per 1,000 in 2021.
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Trends: The US Census Bureau notes divorce rates for women (ages 15+) fell from 9.8 in 2012 to 7.1 in 2022. Bowling Green State University confirms a peak in 1979 (22.6 divorces per 1,000 married women) with a steady decline since.
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Why the Discrepancy? The “51%” figure likely stems from an outdated generalization of the “50%” myth, which oversimplifies complex data. The real rate for first marriages is closer to 43%, and overall divorce rates are declining.
Prayer and Divorce: The 1 in 1,000 Claim
The claim that “only 1 in 1,000 marriages ends in divorce if couples pray together daily” is intriguing and suggests a powerful link between shared prayer and marital stability. Here’s what I found:
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Source: Multiple sources, including Scott Kedersha’s Blog and Guidelines International Ministries, cite a 1997 Gallup study by the National Association of Marriage Enhancement (NAME). It reported a divorce rate of 1 in 1,152 (~0.087%) for couples who pray together regularly (very close to the “1 in 1,000” figure).
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Supporting Claims: HomeWord references a similar late 1980s Gallup study tied to Andrew Greeley’s book Faithful Attraction, with the NAME survey citing 1 in 1,156. Revival & Reformation and iMOM echo this, claiming divorce rates are well under 1% for praying couples.
Final Thoughts
I tend to believe this because I have known lots of divorced couples, but have yet to meet a single one who prayed together for their marriage every day. It doesn’t have to be a big commitment either. My wife and I do devotions every morning by reading scripture, listening to one of Sarah Young’s Daily Devotion audiobooks, and then praying together for protection, blessings, more wisdom, discernment, and faith. Then for our friends and family, for the country, for a revival, and anything else that is currently going on that needs prayer. This entire process takes about 5 minutes. Anyone could do this. And everyone will have their own style. And that’s exactly how God wants it.
Coming together as a couple and praying for their marriage also makes it less likely to have unresolved fights or conflict, so these couples tend to get along better and experience drastically less drama than couples who don’t.
Another of my personal beliefs is that every time a couple prays together, God is present in the midst of them (Matthew 18:20). He’s literally in the room. I also believe angels come from far and wide because they are attracted to prayer and praise like a magnet. I believe the minimum request in that prayer should be for protection because any couple who regularly prays is going to be a big target of the devil.
Also, if your routine gets interrupted, and you can’t do it at the usual time, agree on a time to do it later that day. This happened to Bev and I today, in fact, but I called her as she drove away while she was in the car. We will pray again tonight when we are together again. Yes, we have missed days here and there (like when I’m out of cell coverage), and that’s not the end of the world, but we both feel it when we miss, so there is definitely something very powerful there!
This should be priority number ONE. Don’t put this off. Start TODAY!
Sources: Forbes Advisor, CDC, US Census Bureau, Bowling Green State University, Scott Kedersha’s Blog, Guidelines International Ministries, HomeWord, Revival & Reformation, iMOM, Harvard Human Flourishing Program, Institute for Family Studies, Reddit
