On the podcast –
The SOS Prayer for Your Marriage (Psalm 70)
Sometimes the most powerful prayer for your marriage is simply, “Lord, help me.”
There are moments in life and marriage when you don’t have the words, the answers, or even the strength to figure out what comes next.
Maybe you’re in the middle of an argument that’s quickly escalating. Maybe your marriage is struggling, your family is facing a crisis, or you’ve received news that leaves you feeling completely helpless.
What do you pray when you desperately need God to intervene?
In this episode of the Expedition Marriage Podcast, we’re continuing our four-part series through the Psalms with Psalm 70 and what we’re calling the SOS Prayer for Your Marriage.
In just five verses, David gives us a beautiful example of what it looks like to cry out to God with urgency, honesty, and complete dependence on Him.
He doesn’t carefully package his words or pretend everything is okay. He asks God to hurry, to help, and to deliver him.
And yet, right in the middle of his desperation, he praises God and remembers who He is.
That’s where this prayer becomes so powerful for our marriages.
We can ask God to intervene immediately while also trusting that His timing and His ways are good.
In This Episode, We’re Talking About:
- Why God welcomes our short, honest, desperate prayers.
- What David means when he asks God to “make haste.”
- How to pray with urgency while still trusting God’s perfect timing.
- Why your spouse isn’t the enemy, even when your marriage is struggling.
- How pride, bitterness, resentment, fear, and unforgiveness can become the real battles in marriage.
- The importance of remembering God’s character when we pray.
- How praise changes our perspective even before our circumstances change.
- Why acknowledging our need for God is an important part of spiritual maturity.
- How to turn to prayer rather than immediately reacting in fear, anger, or frustration.
We also share a deeply personal story about a time when Chris experienced a life-threatening medical emergency and the only prayer Jamie could manage was a desperate cry for help.
Through Psalm 70, we’re reminded that we don’t need perfect words to approach God. We need to remember the faithful, loving, sovereign God we’re approaching.
And when we do, we can trust that He will either deliver us in the ways we’re hoping for or sustain us through whatever we’re facing.
Both are gifts from a faithful God.
Free Resource: The SOS Prayer for Your Marriage
We’ve created a free five-step prayer guide to help you put the lessons of Psalm 70 into practice.
This simple biblical framework walks you through five movements of prayer:
- Cry — Bring your urgent need before God.
- Name It — Identify what you’re really battling.
- Praise — Remember who God is.
- Admit — Acknowledge your need for His help.
- Trust — Surrender the outcome and timing to Him.
Whether you’re facing a marriage crisis, a difficult conversation, or simply a moment of overwhelming stress, this prayer can help you turn toward God rather than reacting from fear or frustration.
Download your FREE SOS Prayer guide here:
Scriptures Referenced
Psalm 70:1–5
Psalm 38
Matthew 14:28–31
Matthew 1:21
Ephesians 6:12
1 Peter 5:8
Habakkuk 2:3
Questions to Discuss With Your Spouse
- When something feels urgent or overwhelming, what’s our first response? Do we pray, react, blame, or try to take control?
- Are we identifying the actual problems in our marriage, or are we treating each other like the enemy?
- When we pray, are we remembering who God is, or are we primarily focused on getting the outcome we want?
- What would it look like for us to praise God together even while we’re waiting for an answer?
- How can we begin using the SOS Prayer in our everyday marriage?
God isn’t asking us to have everything figured out before coming to Him.
He’s inviting us to trust that when we are poor and needy, He is still our help and our deliverer.
Join us for this encouraging conversation about the power of honest prayer, God’s faithfulness, and learning to trust Him in the moments when we need Him most.
The Family You Came From
Learn more about identifying your family pattern, how it is affecting your marriage, and steps you can take to help.
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