Most relationship damage does not come from the disagreement itself. It comes from the first ninety seconds after it starts, when both people are reacting instead of responding.
A sixty-second prayer is long enough to interrupt that reflex and short enough to actually happen. You are not solving the argument in that minute. You are choosing who you want to be inside it.
What the pause actually does
Naming the moment to God forces you to name it honestly to yourself. It is very hard to pray about a fight and keep pretending you had no part in it.
The prayer can be five words: help me love them well. That is enough to change the sentence you say next.
Make it a shared agreement, not a secret technique
Tell your partner you want to try this, in a calm moment, not mid-fight. A boundary you both agreed to feels like protection; one that appears mid-argument feels like a wall.
Couples who practice this in Bexhearts often pair it with a shared boundary like no name-calling, even in the big ones, so the pause has something to land on.