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Movie Review: Christian Couple Assignment
The Review
The movie War Room is by Alex Kendrick and is based on Tony and Elizabeth Jordan
and the issues that they are having within their marriage. At surface level, the Jordan’s seemed to
have a perfect life with their large dream house, their successful careers, and a lovely daughter
named Dainelle. Tony is a pharmaceutical salesman and is one of the top salesmen in the
company. Elizabeth is a realtor and makes a decent amount of money, but Tony is the
breadwinner in the family. If one were to look beyond the façade, they would find that the
Jordan’s are struggling within their marriage and their family dynamics. Tony is a workaholic
that is very cold and hostile towards Elizabeth. He goes on business trips frequently which
causes him to neglect his family and puts him in positions that could potentially be destructive to
his marriage. The couple is constantly fighting, which even takes place in front of their daughter
which makes it clear that their marriage is in deep turmoil.
Elizabeth takes on a new client, Miss Clara, and while she is being shown the house, she
is shown Miss Clara’s “war room” which is her prayer closet. She senses the stress and tension
that Elizabeth has in her life and marriage. Miss Clara suggests that Elizabeth should start
praying for her husband and fighting to save her marriage and her family. There is a scene in the
movie where Elizabeth realizes just how bad her marriage has gotten. She takes all the clothes
out of her closet and transforms it into her own “war room”. Elizabeth gets angry with devil and
commands the devil to leave her house and speaks the name of Jesus over herself, her home, her
daughter, her husband, and their marriage. When Elizabeth finally takes her relationship with
God serious and seeks him in prayer and fully surrenders and trusts Him, that is when she starts
to see restoration take place in her marriage and in her family.
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Therapeutic Implications
Prayer is a vital component for a pastoral counselor when they are providing counsel for
a counselee. It is not only important for the pastoral counselor but also for the counselee.
Elizabeth strengthening her relationship with God is what ultimately saved her marriage. She
stopped allowing her emotions to control her and she began to develop a sense of hope for her
marriage. She began feeding her soul daily which was causing her to become wiser and
spiritually mature (Moitinho, E. & Moitinho, D., 2020, pg. 99). Spiritual maturity is the lifelong
process that involves our behaviors, character, and attitude to be more like Jesus (Moitinho, E. &
Moitinho, D., 2020, pg. 100). When unfortunate situations occurred instead of meeting Tony
with harsh words and hostility, she met him with kindness and grace. She provided her husband
with the same love, kindness, and grace that Jesus offers us. The Bible calls wives to “submit
yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord” (New International Version, Ephesians
5:22). Elizabeth began respecting her husband and instead of fighting with Tony, she began
fighting for Tony through prayer. Elizabeth began to realize what she was missing in her
marriage was faith in God and in Tony. Once her faith shifted, she began to have more hope for
change in her marriage (Ripley, J. S., & Worthington, J. E. L., 2014, pg. 116).
Tony is radically changed by seeing the change in his wife and seeing her pray for him.
When he comes to Elizabeth and asks for forgiveness for how he has treated her, she easily could
have approached him arrogantly and with a self-righteous attitude. Elizabeth responded to him
with kindness and humility. Ephesians 4:2-3 says, “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient,
bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the
bond of peace.”(NIV). This scene in the movie showed the importance of confessing the
mistakes that happen in a relationship as it is a vital part of healing hurts in a relationship
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(Ripley, J. S., & Worthington, J. E. L., 2014, pg. 124). If Tony would not have humbled himself
and asked for forgiveness from not only God but also from his wife and his daughter, then it
would have been hard for complete healing to have occurred in their family.
Personal/Professional Implications
The movie War Room was very moving and inspirational. It caused me to reflect on my
own prayers for my husband and our marriage. The boldness that Elizabeth and Miss Clara had
in their prayers is something that I aspire to have. Miss Clara’s unwavering faith that Jesus
always will protect her was admirable as well. The movie was a good reminder of the power of
prayer and the impact that one’s faith can have on others.
In the day and age of social media, it is easy to see a “highlight reel” of people’s lives and
compare one’s life to others. The movie is a good reminder that a lot of people that appear to
“have it all” by the world’s standards are struggling behind closed doors. It also was a good
reminder that money and nice things are not everything. There is a quote in the movie that
Elizabeth says, “I would rather have a man chasing Jesus than a house full of stuff” which
reminded me of Matthew 6:19-20, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where
moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves
treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in
and steal” (NIV). It is important to always maintain kingdom perspective versus an earthly
perspective.
The movie further reassured the belief that marriage is more functional and successful
when it is done in the way God says it should be done. When we fully surrender to God and His
ultimate will for our lives, that is when restoration occurs. The key principles of prayer,
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References
New International Version Bible. (2008). Retrieved from https://www.blueletterbible.org
Moitinho, E. & Moitinho, D. (2020). The Dream Home. Dubuque, IA.: Kendal Hunt Publishing
Company.
Ripley, J. S., & Worthington, J. E. L. (2014). Couple therapy : A new hope-focused approach.
InterVarsity Press.
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