Praying for Marriages (PfM)

Please join us in praying this week for marriages that are dealing with the workaholic tendencies of a spouse.   A workaholic is often defined as one who works compulsively.   When a workaholic is in a marriage, his/her compulsive tendencies can create serious difficulties.   Examples of relational issues brought about by a workaholic spouse are a lower degree of spousal interaction, a decrease in emotional connection, an absence of sexual intimacy and lack of interest in anything except work.   It is no wonder the spouse of a workaholic can become convinced he/she is not cherished or valued by the work-driven spouse.   All needs, interests and dreams take second place to the workaholic’s job.   When children are involved in such a marriage relationship, stresses increase even more as the workaholic habitually misses significant events and family functions, leaving the spouse to be the children’s sole support and forcing the spouse to explain away...

Please join us this week in praying for marriages in which one of the spouses is dealing with the recent death of a parent.   Although the death of a parent fits within the “normal” pattern of a person’s life experience, it is still an event that can create stresses in marriages.   The stresses on a marriage can be accentuated if the death is sudden or untimely.   The child of the deceased, though a married adult, can still experience profound loss and even feel cheated that a parent did not live to fulfill long-anticipated roles such as being a grandparent.   These times of deep emotional pain can cause marital conflict if a spouse does not demonstrate in words and actions the compassion and support the grieving spouse needs.   If the death of a parent requires the married child to spend extended periods of time caring for the surviving parent, conflicts can arise related to just the day-to-day responsibilities, particularly if the other spouse is rel...

Please join us this week in praying for marriages in which one spouse is passing through an unexplainable dark time that is emotionally and physically debilitating.   A large part of the difficulty of this situation is its mysterious genesis.   The fact that the cause is unknown to either spouse can cause both to feel helpless:   the afflicted spouse can feel helpless to explain the problem and the care-giving spouse can feel helpless to provide what is needed to relieve the suffering.   Many times the suffering spouse can experience a palpable darkness that separates him/her from God, spouse and friends.   The suffering spouse can also become convinced the darkness will never lift, leading to dejection and a deepening of the darkness.    As this situation lingers, the care-giving spouse can begin to suffer as well, since his/her partner is in no position to meet his/her needs or share in bearing the responsibilities of daily living.   Finally, th...

With the significance of Easter fresh on our minds, please join us this week in praying for marriages in which the redeeming sacrifice of Jesus is unknown.  The spouses in these marriages have joined in a relationship that demands oneness yet lacks the indwelling Spirit who makes that oneness possible.  They have joined in a relationship that demands the presence of every fruit of the Spirit yet lacks the Spirit who provides that very fruit.  They have joined in a relationship that demands the purest expressions of love yet lacks the personal knowledge of the Christ who, through His sacrifice, has given the highest example of that love.  These couples have also joined in a relationship that is subject to great challenges, difficult struggles and endless attacks of the evil one yet lacks the boundless resources of our God that equip believing couples to overcome these challenges and struggles and to resist Satan. This week pray that these ...

Please join us in praying this week for marriages dealing with sexual dysfunction.  Whether the sexual dysfunction is the immediate problem of the husband or the wife, it will ultimately be a problem for both.  The causes of sexual dysfunction are numerous.  The genesis of the dysfunction can be physical, emotional, or psychological.  It can be rooted in the past or its cause can be very current.  Regardless of the origin, the effects of sexual dysfunction on a marriage can be severe.  The inability to “perform” or respond sexually can lead to feelings of inadequacy, failure, humiliation, unattractiveness and frustration.  In order to avoid experiencing painful failure, couples may start to avoid intimacy altogether.  In turn, this avoidance can be devastating to the self-esteem of both husband and wife.  It is not unusual for the cause of the dysfunction to be misidentified and for blame to be assumed by a spouse or assigned to a spouse imp...

Please join us this week in praying for marriages that are being negatively affected by a disruptive friend.   Just like spouses bring their families into their marriages, they also bring their friends.   This reality is normal and healthy.   Marriage should not signal the end of pre-existing friendships.   Nevertheless, there are instances when a friend, either of the husband, wife or both, does not honor the marriage relationship and becomes an instrument of division instead of a mainstay of support.   The nature of a friend’s disruptive behavior can vary widely.   A couple may be faced with a friend who does not respect their time and privacy.   They also may need to deal with a friend who does not understand that marriage can significantly affect how his or her married friend must manage money.   Martial stress can arise if one spouse makes unwise spending decisions in order not to disappoint this friend.   Married couples can...

Join us in praying this week for couples that are going through marital separation.  Although separation from a spouse can be necessary because of abusive and/or addictive behavior, marital separation is not a cure-all; in fact, it can lead to issues that make reconciliation even more difficult.  When separation is viewed as just a way to avoid the stresses of marital disharmony, it can lead to a false peace that provides no positive movement toward the resolution of the marital problems.  The longer that “hiatus” continues the harder it is for couples to reenter the difficult process of healing a broken marriage.  Separation can deepen feelings of failure and hopelessness and chip away at a couple’s commitment to their relationship as they experience the very real physical withdrawal from one another.  This physical withdrawal, when coupled with the emotional distance almost always present in broken marriages, can make marital infidelity more tempting.  F...