Praying for Marriages (PfM)

Please join us this week in praying 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 a painful experience, 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 sexual dysfunction to be misidentified and for blame to be assumed by a spouse or assigned to a spouse...

Please join us this week in praying for marriages 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. A couple may also need to deal with a friend who does not understand that marriage generally affects how his or her married friend must manage money.  Martial stress can arise if one spouse makes unwise spending decisions in order to meet a friend’s expectations. Married couples can also be faced...

Join us in praying this week for couples 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 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 of a temptation. ...

Please join with us this week in praying for marriages in which law enforcement is the career of one or both partners. Marriages in this life situation can face a number of difficult problems.  The spouse in law enforcement may deal frequently with the darkest side of life and, consequently, can become quite jaded, finding it difficult to count on or fully believe in anyone.  This attitude can easily transfer to the marriage relationship, making intimacy and trust a struggle. Communication can also be difficult in these marriages.    The nature of the job can make it difficult for the couple to share in conversation about a day’s work, particularly if one spouse presses for too many details and if the other spouse withholds information thought to be too sordid or unsettling for casual conversation. The spouse not in law enforcement often experiences the stress of knowing the other may face a life-threatening situation at any time.  This ...

We are asking this week that you pray for marriages dealing with the issue of pornography. Most frequently husbands have a more difficult time with pornography addiction than wives.  They often see it as a personal issue that does not affect their marriage partner.  But this attitude is far from the truth. Pornography easily creates unrealistic expectations no wife can meet.  The husband will come to the marriage bed looking to re-experience something he has seen, giving little thought to the needs and desires of his spouse.  Sex can become a cold, performance-driven encounter instead of the warm, intimate relational union it should be.  One too-frequent result of this impersonal sex is infidelity. If the wife becomes aware of her husband’s addiction, it can create in her a feeling of inferiority and of being just another of his sexual playthings.  She can feel she is no longer the one, unique and special person in his life and ...

Please join us this week in praying for marriages that must deal with chronic pain. Couples in these marriages can struggle sometimes because of an identification problem.  They identify the suffering spouse as the problem instead the suffering spouse’s pain .  This misidentification can lead to false blame:  the healthy spouse can blame the suffering spouse for their problems, but maybe more often the suffering spouse can blame himself or herself.  In either case, this false blame can be destructive to the intimate marriage relationship the spouses should enjoy. Financial pressures can often assail these marriages as couples seek any and all possible solutions to the debilitating situation.  It is not unusual for treatment programs or medications to work for a time but need adjustment as time passes. These adjustments cost money.  It is also not unusual for couples dealing with chronic pain to be lured into expensive treatments th...

Please join us this week in praying for couples dealing with significant issues with in-laws.   The potential issues are varied and numerous.  Parents can fail to release their married child emotionally and demand time and allegiance that rightly belongs to the spouse.  Sometimes in-laws step into situations too soon, not allowing their children to work out issues in their own way.  This can cause the couple to feel inadequate or resentful. On the other hand a couple can damage their relationship with their in-laws by demanding unquestioned independent, except when they need a free babysitter or a little extra cash.  In the effort to shape their own marriage, they can also thoughtlessly disregard or run roughshod over the traditions and beliefs of their parents, creating tension, frustration and deep disappointment. This week pray that married couples and their in-laws will Respect the marriage relationship Refrain from providing un...