Week 66: Teenage Marriages
Please join us this week in praying for teenage
marriages. For mature couples getting started on the right foot in a
marriage is difficult. Starting well when both spouses are teenagers is
even more difficult. Issues can arise as a simple matter of lack of
maturity or life experience. Many times these young couples have not had
the chance to face problems as independent adults and, consequently, have not
developed the skills to deal successfully with some of the trials of married
life.
Even in a perfect situation, just making the transition from
dependent teenagers to an independent married couple can be extremely
challenging. Single teenage friends can have expectations of the new
couple that can no longer by fulfilled because the marriage now takes priority.
The pressure to be a part of the old group in the same old way can tempt the
new couple to regret their marriage decision.
Another situation often faced by teen couples is
starting a marriage pregnant or with a child. They have gotten “the cart
before the horse” and as a result must learn to be a spouse at the same time
they are learning to be a parent. Obviously, a “had to get married”
situation may signal that one or both spouses were not really wanting to get
married at this point in their lives. That attitude does not bode well
for weathering the challenges of early marriage.
Finally, the parents of
a teen couple can create additional issues by withdrawing support for a
marriage they didn’t think should happen or by smothering the couple with
advice and not respecting their independence.
Please pray that couples who have started their
marriage as teenagers will
- Look to the Lord to protect them as they grow up while growing together
- Be blessed by the Lord with a maturity beyond their years
- Be supported by family and friends
- Resist the temptation to chase the past to the neglect of their marriage
- Be quick to forgive one another and quicker to seek forgiveness
- Seek wise counsel when they face new and confusing circumstances
- Understand that working through difficulties will lead to a healthy marriage while running from difficulties will only lead to deeper, destructive troubles
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