Week 241: Marriages and Separation

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 than living under the same roof.

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 re-enter 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.

Finally, even though parenting during the turmoil of a contentious marriage is hard, parenting during a separation can actually be harder. The simple logistics can be harder and finances can be more strained. The emotional strain of being separated from children and the guilt of having created a difficult situation for them can only add to the stresses of the marital relationship.

Please pray that couples in the midst of a marital separation will

• Keep the lines of communication with each other open
• Redeem the time to work toward real resolutions of their marital issues
• Seek the help of a trained marriage counselor
• Resist the temptation to give in to extramarital affairs
• Escape the false notion that separation can only lead to divorce
• Seek the healing of God for hurts that are only deepened by the separation 
• Know how to answer the tough questions of their children without vilifying the other spouse and poisoning the parent/child relationship