To the unmarried and the widows I say that it is good for them to remain single as I am…To the married I give this charge (not I, but the Lord): the wife should not separate from her husband (but if she does, she should remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband), and the husband should not divorce his wife. (1 Corinthians 7: 8, 10-11)
When marriage works as God intended, it gives glory to God and joy to a man and woman. But marriage can be a source of pain and turmoil when infidelity, unresolved conflict, unrealistic expectations, or resentment enter the picture. Longing for or fearing marriage can distract single people from serving the Lord in the place that He has them. In each case, marriage or one’s spouse or potential spouse occupies a place that rightly belongs to God. When God is at the center of our lives, He will be at the center of our marriages or our singleness.
* Pray that husbands in our church will love their wives as they love themselves and that they will remain faithful to the wife of their youth.
* Pray that God will restore troubled marriages, bringing husbands and wives to repent of any sin that has come between them and to submit first to God and then to one another. Pray that the church will be a place where people are vulnerable to one another and accountable to one another, supporting and interceding for one another through brokenness and strife. Pray that our local church and all the body of Christ will be a light to the world, committing to marriages that reflect Christ’s relationship with His church.
* Pray that unmarried men will remain pure and committed to God’s direction for their lives, whether it be to marry or to remain single. Pray that our church body will value single people and seek fellowship with them.
* Pray that wives in the church will respect their husbands and allow them to become the leaders God has called them to be.
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