I have been praying for a friend whose son died this time last year of an overdose. It was a heart-wrenching death, and I think of her often. I pray for her comfort, but I also pray for her marriage.
It’s an under-emphasized ministry, this matter of praying for the marriages of others, but it’s important. The divorce rate of those who have suffered through a child’s death, who have a child with a serious disability, or whose child has a major health (or mental health) problem is often 90% or higher. In times of stress and grief, partners often turn in on themselves, desperately needing the support of their spouse but hurting too bad to reach out. What’s more, each is praying desperately for the survival of the child, and their attention is distracted from the survival of the family. They don’t have the energy to pray for their marriage, and someone needs to cover that gap. Why not me?
So I pray that God who joined this man and woman together may hold them together. I ask that in their suffering He will draw them close to Himself, and thus to each other. I beg that grace be poured out upon them so that even in their darkness they may find solace and companionship in each other, and that they will unite their pain with the suffering of Christ crucified, so that through this terrible cross they may grow more like Him, and reflect light to each other and to the world.
It is a small thing to do, but an important one. Perhaps you, too, can take on this ministry.
