Marriage trouble is always a painful experience, but it can be even worse for Christian couples. Messages from the church often say that a good Christian won’t experience marriage difficulties or that any minor trouble that does appear can be easily solved with prayer. In reality, that’s not the case. Approximately 30 percent of Christian marriages fail, about the same rate as those marriages outside the church. Christian marriage counseling is a vital resource.

Christian Marriage Counseling vs. Secular Counseling

In practice, Christian marriage counseling is similar to secular counseling. The major difference is that in Christian counseling, participants look at their problems from a biblical point of view and consider the Bible to be an important tool in learning to work through their problems. In Christian marriage counseling, the counselor may pray with the couple and should encourage the husband and wife to pray with each other daily, as well as to stay or get connected to a church.

Christian marriage counseling (and even Christian Pre marriage counseling) begins with the premise that marriage is God-ordained and that saving the marriage is almost always the best goal. However, a wise Christian counselor recognizes that isn’t always possible. She should encourage the husband and wife to recognize the importance of the vows they took before God and commit to working on their marriage for a length of time.

Don’t Let Your Christian Counselor Make You Feel Guilty

If a couple has done that, though, and still can’t work together, no counselor should use the name of Christ to try to force or guilt a couple into staying together. If a couple wants to find a Christian marriage counselor to work with, they may ask their pastor for recommendations. Most pastors are used to receiving such calls and will have a name to suggest. If a couple is too embarrassed to ask their own pastor, since that means admitting they’re having trouble, they should call another church in the area to ask for a recommendation.

A Licensed Counselor is Probably Best

In some cases, a pastor may suggest himself as a free Christian marriage counseling service. Unless he has a counseling degree, this is usually probably a pretty bad idea. A pastor may have a thorough knowledge of the Bible, and he may have taken a counseling class, but he probably won’t know specific methods to help a struggling couple repair their marriage. It is always better to see a licensed professional even for pre marriage Christian counseling.

Are You Making Improvements in Your Marriage?

This sort of counseling may only make a couple feel more hopeless as they think they‘re working on their marriage but not getting anywhere. A couple should not settle for a Christian marriage counselor without a counseling degree and a license. You may even be able to find an online Christian marriage counseling service if you don’t want to meet in person with a counselor. Most people prefer counseling in person, but getting support with your marriage any way that you can is better than nothing at all.

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