Social Media & Prayer Requests

Social media. We can’t live with it but we can’t live without it. Anymore I’m borderline fed up with it. It’s nothing but opinionated political or religious stances, bad news, and “share this or…” posts.

But the one thing that really irritates me?

Prayer request posts.

Now I’m all for joining together in prayer over a specific need. If you’ve been given the go ahead to share a specific request with a prayer group or a church’s page on Facebook, okay then. But a Facebook status or tweet is not the appropriate platform to call others to prayer. This is especially true when it’s a personal matter and someone removed from the situation feels it’s their place to share information in a public forum. That’s so wrong.

If you don’t see a family commenting on their current situation what gives you the right to post their private matters? I don’t care if you mask it under the blanket of “prayer”, you’re wrong. Now that family or person has to answer questions they aren’t ready to face or share because you felt it was your place to post when you have no ties to the situation.

I get so fed up seeing hearsay and gossip on social media all in the name of prayer. It’s wrong, wrong, wrong! Christians often gossip all under the pretense of prayer. Adding the tag line “we need to pray for them” after a long, juicy, gossip-riddled story doesn’t count as a prayer request. It’s no wonder people in the world are so critical of the Church and prayer!

If you feel offended by this I don’t feel bad because maybe you need to do a check in your spirit. Are your intentions really good or is it all for the sake of attention, being the first to post something? Even when you don’t use names and you live in a small town, it’s not too hard to put two and two together. And if you feel the need to share information for prayer, do it in a private message with people who you know will join you in prayer. And remember… unless it’s your personal request or you have direct permission from the source to share details, DON’T POST IT!

Prayer is so downplayed on social media with every comment that says “praying”. Typing those letters doesn’t equal a prayer. How hurt must the Father feel when we type “praying” but can’t even take 30 seconds to utter a prayer for the hurting party! Prayer should never lose it’s power but the concept of typing a comment without the actual prayer behind it devalues the word, the idea, and the very line of communication we have with God.

1 Thessalonians 5:17 says, “Pray without ceasing.” It doesn’t say, “Post this prayer request on Facebook to see how many likes you can get and people to comment.” If people spent a fraction of their time in prayer over the posted request what a difference that would make!

From The Shore to The Waves

I recently attended a women’s conference and it seemed that every speaker I heard was speaking to me. I heard, “trust God….. grow in Him….. don’t be comfortable…..” Even in one song we sang (You Make Me Brave by Bethel), spoke about God calling us out beyond the shores into the waves. Everything pointed to leaving what I know and embracing what He wants from me next in life.

My husband and I know that God has called us to the ministry. Later this week, we go for a meeting and get a yes or no in regards to what we do next. Either way, yay or nay, we will still minister in some capacity. But being called to something bigger than us worries me. It’s easy to be hesitant because its unfamiliar. It’s scary. And it may even be something as big as a move, a relocation. I’ve never lived outside my county lines…

This is comfortable. My hometown is comfortable. Home is my shore. God has something bigger in store for me though. He’s calling me out into the waves, into the great abyss that is the world, faraway from the safety of my shore.

So what do I do?

Do I ignore Him? Do I live in fear of the unknown and hold steady to my familiarity with the shoreline?

Or do I trust in Him? Do I navigate the uncharted waters beyond my front door?

The answer is the latter. I have to step out in faith and live out the calling on my life. It may not be fulfilled this week, this month, or even this year. But I know He’s called me and my family to something far greater than what we can even imagine. The details will come into focus in His timing through prayer and time spent seeking His direction. He has it all planned out and has since the beginning of time. All He is waiting on is submissive, willing hearts.

Jeremiah 29:11-13, “11 I say this because I know what I am planning for you,” says the Lord. “I have good plans for you, not plans to hurt you. I will give you hope and a good future. 12 Then you will call my name. You will come to me and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will search for me. And when you search for me with all your heart, you will find me!”