Facebook Prayer Meetings

I've attended countless Wednesday night prayer meetings in my 61 years. Some were mostly Bible studies or devotional times with a little prayer thrown in for good measure. Some were all-out worship services. Some became Children's Choir programs or times for Missions Recognitions. A few were times when we broke into small groups and earnestly agonized in prayer over some very specific issues and requests. Most, however, consisted of a time where a long list of prayer requests became much, much longer with everyone mentioning every sick person that they knew with both slight ("Uncle Harvey's bunions" or "Aunt Myrtle's hangnail") and serious illnesses. My mother said that she was even in a prayer service once when someone asked for prayer for a person on a SOAP OPERA who had an illness (purely fictional, but the person making the request was obviously so caught up in the drama that it had become real to her). Rarely did the list include people who were unsaved and for whom someone was diligently and consistently sharing Christ. Even more scarce were times when people shared honestly and transparently about needs in their lives that weren't related to health issues. I guess we just thought those things were too personal, and we certainly didn't want to be gossiped about, all in the name of "sharing prayer requests."

Now, Facebook has come on the scene. Prayer requests are typed daily, shared by many, and include all kinds of problems and issues. Some are urgent and have quick conclusions. Some are gut-wrenching and ongoing for months. Some are answered miraculously, while some are answered in unexpected and unwanted ways. Still others appear to go completely unanswered -- although we KNOW that isn't truly the case. In other words, God continues to say "Yes," "No," or "Wait," just as He has since the beginning of time. But, somehow, in the Facebook format, we have become more open with our daily struggles and challenges. One person is taking a test in school that day. Another is getting on a plane for business or for pleasure. Yet another is worried about some lab work that the doctor has ordered. A young Mom has a sick child. An older adult has an aging parent who is beginning to forget and decline. A man and woman fear that they might lose their jobs. A wife has a fuss with her husband before he leaves the house that morning. A couple is in the process of adopting a child, as another couple wonders how the bills are going to get paid. A young single is lonely. Many are recently divorced and searching for answers. Even more are worried about their spouse, their job, their own health, their children, or their grandchildren. ALL OF US have "stuff" going on in our lives. Happily, some have received wonderful blessings and just want us to rejoice with them and give thanks to God along with them. It's fun to share in those times, isn't it?

Through this avenue of Facebook, we can choose to "throw it out there for all 650 of our closest friends" to read and share responses, we can send private messages to just certain "friends" that we trust most, or we can just read about the needs of others and decide privately how we will respond to their urgent petitions and requests for our prayers.

I've started a Facebook Prayer Request Journal. In it, I write down the needs that I read about that are ongoing and for which I can intercede over time. If someone sends out a quick, immediate request, I try my best to stop right then and lift the request to God on their behalf. I have also made a promise to myself that I will not type that I am praying for someone or some issue unless I am genuinely doing so. That's what I would want from someone else. Wouldn't you?

We ARE assured in Scripture that we can bring EVERY request to God, and I, for one, am glad that social media in the form of Facebook can be used to share our needs with others. Not just bunions and hang nails, and not always (but sometimes) a scary cancer diagnosis, but the real tugs in our hearts and the tears rolling down our cheeks.

Not all of my Facebook friends are Christians, though the majority are. I'm very glad that I don't have to wait until Wednesday nights, and I don't have to go to a specific place at a scheduled time in order to ask my brothers and sisters in Christ to join me in "making my requests known to God." And, yes, I recognize that Facebook has also been abused and used poorly for bad purposes. I, however, continue to see it as a positive tool, and I look forward to honoring prayer requests and sharing my own in the days ahead.

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. . . . And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus." Phillippians 4: 6-7, 19.