The Power of Prayer & Social Media

I am all for prayer.  I believe in prayer.  I also believe God answers prayer in 3 ways--yes, no, and in his time, not ours.  I take many things to the Lord in prayer.  Some are answered with a yes, others with a no, and others I had to wait for my yes or no.

I am also a firm believer in prayer chains and bringing up requests in ones circle of friends, family or at church.

If you are told something in confidence, leave it in confidence.  Don't tell your friends, family, coworkers, neighbors...If that person wanted the rest of the world to know, they would have told it themselves.

But, I also believe in a persons right to have privacy.  Several times lately, I have seen a persons privacy violated due to too much information being put on a public prayer chain.  God knows what the situation is.  All one needs to say is "be in prayer for a friend of mine who needs prayer right now".  You don't need to say why, their name, or their sex, or their relationship to you.  One doesn't need to say "be in prayer for Jane Doe that lives in town A at 123 Jones Street and works at Acme Rental,  because she has been cheating on her husband and as a result he is now using drugs and beating the children"....

I live in a small town.  What may start out as an innocent prayer request, with too much information given quickly turns into gossip, and the story grows and grows.  People in my town also go to church out of town, and hear prayer requests in the next town over and bring that information back here--"hey, Susie--did you know I go to church with Jane Doe's mother and you would not believe what her mother put on the prayer list today at church."....

Someone I know has been hurt because of a situation similar to the above.  Very hurt.  Rumors flying around, most of it untrue.  Another person I know has been called into their supervisors office at their workplace and ordered to go get a drug test and a physical due to a situation similar to the above-someone read of something on a prayer chain on a church Sunday School board, and in turn told their neighbor--"hey, that person works where you work"--and that person just happened to be that persons supervisor.  So, by violating that persons privacy, they now have a much bigger problem than they had to begin with, and may now also loose their job.

The only being who needs to know the details is the Lord.  And, he already knows, long before you even knew.

Also, leave it off facebook, twitter, texting, emails and such.  I have heard and seen stuff on facebook I didn't really need to know.  I have deleted people as a result, and have seen one family almost divorce because of a comment put on by a mother in law directed to her "lazy stupid "son in law.  Really, go to that person directly, the rest of us don't care to see or hear it.  Even if you delete it shortly thereafter, the damage is already done.  If your old enough to use facebook, then you are old enough to know how to behave in public.  Yes, facebook is public.

OK, I'm off my rant now.  But, really people!!!