Moments after the first home in Oklahoma was lifted from its foundation, the world of social media exploded. “As of Tuesday afternoon, more than 75,000 people have used the hashtag #PrayForOklahoma, including pop starlets, pastors and politicians, according to Topsy.com, a trend-monitoring site.” –CNN
As the US helplessly sat and watched the tornados devastate parts of Oklahoma, one thing could be done: Tweet…or were they praying…or were they just Tweeting that they were praying?
See the confusion?
Similar to the afternoon of the Boston Marathon Bombing, I sat with eyes glued on my Twitter feed—interested in the developments, but more intrigued by the #Praying trend. Were these people actually praying, and if so, to who? It’s not my place to judge a single prayer, but my concern is that the trend emerged because of the simplicity of the Tweet, and not an action taken after words exchanged with the Lord.
I often catch myself in these actions– A friend tells me about their sick grandma or their upcoming job interview. “I’ll be praying for you.” It comes out so easy, almost as easy as it is to Tweet #Praying. But do we follow up? Do we keep our word by taking these requests to the Father? I know I always don’t.
It can be easy to take for granted the fact that we are sons and daughters of The Most High God, who has taken us in as His children, and asks we bring our needs before Him. We know He hears our prayers, but how many of us live in doubt that He will answer? I think “forgetting” to pray for a request placed before us has less to do with forgetting, and more to do with doubt. I know the mountains would move at His command, but would He really hear my small request?
James 1:6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.
There is a lot to chew on here. No answers, only thoughts. I don’t discredit praying posts, but I do believe this is a wake-up call and a reminder to truly bring our prayers before God instead of only saying, Tweeting, or Facebooking we will.
Check out this article from CNN that got my wheels turning: http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2013/05/21/who-hears-prayersforoklahoma/.
I would love to know your thoughts on this. Please leave comments below!
James 5:16 “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”
