Recently I've noticed that prayer status' have become a trend amongst my christian friends on facebook. At first I just passed over it and wasn't even interested but the more I've seen this trend, the more interested I became and decided to read what people were posting. Now, I can say that I LOVE when people post scripture and testimonies! There's nothing like being able to scroll through facebook and read truth and see what God is doing in my friends lives. It is encouraging and beneficial to my life. So for those of you who are doing that, THANK YOU! But something that I just have not had peace about was people posting prayers about themselves on social media.
Before I continue here is a disclaimer: If God has specifically told you to start praying on facebook, by all means please do. I'm all about being obedient to God and the last thing I am trying to do is judge peoples actions. I only see the outward appearance, it's God who knows your heart but I would caution those who are praying publicly and haven't sought God about why you are praying over social media. I would encourage you to do so.
So here were some of my thoughts as I was trying to figure out what my deal was. If I'm being honest, the prayers annoyed me. At first I thought there was something wrong with me. I mean, praying on facebook, that can be pretty bold and risky for some and they should be commended, right?! I thought I was irritated because they were doing something that I wasn't. But as I was reading these prayers I have no doubt that they are sincere and heartfelt, but in all honesty they didn't seem like prayers that I could agree with and say "Amen" to. To me they more so seemed like a way to let the world know how spiritual they were or to get a point across. Then I was reminded of a popular people group in the Bible that did the exact same thing.
The Pharisees. They flaunted their status and their entire identity revolved around appearing to say and do the right things. It looked like they were holy and they talked like they were besties with God, but when the Lord Himself walked in the room, they had no idea. They completely missed Him because they were so focused on keeping up appearances.
In Matthew 6, Jesus talks about how we should pray. In verse 5 He says "When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full."
So after reading this passage let me ask you, how serious are you about your prayers? Do you really want to see them happen or is the recognition from your 500+ facebook friends enough for you? God created prayer not as a means for drawing attention to ourselves, but to draw us closer to Himself. Prayer to me is a very private thing. It's like sharing secrets with my best friend. I don't get up on a stage and yell my secrets for the world to hear, I pull my best friend aside and spend one on one, private time with them. Sharing the depths of my heart with them. That is what prayer means to me.
Now before you argue and start debating me about praying for other people and countries and problems publicly and insert the "when 2 or 3 are gathered" line, I will ask you to consider this. When any of the great leaders of the Bible discussed with God something that was really on their heart, that they really wanted to see changed or made better, how did they approach God? Was it in public where everyone could agree with them and shout an "AMEN!", or did they go off and have a heart to heart with their Lord, the One they knew heard their cries and would answer them, not because of how many people they got to agree with them, but simply because they asked.
Change in your life won't happen because you posted a prayer on facebook. It will happen when you sign off facebook and spend time with the Person you are asking to change you.
