Do I Really…?
Various social media have changed our world in ways far too numerous to even attempt to deal with here. It seems to me that one of the most obvious of those ways has to do with the people we now refer to as “friends.” Before Facebook, Twitter, etc. I’m not sure I ever had a friend I’d never met. I guess that those who have had penpals have had that experience, but I have not.
Now, at least on Facebook, I have over 2,000 “friends.” I do not follow all of them and I’m sure that not all of them follow me. Nevertheless, we are categorized as “friends.”
As I type these words, my concern is not about how many people there are who may or may not follow me on Facebook. Neither is my concern about how many of those people I really know.
My concern has to do with some requests I receive from time to time. It is not at all uncommon for me to see that one or more of my social media friends has requested that all of his or her friends pray for some personal or family issue. I’m sure that you’ve had this experience as well. It would not surprise me to learn that many who are reading these words see requests like this on a daily basis; if not multiple times a day.
When I read those requests, I also often take a look at the comments. Invariably, the request is followed by multiple assurances that the needs are the subject of the prayer life of a number of people. Sometimes that sentiment is expressed in words. Sometimes, thanks to a seemingly more popular method of communication, a praying hands emoji is used to assure the person that they are being prayed for.
But are they really being prayed for?
Believe me, I’m doing some real self-examination as I type these words. I wonder how often I’ve joined the crowd online and sent a quick message that I’m praying for a certain individual and then have failed to follow through and actually pray. In fact, I’m wondering how often I’ve told somebody in person that I will pray for them and have not done so. I may have had the best of intentions and I may have been sincere when I said that, but then “life happened” and I got busy with other things and totally forgot to do what I said I’d do.
Here’s what I do not have to wonder about. Here’s what I know. I know that I’ve felt very guilty at times when somebody has expressed gratitude to me for my prayers on their behalf. The reason for that guilt is that they were thanking me for something I had failed to do.
I understand that the context of Matthew 23:3 is not an exact fit for what I’m thinking about as I type these words. Nevertheless, it is still sobering to realize that our Lord was not at all pleased with some religious leaders who, in His words “…say, and do not do” (NKJV).
The motives and intentions of the scribes and Pharisees were far less than pure. They were instructing people to do things which they, themselves, were unwilling to do.
In contrast to them, I may be very sincere and well intentioned as I tell people that I will be praying for them. Sadly though, I can still wind up doing exactly what these men whom Jesus later described in Matthew 23 as hypocrites did. I can find myself saying and not doing.
As I grow older I seem to be becoming more and more introspective. I also seem to be understanding more and more the emphasis that the Bible puts on the quality, not the quantity, of the words we speak.
Among other things that this makes me aware of is the need to make sure that I’m committed to doing something before I promise to do it. Without a doubt, that should be particularly true of a promise to pray for somebody.
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AUTHOR: Jim Faughn
