I just received another one of those “I named it and claimed it, now if you name it and claim it and send this to 8 people within 8 minutes you’ll receive 8 blessings”, type of internet prayers, this morning.
It’s tempting to pass this stuff along. We don’t want to o
ffend the one that sent it to us, and there is something inside us that thinks this stuff could really be true, and who are we to break the chain…so on and so forth.
Well, I’ve got some news for you regarging these boilerplate prayers complete with fluttering angel’s wings, and clouds, and portraits of Jesus…they are probably more pagan than they are Christian. They are wrought with more superstition than faith. They are loaded with quid pro quo, ‘if you’ then ‘God will’.
What do I do when I receive one of these “internet prayers” from a friend or loved one? Well, I pass it along to the prescibed number of people and then wait for my blessing. Just kidding. I usually send back a note telling the sender that I don’t think God is too pleased with that sort of activity and that it actually works against faith in Jesus. I have actually been thanked for this on occassion, but more often I imagine my friend or relative to be thinking that I am some sort of “religious crank” that just wants to spoil their fun and show my superior knowledge on “spiritual matters”.
How do you handle it when you get one of these prayers from a well-meaning sender?
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The Old Adam Lives! 