SermonIndex Audio Sermons
SermonIndex - Promoting Revival to this Generation
Give To SermonIndex
Discussion Forum : General Topics : e-mail prayers, what do you think?

Print Thread (PDF)

PosterThread
tjservant
Member



Joined: 2006/8/25
Posts: 1658
Indiana USA

 e-mail prayers, what do you think?

I was just wanting some feedback about email prayers. I have included a couple of examples.


My instructions were to pick four (4) people that I
wanted
God to bless, and I picked you. Please pass this to at least four (4)
people
you want to be blessed and a copy back to me.

This prayer is powerful, and prayer is one of the best
gifts we receive. There is no cost but a lot of rewards. Let's
continue to
pray for one another.


The prayer:

Father, I ask You to bless my friends, relatives and
those
that I care deeply for, who are reading this right now. Show them a new
revelation of Your love and power. Holy Spirit, I ask You to minister to
their spirit at this very moment. Where there is pain, give them Your
peace
and mercy. Where there is self-doubt, release a renewed confidence through
Your grace. Where there is need, I ask you to fulfill their needs. Bless
their homes, families, finances, their goings and their comings. Amen.


(If the Lord lays upon your heart to send this to more
than four "4" people, you are truly blessed).




And this one



Hello Everyone It was difficult for me to
decide who I thought would DO this. I hope I chose the
right twelve. Please send this back to me. (You'll see
why.) In case anyone is interested. May everyone who
receives this message be blessed. REMEMBER to say a
prayer before you read the poem. That's all you have
to do. There is nothing attached. Just send this to
eleven people. Prayer is one of the best free gifts we
receive. There is no cost but a lot of reward. Make
sure you pray, and pray believing that God will
answer. This is your last opportunity before reading
the poem.

May today there be peace within.
May you trust God that you are exactly where you are
meant to be.
May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are
born of faith.
May you use those gifts that you have received, and
pass on the love that has been given to you....
May you be content knowing you are a child of God...
Let His presence settle into your bones, and allow
your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love.

It is there for each and every one of us.

Now, send this to 11 people within the next 5 minutes
and remember to send this back...I count as 1...you'll
see why. Suggestion: copy and paste rather than
forward


Any viewpoints and or opinions?


God Bless

TJ


_________________
TJ

 2007/1/12 11:32Profile
MikeH
Member



Joined: 2006/9/21
Posts: 116


 Re: e-mail prayers, what do you think?

It could be totally innocent, but:
1) It could be an attempt to clog up the internet. Especially the second one, in under an hour everyone in the world (if they had a computer) would have received one of these emails; imagine how many would be sent in a day or a week.
2) It could be an attempt to harvest emails to create an email list to sell. Again especially the second one, as you reply to the sender.
3) It might contain viruses, trojan horses or the like that will damage or hijack your computer.
4) It might direct you to websites that contain such things and cause damage to your computer.

Don't be fooled by the fact that it came from a friend, they might have been tricked by the email. The general advice for pyramid emails and any other unsolicited emails is to delete them, they too often come with a lot of baggage.

We ought to be praying for the people we think off anyway, without needing an email to remind us.

But, there is a small chance it is totally innocent.

Mike

 2007/1/12 12:01Profile
ginnyrose
Member



Joined: 2004/7/7
Posts: 7534
Mississippi

 Re: e-mail prayers, what do you think?

I get a lot of emails saying if you love Jesus you will forward this email to x number of persons, or you say a prayer ... any variation of the original post. I delete it because it sounds so mechanical and prayer ain't that, brother! Prayer is communion with God on the Spirit level, not mouthing a few words...I will not be held hostage to threatening emails of this kind although I know the sender did not have any bad intentions in mind. I consider most, if not all, having good intentions and mean no harm. Actually, I would guess most have not even given this issue a thought. If you do say somehing it is interesting how many will admit to having entertained some reservations about it. But I tire of it: I get to sound like a broken record.... Know what that means? ask your parents... ;-)

My opinion....
ginnyrose


_________________
Sandra Miller

 2007/1/13 0:18Profile
tjservant
Member



Joined: 2006/8/25
Posts: 1658
Indiana USA

 Re:

Quote:

ginnyrose wrote:
I get to sound like a broken record.... Know what that means? ask your parents... ;-)



My parents suffered from broken record syndrome when I was young. They kept repeating themselves, but I never listened. They said I had to be told a thousand times.

Now that they are retired, and a little older they have started repeating themselves again.

We all joke about it now. My Dad has fully embraced the idea of “growing younger”. He says he is going to do all the things he never got to do in his first childhood.

He now crawls around on the floor with his grand daughter (my niece). Only problem is someone has to be there to help get him back up!

Thanks for your reply, and I agree.

In His Service

TJ


_________________
TJ

 2007/1/13 9:00Profile
JennRich
Member



Joined: 2006/7/17
Posts: 140
Alabama

 Re: prayer emails

When I get a "prayer" email, it sounds manipulative and it smacks of superstition. . . [i]"pray these words and you will be blessed. . . "[/i] I usually can't delete them fast enough.

However, I know fine people who appreciate them and use them for good. Any stimulus to pray is a good thing, as long as it's heartfelt and scriptural. I just get uncomfortable when I feel manipulated.


_________________
Jennifer Richardson

 2007/1/13 11:52Profile
Smokey
Member



Joined: 2005/2/21
Posts: 417
Edmonton Alberta Cda.

 Re:

There is a reason for a delete button on your e_mail browser. Best thing to do is ask your friends not to forward such stuff, no matter how well meaning they may be. Come to think of it, I need to get in touch with a couple of my friends now.. ;-)

Blessings Greg


_________________
Greg

 2007/1/13 13:20Profile





All sermons are offered freely and all contents of the site
where applicable is committed to the public domain for the
free spread of the gospel.