I’ve been a part of approximately 1.2 million public prayers.
I say “approximately” because God frowns on you officially counting prayers. (It’s in Leviticus. Google it up.)
I thought I’d seen it all until a few weeks ago. I witnessed something new, something I think you’re going to see eventually too.
A Facebook Prayer Interruption, or FPI.
What’s that?
Well, a friend of mine stood up to make a prayer request. She was asking for prayer for a mutual friend who had a big event scheduled for that day.
Midway through the prayer request, another friend interrupted her and said, “Ohh, sorry. I actually saw on Facebook this morning that was canceled.”
The friend making the prayer request paused, said something like, “Oh, I hadn’t checked Facebook this morning yet. OK. Um, never mind.” And then sat back down.
Later I talked to the Facebook Prayer Interrupter, and I asked her what was going through her mind in that moment. How did she know it was time to bust out an FPI?
What are the signs that maybe you should make an FPI someday? Together we came up with this list:
How to make a Facebook Prayer Interruption
1. Be sure your information is up-to-the-minute accurate.
Don’t be that friend who checks Facebook once every 3 months and then asks for prayer for the birth of a baby who was born three months ago.
2. Don’t touch your ear like a news reporter who is receiving breaking information.
People frown on that, and it will probably make you look a little crazy.
3. Make sure the person is very wrong about their prayer request.
If someone says, “I want to pray for the safe travel of my friends who are going on a mission trip to Honduras,” and you know they’re actually going to “Guatemala,” pipe down Connie Chung. Did they get the country wrong? Yep. Is God going to be confused and send a fleet of angels to the wrong country because of the prayer request? Nope. Don’t interrupt that one.
4. Don’t do live updates.
If you decide to drop an FPI, just say, “I found out some new information on Facebook.” Don’t give a play-by-play via status updates during the middle of the prayer time. “According to Jill’s last status update, her grandmother is in the hospital. Now she’s out. Her uncle commented on the status, he’s coming to the funeral. Ohh, cute puppy photo. Jill’s got such a sweet doggie. Whoops, new status just got posted. Grandmother is now out of the hospital.”
5. Don’t call it “The Facebook.”
Adding the word “the” to things makes you look old and in possession of brittle bones that require you to eat calcium chews.
Hopefully, those 5 tips will help you, because trust me, this is going to happen.
You will either give a Facebook Prayer Interruption or receive a Facebook Prayer Interruption. But, don’t worry, God never gives you more FPIs than you can handle. That’s in Mark. Google it up.
Question:
Have you ever seen a prayer request get interrupted?
