Prayer -- My thoughts on PrayerMarket . com

This is in response to a comment we received:

 

"John Wilson said...

Hey FaithBlog, my name is John. I read a lot of blogs on religion and prayer and I've i feel like I've ended up here once before. I'd love to hear your thoughts about this prayer exchange website PrayerMarket.com I thought it was an interesting idea and would be curious to hear what you (or other Christians) think about it I'll check back here in the next day or two, thanks & God bless John W."

I believe prayer is the most powerful tool available to Christians.  It has been proven time and time again (scientific evidence for answered prayer.) to help those who need it.  Because of this i think prayer requests are wonderful and we have our own section for them on our devotionals page.  But also i dont think prayer cannot be "bought".  Read the 2006 American Heart Journal study on the page linked to above.  I have a few other problems with PrayerMarket.  First as mentioned above no one else can write your prayer for you. i qoute from PrayerMarket "Write down what you'd like readers to say"  Think of prayer as a conversation with a friend.  You dont ask them to do stuff by reading something someone else wrote do you?  You'll put it in your own words.  While writing what you want people to say is not required by PrayerMarket it still shows a lot about the page.  Again prayer can not be bought.  You should NEVER EVER have to pay someone to pray for you!  Never!  The amount of things that stick out to me on this page as 'wrong' are to many for me to give a detailed explanation for each.  so here is a general list if you would like me to explain a certain thing leave a comment.

1. Yet again prayer can not be bought
2. The prayers must be recorded
3. Prayers can be 'pre-written'
4. "Recordings can be easily shared" over various social media

ok so maybe the list isnt that long.  but heres my last reason that i dont think the page is "authenticly" Christian:  It makes me uncomfortable.  Some of you may be laughing of rolling your eyes but seriously there is a reason most things make us uncomfortable.  GOD gives us this feeling to keep us safe.  peer presure often makes us uncomfortable, theres a reason for that.  same way with our faith.  This doesnt always mean theres something wrong but it does mean you should do some reasearch.

All in all i think this page is a "fraud".  I agree that it is a good idea.  We need places to share our prayer requests.  But i dont think this is the right way to do it.  I know ive said it a hundred times but prayer can not be bought.  Remember the story of Jesus and the moneychangers in the temple?  Read Mark 11:15- 19.  I want you to pay special attention to verse 17.  This verse really sums up my thoughts on PrayerMarket.

If you do have prayer requests here are some places to check out:
     Air1 prayer requests
     Klove prayer requests
also you can check out the prayer request section on our devotionals page.

these are just my thoughts on PrayerMarket.  I encourage you to research it yourself.  2 Corinthians 11:14 "Satan can change himself into an angel of light".  Just because it has a Christian name doesnt mean its right.  remember dont judge a book by its cover.  Satan likes to bind stuff in beautiful coverings.
love yall
~tickledpink~

Scripture Memorization

Dont be turned off by the title of this post. Lately, I have been very disappointed when people have started talking about a subject, and I know its in the Bible, but i dont remember where. School, and songs are always a good thing to learn and memorize, but think how precious the Scriptures should be to us as Christians. It is what we base our faith on, what we hope and believe in. Because we have the Scriptures we have information about Jesus, early Christians, and practical life proverbs, however do we really take time to read it. Yes, some people now the lyrics to the top 20 songs in on itunes but they dont even pick up their bible!. Some people even read it, but dont really pay attention to it. Yes , im talking to those of us "me included" that are reading with our ipods on, or while we are talking to someone, texting, etc just so we can "get it done for the day" and check it off our what i should do list. So, I say start with Proverbs, these are some of the best lessons you will ever learn. Read one chapter a day, it should take less than five minutes. If you dont have five minutes, read one verse, you can not honestly tell me you dont have 20 seconds now can you? Jot down passages that are helpful and memorize them. You never now when you will need them.