"Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man" - Luke 21:36 (NIV).
The great Christian writer and apologist, Rev John Stott (1921- 2011), once famously said that believers should read "the Bible in one hand and a newspaper in the other!" John Stott made that statement long before the explosion of social media. I suspect where he still to be living today, he would substitute "newspaper" with "social media!"
A recent study taken in the US found that among newspaper readers there was only one age group that recorded growth with print media. It was the elderly population. As for the rest of other age groups they had since withdrawn from getting their news from print but relied on soft media, with social media upper most.
Now, there is a certain age group that is wary of social media, seeing it as too crowded and also often with innacurate and misleading information or plainly put "Fake news!" Unlike traditional news sources that had full editorial teams to seize through facts and misleading stories some with a hidden negative agenda, social media lacks that. It has perfected the art of instant news often layered with a good dose of innacuracies. Who of us has not fallen prey to a fake story that has gone viral!
Perhaps for this there are some believers who have boycotted social media preferring older and often slower but more credible news sources. Trouble is that with all its imperfections no one can afford to ignore social media, especially when one notes that the users are largely young (> 25) and there are a captive market. To be relevant today we need to be conscious of where young people are ( easily the largest demographic segment in Africa) and where they get their news from. Some of those sources many not easily be palatable, but at least one would know!
John Stott did not believe in a kind of believer who has this escapist attitude and is totally unaware of what is going on in his part of the world. Today social media presents all the news, the good and bad, often a bit too brutal. But lest we want to become completely irrelevant, we cannot afford to ignore this new information channel, that is if we are keen on knowing how and what to pray for!
Prayer for today: Lord Father God of Abraham maker of heaven and earth, today I pray to be alert of all that is happening around me, from all available information channels, so at to know how to pray effectively, this I pray in Jesus's name.
Related upcoming events
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02/05/2024 - 03/05/2024 All day“That is why for Christ’s sake I delight in weakness, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when am weak, then I am strong” (2 Cor 12:10)
We all crave to be blessed in life. But was there a believer who was so blessed beyond any circumstances without experiencing some sort of discomfort, in one way or another! A person may apparently be blessed in every single way yet have one troubling matter that constantly drives him down to his knees.
The one mightily blessed with riches may have a family situation that leaves him ever on edge. Someone who seems to be at the height of his profession may be living with an ailment that keeps him ever on tentacles. The one blessed with abundant health might from time to time be dealing with financial woes.
Why do such troubling situations plague even believers? One explanation could be found in the Apostle Paul’s life. Called into ministry and endowed with many gifts, including amazing revelations from above, yet he had a matter that constantly drove him on his knees. “Therefore in order to keep me from being conceited, I was given a thorn in the flesh, a messenger from Satan, to torment me” (2 Cor 12: 7).
Paul would often cry out to God to free him of this particularly troubling matter. But the Lord came back with, “My grace is sufficient for you. For my power is made perfect in your weakness” (2 Cor 12: 9).
The comfort of this lesson is that God is completely aware of whatever might be ever troubling us. Moreover, it could be purposely there, that we constantly place our faith in Him, other than relying on our strength and resources, especially as He blesses us in other uplifting ways.
Prayer for today: Lord Father in heaven, today I pray that whatever matter is constantly troubling me, I know it is for a purpose and you are in total control, to bless me even more, this I pray in Jesus’ name.
