"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 As for the rest of other age groups they had since withdrawn from getting their news from print but relied on soft media, with social media upper most.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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28/04/2024 - 29/04/2024 All day"The Lord is my shepherd!" (Psalm 23:1)
Psalm 23 of David is perhaps one of the best prayers ever written, with nuggets and inspirations, of benefit to us since and
ever before. “The LORD is my shepherd, “David begins.” I lack nothing” (vv 1). What is it that you lack? In his life David had started out as a shepherd, and he knew very well, that a shepherd’s job is to watch over his sheep, feed and water them, and since the Lord is our shepherd, we his sheep shall lack nothing.Verse 2 -3 says, “He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.” This exactly what a good shepherd does; he takes his sheep to the best fodder, ensuring that his sheep are well fed and rested. When the sheep are restless the good shepherd is troubled. Our God desires and is pleased when we are at peace.
Sometimes we may all find ourselves going through a storm. In Verse 4- 5, David says, "Even though I walk through the darkest valley I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” The Christian life is not without difficulties, but here David points us to God as our comforter and deliverer. We always have the staff of prayer to lean on.
In Verse 5, he writes, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.” In his tumultuous life, David had to battle with many enemies, ranging from King Saul, to foreigners and members of his own family. He knew a lot about betrayal. And, we too, may face enemies no less, from those that oppose us in our workplace for their ambition’s sake, to those who are not pleased because of the Gospel we preach. Yet here, just as David, we are assured that victory is on our side- this is why our cup overflows.
“Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever” (vv 6). The one who walks with God has a fresh smile ever, for God is with him. The blessings of God are with him wherever he goes.
Prayer for today: Lord Father God of Abraham,
maker of heaven and earth, as David prayed in Psalm 23, may I not be troubled, for you are my shepherd ever watching over me and your goodness goes ahead of me!
