“fill me in briefly What is a Prayer Chain”
It’s a game of “Gossip”, in a way. There’s a list of members on the chain. Preacher tells first member whom should be prayed for, and why. That member calls the next one or two on the list and he/she calls the next on the list, etc.
NOT EXACTLY. Usually there is a “prayer chain leader” and a group of “prayer chain warriors” (people who agree to pray for others when asked to or informed by the “prayer chain leader”).
The pastor and/or the “prayer chain leader” is informed by others of prayer needs in the church, ongoing ones and new ones since the last service.
They call to inform the other people on the prayer chain list. So it is forwarded by one or maybe two persons, not necessarily from person to person.
While this would seem to be a worthy endeavor, it often is misused to pass around gossip and people who thrive on such things often attach themselves to this group.
Myself, I will have nothing to do with these groups. Not that I don’t want to pray for anyone, but that I refuse to participate in gossip, especially when prayer concerns usually involve PRIVATE, spiritual, or health matters.
Guess it’s different in different churches. Dad was a preacher for 60 years, and that’s how we did it.
Sick
Gotta love social media, where people post “unspoken prayer requests”, so you’re supposed to pray for them, for/against whatever they won’t tell you about.
Let your prayin’ knees get lazy