"Thoughts and prayers" isn't a prayer

CONTAINS CHRISTIAN CONTENT
The rise of social media has triggered a new phenomenon. Whenever something bad happens in the world - Another school shooting. A natural disaster. A difficult diagnosis shared by a friend - our feeds quickly begin to fill with the same three words: “thoughts and prayers.”

Profile pictures get changed. Ribbons, flags, or frames get added. Thousands of people type “Thoughts and prayers,” or something similar, into the comment box and hit post. And then, if we're honest, the world moves on, scrolling to the next thing.

It’s not that people are being cynical when they do it. They are genuinely feeling something. They want to help but don't know how. Posting is the thing within reach, so they reach for it.

The problem is that saying we'll pray and actually praying are not the same thing at all. One takes a few seconds and a thumb. The other takes stillness, attention, and a willingness to bring someone else’s suffering before God instead of just sharing it with our followers.

A profile frame is a signal. It tells the world where we stand and as long as it is a genuine response, there's nothing wrong with it. The fact that that we show we care can be a real comfort to people who are hurting, if they can actually see our posts.

But a signal has no substance. The frame doesn't feed the poor. The comment doesn't sit with the grieving. And "thoughts and prayers," typed and quickly forgotten, doesn't actually generate any prayer.

Prayer was never designed to be performed for an audience. Jesus was blunt about this: "When you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen." (Matthew 6:6) The most powerful prayers are usually the ones nobody but God hears. The ones with no like count, no reach, no analytics.

I'm not writing this to make anyone feel guilty for the last time they posted a hashtag. I'm writing it because I think we've allowed easy trends and gestures to replace the costly but effective practice of prayer.

Posting costs us almost nothing. Prayer costs us our time and attention, which, in a world designed to distract us, might be the most valuable thing we have to give.

Posting is all about making noise and getting attention from the many. Prayer is about stillness and communion with The One.

So here’s a challenge for you:
The next time you feel the urge to post "praying for you,” or "Thoughts and prayers" don't do it yet. 
Instead, actually pray, right there and then. It doesn’t have to be poetic or eloquent and vocabulary does not matter. Just name the person. Describe the situation and ask God to help. Sit with your thoughts for a while before you do anything else.

You may find that after you've prayed, the urge to post has gone. Or, you may find that your prayer moves you to do something more: a recorded prayer sent to the person directly, a meal dropped off, a donation made, a phone call, a visit.  It is amazing how often bringing our concerns to God triggers us to become part of His answer.

Some people are very confident bringing their prayers to God but, if you are not one of them, and you need a place to start, the prayer below may help you. 
You may also find that lighting a candle helps you focus when you pray (more about that here)

Download a PDF version of this prayer