Kindness - and Prayer

Kindness seems to be a trend these days. Facebook has different kindness groups on the roster, one of them in my county. I joined the group to see what they have to say and what they are doing.  Encouraging people to be kind at a time when our political climate is something other than that is a great thing.

However, I think there is always the danger of sharing your random acts of kindness on a social media page and then slapping yourself on the back for it.

So, how can we encourage people to spread kindness without it becoming a self-serving, egotistical project?

I'm not sure, but I think praying would help. In fact, I think prayer is crucial to any endeavor we decide to undertake, whether it be random acts of kindness or anything else. 

Because being kind doesn't get one to heaven. That's right. Only by God's saving work on the Cross can one reach an eternal life with Him. Jesus gave His all when He allowed Himself to be nailed to a cross and laden with every sin that had been or ever would be committed. And we receive that grace by admitting that we are sinners and that we cannot save ourselves. We must believe in Jesus Christ and that He died in our place and then rose from the dead to live forever. And we must confess our sins to God and ask for forgiveness - then turn away from sin. 

It's called REPENTANCE. And it's what gets us to heaven.

I want to share with you something I began doing in December when something happened in our immediate family that caused me such great concern that I could not sleep. Anxiety had me in its grip. 

I decided I needed something to take my mind off of myself and my problems. When I perused Facebook, I realized that so many people need Jesus, whether they know it or not. So I committed myself to praying for two Facebook friends each day until I had exhausted my friends list. To date, I still have two full pages of friends for which to pray.

When I pray for these friends, I let them know right away that I am praying for them throughout the day. I can't tell you what a difference it is making in some peoples' lives. I have received specific prayer requests for some. Others have messaged me to tell me that on their day they were going through difficult times and that prayer made the difference for them. Others have replied that they had been waiting for their special day. And the list goes on.

As I reach the end of this commitment in the next month or two, can I encourage you to take up where I have left off? I would really love to see this praying thing continue and spread through Facebook. People need prayer. To date, NOBODY, even those who are the furthest from Christianity (and admit that) have refused to let me pray for them. I think that, deep inside, people have a deep rooted need for the spiritual, specifically for the living God. 

If you will commit to printing off your friends list and praying for your Facebook (or any other social media) friends, please share in the comment section on this post. In this world, at this time in history, prayer is more critical than ever.