#25. Gossip prayer requests

A gossip prayer request usually starts like this:

"I just want to lift up my friend Roger and his wife Martha. Roger has been struggling with an addiction to gummy bears and his wife Martha is not being supportive. On top of that, their daughter keeps updating her Facebook profile with comments about the deliciousness of gummy bears and then reading them out loud. So I just want to pray for them."

You see what happened there? Now the entire church knows about Roger's delicious addiction. And they also know that Roger's daughter is apparently kind of a jerk. This was not mere prayer request, this was gossip disguised as a prayer.

If you happened to be at this prayer meeting and witness this sacrilege, you should raise your hand and then pray this:

"I just want to bring Jimmy to your attention, for being nosy and rude and telling us about someone else's problem. I hope he may never have a gummy bear addiction, and that he stops gossiping for good. At least until Christmas."

And that's how you do it. Just put them out in the open. Do note that it may backfire on you. Your friend Jimmy may be so offended that he may leave the church and when he finds another one, hey may start a prayer with:

"I left my old my church because someone attacked my dignity..."