Barack Obama’s grandmother is apparently very ill. I keep hearing, and reading, about how people’s “thoughts and prayers go out to her.” I also hear that they’re “sending good thoughts” – sometimes out to her, and sometimes for her.
I appreciate that people want to have a pleasant response; that they wish her well, and that they want to be supportive. So I hope that no one will be offended when (the next time someone says that in my presence) I smack them upside the head. Especially if you’re a Christian. In fact, I may just smack them twice, if they’re a Christian. They need a reality check.
You can’t “send” thoughts, except to God, and that’s a prayer. The very postmodern, secular concept of “sending thoughts” is a way to try to have prayer without involving God. I’ve posted on this concept before -
I’ve done several posts on prayer lately. People are starved for it, to the point that even non-Christians have developed a secular alternative: “sending good thoughts.” A friend of mine and I joke about developing a thought receiver to catch these thoughts as they come in. We joke about it, but we are appreciative of the fact that, as in Psalm 19:1 – the heavens declare the glory of God – even people who have not accepted the Lord still can’t help mimicking parts of Christianity because at some level, they know it’s right. We are hard-wired to seek the supernatural – we inherently need to be part of “something bigger” – and we need to worship. We all do these things, it’s just that some of us aren’t directing these activities toward God.
Christians who fall into the habit of saying things like “sending good thoughts” or “thinking good thoughts” need to knock it off in a hurry. That sort of thing is antithetical to biblical faith. Don’t be afraid to say outright – “I’ll be praying for you,” but better yet, why not stop what you’re doing and offer to pray for the person with the need right now?
There are few things more powerful than praying for someone right out loud. Yes, even for a unbeliever. A coworker of mine was in tears once, and when she shared her problem with me (and I let her talk until she was finished, which is a gift we should all practice giving) I asked if her I could pray for her right then. She looked around – no one else was nearby – and she agreed. I prayed for her quietly, specifically, and without “pray-preaching” (sneaking a sermon in). It was a comfort to her at the time, and God used that situation to witness to her; she was later saved.
As for me, I’m not sending good thoughts either to or for Barack Obama’s grandmother. I’m praying for her quick healing and restoration, and if she is unsaved, her salvation.
Amen!
I agree, we should be more inclined to pray for people instead of “punking out.” I know at times I am just as guilty. Sometimes, I will even feel a ‘physical prompting’ similar to almost feeling chills at the thought that someone is in need of prayer due to physical pain, sickness, etc.
However, I would like to put some balance to this post in saying. Good, thoughts ARE Biblical. I think the semantics of the phrase “my thoughts… are with you” or “sending my thoughts” are not meant to be taken literally as some form of telepathy. However, some people may be using that phrase mindlesslly. It is one thing if people really mean that they are communicating their thoughts into words and, thus, ’sending’ them to someone else. It is another when phrases like that actually become empty promises devoid of faith.
At the same time, we DO have a God that not only hears but sees our thoughts (Psa 19:14). He also does exceedingly above what we ask or think (Eph 3:20). We are even instructed to think on pleasant things in the new testament (Phi 4:8). God knows and acts based on our thoughts as well as our words.
However, once again, I agree that thinking is NOT to become a replacement for prayer. Jesus instructed the disciples that when they pray to SAY, not simply think. Additionally, your abundance of thoughts should cause you to speak at least some of them (Luke 6:45). We should use wisdom when serving Christ using the tools of prayer and meditation where appropriate and we should be ashamed of doing so (Mark 8:38)
By the way, I love how the scripture references automatically become links! Nice!
Very well said. It’s a pet peeve of mine to have someone say, “I’ll be thinking good thoughts for you.” Well think away in that little brain of yours, either pray or don’t. BUT I am very cautious as to who I ask to pray for me. I don’t believe in asking just anyone to pray for me. Who knows WHO or WHAT some people would be praying to on my behalf.
well, she got better, and converted to Islam!