A prayer chain in the Christianese language refers to a simple method in which to pass along the prayer needs of other Christians. Usually these prayer chains, also known as prayer trees, will form between Sunday school classs members. Sunday school is a forum for Christians to congregrate in a more leisurely setting outside of the church service (we will explore this topic more in depth in another post). Typically at the end of the Sunday school class, members will share their prayer requests* and praises*. Ordinarily, members should communicate an equal amount of things to thank God for and things to ask God for. When disclosing a prayer request it is important to remember to add phrases like, “I know God will work it out”, “I know He has a bigger plan”, instead of expressing doubt or true concern over the pressing matter.
Members of the Sunday school class will then formulate a prayer chain for those urgent prayer requests that occur outside of the Sunday school hour. The prayer chain is a simple chart that alerts Christians to who they should call or email in order to pass along the vital prayer need. As a rule, the chart will start with the agreed-upon most Christian-like Christian, typically the Sunday school teacher, at the top of the chain. This Christian will then be in charge of calling two other Christians to share the prayer need, who will then call two other Christians, until all members of the Sunday School class are aware of the gossip, I mean prayer request.
Prayer chain spreadsheets are easier to make now more than ever thanks to the advances in new technology called Microsoft Excel. Because of this quick and effective method, all Christians can rest easy knowing that their prayer needs are being efficiently discussed amongst their peers.
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