Facebook and Twitter as a Metaphor for Prayer?

Marty Benton, a great Sunday School teacher at First Baptist Woodstock said something in a Sunday School teacher training the other day that caught my ear. It isn't a direct quote but the essence was that the current young generation measures things from "conversation to conversation" and how we have to be sensitive to that in sharing our faith with them. I took note and moved on then this morning that thought connected with another as I silently uttered a quick prayer for my kids and their day at school.

If you want to understand this conversation to conversation phenomenon just sign up for Facebook or start "tweeting" on Twitter. The Twitter limit is 140 characters...which can be a challenge to the natural verbosity of some of us. This whole idea of microblogging and conversation to conversation reminds me of a comment I've been told the great Charles Haddon Spurgeon made about his prayer life: "I seldom pray for more than five minutes, and I seldom go for more than five minutes without praying." He also said: "...True prayer is measured by weight,-not by length. A single groan before God may have more fullness of prayer in it than a fine oration of great length."

Now, clearly our Lord modeled praying at length. Luke 6:12 tells us “ Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.” (NKJV). We need sustained time of prayer and praise. But, when we all catch ourselves saying we can’t find the time to pray, I’m convicted by the thought that I CAN find time to Twitter or Facebook!

Unlike social networking, with God we don't have to update our status or Twitter what we doing because he already knows it. But what about a quick “micro prayer” in between our extended conversations with him to ask for strength; or wisdom; or patience; or just to worship Him? Brother Lawrence taught us in “Practicing the Presence of God”: "There is not in the world a kind of life more sweet and delightful, than that of a continual conversation with God. Those only can comprehend it who practice and experience it.”

So, if we can TWEET we can pray! Not INSTEAD of extended times of prayer but IN BETWEEN them as we “pray without ceasing” (1 Thes. 5:17) living from “conversation to conversation” with our Heavenly Father.