How Technology is Modernizing the Tradition of Prayer Chains

Dr. Bernice King spent part of her birthday in prayer with thousands who convened via Facebook for collective support and outreach during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I could never have imagined that I would be celebrating my birthday with the world this way,” King said. The daughter of the Civil Rights icon, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, offered words of encouragement from her home.

She said, “One of the things that is constant, that we all need to remind ourselves of every day, is the God factor.”

As efforts to slow the spread of the disease extend to churches, mosques, and temples, the faith community is turning to technology to touch lives at a time when millions are bereft of hope caused by the staggering financial, personal and professional toll of the pandemic.

Taking Tech to the Temple

Atlanta personality and speaker, Sam Collier, hosted the call and invited those who joined to “one of the largest live prayer meetings.” Callers from as far away as Saudi Arabia connected for the hourlong session.

Nona Jones, Facebook’s liaison with the global faith community, recalled her decision to accept the social media platform’s assignment to connect with churches and worship centers around the world, recalling how the tech giant could “advance discipleship”.

“I pray for wisdom…that they know how to look into a screen,” Jones said in an acknowledgment of the recent widespread use of online worship services by religious leaders. She included in her prayer “all the people behind the scenes who need to be in place to make this digital system run.”

One of the most powerful examples of the potential impact of technology during the health crisis occurred when Danielle Strickland appeared on the call. Strickland was diagnosed with COVID-19 and is recovering. Her story offered a reminder to the thousands watching of healing from the disease.

“God is in charge, and He is good,” the justice advocate and spiritual leader emphasized.

Saturday Service

Prestonwood’s Dr. Jack Graham, who proclaimed, ‘God’s got this,” participated in the prayer gathering. Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, President of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, also offered a prayer, describing the pandemic as a time to return to our “default setting”. Evangelist and author, Priscilla Shirer known for her role in the Christian movie, “War Room”, answered the invitation to pray and shared the heartbreak she, her siblings and father, Rev. Dr. Tony Evans, suffered in December when her mother died from cancer. Shirer stated that her mother wanted her family to remain “mission-minded” even during their grief which is still the goal during COVID-19.

“She said, ‘This is spiritual warfare…you don’t back down,’” Shirer remarked. “Each of you has been called to a specific purpose for your life, do not let this stop you from your mission.”

At times, the number of participants on the call reached more than 7,000. Singer David Crowder applauded the use of social media and the internet for increasing church rolls over the past few weeks.

“I went to church with 200-thousand people,” Crowder said. “That’s crazy, right? We’ve never had 200-thousand people at our church…I promise you, that.”

And, Sunday millions will attend church and other services without leaving home, the new way of staying spiritually connected necessitated by a global pandemic.