In the last decade, social media has gone from a novelty to a fixture in most of our lives. With the car and airplane, radio and recorded music, movies and televised entertainment, computers, and phones (smart or otherwise), we have adapted to massive technological innovations that have infiltrated our daily lives. But none of them have been quite so invasive as social media. It has become a constant companion to many of us, arranging “friends” and followers around us and shaping the way we engage with the world.
Because of its impact on our lives, we need to pray our social media. If we are to engage with Facebook, Snapchat, and the rest in a soul-healthy way, we need to baptize them. We need to dunk them in a holy prayerfulness.
Historically, the people who were best at immersing their lives in rhythms of prayers were the Celts. They established prayers for every aspect of their lives: waking, getting dressed, stirring up the coals in the hearth, heading out to go fishing, setting out on a journey, and so on. Nothing was too mundane to be prayed. In fact, the more ordinary, the more it needed to be prayed.
All of life became a complex of prayed cadences for them. And that’s something I long for for myself.
And so, with out ancient Celtic brothers and sisters as guides, I want to establish a collection of prayers available to me when I engage in social media. Realizing that many Celtic prayers were for things done only once a day — getting dressed, etc. — while we dip in and out of social media at an astounding rate, prayers associated with social media need a brevity not necessary in older Celtic prayers. So, I have tried to accommodate that.
A prayer before engaging with social media
May the words I write honor the Word made flesh.
May the images I share restore the image of God in others.
In the friendship of the Trinity.
A prayer when faced with a troll
Lead me in the way of kindness,
Show me the wisdom of silence,
Thank you for your gracious forbearance,
O crucified Christ.
A prayer in the face of fake or intentionally disturbing news
Lead me in the way of Truth, O Christ.
Lead me in the way of Justice, O Christ.
Lead me in the way of Peace, O Christ.
A prayer in the face of tragic posts
For those who are suffering, have mercy, O Lord.
For those who grieve, have mercy, O Christ.
For those who are in harm’s way, have mercy, O Lord.
For those who need healing, have mercy, O Christ.
A prayer in the face of time-wasting videos and foolish memes
Speak your truth in the face of trivia, O Christ.
A prayer before writing any post
More than gathering likes, help me to spread love.
A prayer before adding new friends
Jesus, you have called me friend. In a virtual world of virtual friends, give substance to my friendships that they be more like yours.