I subscribe to a number of prayer updates via email, and I have never known quite what to do with them. The problem is when I go to my email inbox, I go there to get things done. I'm in productivity mode. I want to move through things quickly, and lingering in prayer over something doesn't really fit.
It is surprising how unbelief can hide in plain sight. The problem isn't the emails that I feel guilty about rushing past without praying. The problem is that I've been going through all my emails prayerlessly. I've foolishly been treating me email as something to "get done" after I finish praying, not as a task that should be prayed through.
I'm well aware that some people get tons of email. And really, there's lots of email that deserves only a cursory glance, junk that deserves to be trashed. I know no one who wants to spend more time going through email. But imagine for a moment being freed from the productivity-grind of online communication. What if each email was not a checklist item but an occasion to pray?
What if:
- A note from a friend became a reminder to pray a blessing over them
- An email about an event, or a meeting, or a gather caused you to pray for God's will to be done in that situation
- An online receipt becomes an occasion to praise God for his provision and ask for faithfulness with our money
- Reading an e-bill bring us to praying for God to give us our daily bread, and provide for the needy
- Seeing an advertisement prompts us to ask God for protection against idolatry
- Reading a newsletter caused our hearts to praise God for his faithfulness and control in history
- Going through a missionary updated brought us to our knees for the kingdom of God, and for his servants
- We paused before pressing 'send' and besought God on behalf of the receipient
- We truly sent God's blessings with each email, not simply a Christian signature line
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