Rosslyn Chapel, near Edinburgh has become the first church in Britain to take online prayer
requests on their virtual noticeboard. Its congregation encourages anyone who has access to the internet to
take part in a shared act of worship - even if they don't live locally.
The prayers cover a wide range of topics from exam results to crises fof faith. as requests are not written down
in a physical prayer book, the online service is totally anonymous. The result? A facility that attracts thousands of users
who are able to pour their hearts out. At noon each weekday, the prayers are printed off and offered to God by Rosslyn worshippers.
There are now several options available to those who are in need of supportive prayer but may be shy to ask
those who are nearest to them, even in a close-kint fellowship or community.
Rebecca* is an sssistant administrator for internetprayers.com. She says: "My own personal experience concerns a
friend of mine who was in trouble. I tried to help him in every practical way I could think of. I prayed myself and nothing
seemed to be helping. I started to think about two or three people gathering in His name (Matthew 18:20) but I was not
brought up in a very communal church. My family took our religion fairly formally and not too personally.
"I did an internet search and landed at a prayer website. And not only did I get responses, but my friend got
better. I didn't tell him I tried internet prayer so it wasn't psychological, but I began to feel a few minutes of my day
might change someone else's life."
The internet is not only a way of letting the wider church ansd the world extend the prayer community, but it can
also bring people together. By allowing people to connect via unviversal prayer, the internet has a role to play in
encouraging us to express Christian love through action - the heartfelt gesture of one person saying a prayer on behalf of another.
From a report by Sarah Adamczuk, which appeared in
Woman Alive, a monthly magazine for Christian women
Links www.Rejesus.co.uk www.internetprayers.com www.scotland.anglican.org
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