Here's an interesting excerpt I found on Annieshomepage.com:
Gossip and sharing prayer requests:
Please remember that as a Christian it is important to be discerning. When someone shares a prayer request with you they may NOT want you to share it with others. If you want to share it then PLEASE do not give their name. Say "a friend" is dealing with something. This is considered an unspoken prayer request. This way it still keeps their anonymity and trust but more people can be praying for them. My friend Leah has a good page that explains the difference between "gossip" and just "sharing a prayer concern" about a friend. Here is an example of one of the questions on her "gossip" page: "Can I share something I know about someone as a prayer request? You may share something as a prayer request only if you have permission from the person the request is about. If she does not wish for you to share it with anyone, do not do it. If you do, you are gossiping."
On the Evergreen Church website is this similar statement:
"Guidelines for Prayer Ministries: Be sensitive to privacy and confidentiality issues; do not mask gossip as a prayer request. As a general rule only pray for individuals who have requested prayer."
From another church website:
"Because prayer time is so vital, group members need some basic guidelines for sharing, handling and praying for prayer requests. Without commitment from each person to honor these simple suggestions, prayer time can become dominated by one person, an opportunity to gossip, or a never-ending story time."
And another:
"Another common practice is sharing gossip under the rubric of a “prayer request.” In truth, the one who shares gossip under the guise of a prayer request has little to no interest in prayer."
And still another, this time from an online prayer website:
"Submissions [prayer requests] may be edited or rejected if, in the list administrator's judgement, they cross the line into gossip, particularly for third party or anonymous submissions. "
We must not carelessly dismiss the potential for sin to creep into our "prayer requests." If our motives are "pure," then our prayer requests will do no harm to our brother/sister in Christ. They will not promote unrest, and they will not lead to actions and attitudes that tear apart the body of Christ.
Here's a class on the Unruly Tongue. TOTAL cost (for everyone who participates) is just $10.00. That's a small investment for something of such eternal significance! Check out the description:
Do You Have An Unruly Tongue?
by Julia Bettencourt
This resource contains 4 life situations where you are faced with what you would do if certain Sisters encountered you with gossip. Sister Roast, Sister Wag Her Tongue, Sister Stir Up Trouble, and Sister Gossip Through A Prayer Request all want you to listen to them. What would you do? There are also 18 questions concerning our speech and ends with an evaluation of how we use our tongue and mouth. A great topic for anytime or to go along with the Apples of Gold Theme.These questions are designed especially for Christian women to survey and evaluate certain areas of their lives to bring them to a closer relationship with the Lord. Great resource at a reasonable cost for church ladies groups and events.
Cost $10.00 for Master Copy to download.With purchase of the Master Copy, you are given permission to print as many copies as needed for your function.Downloads are through PDF files. You will need Acrobat Reader.
Gossip is not friendly, and when masqueraded as a prayer request, it is insidious and evil.
Nobody's Friend
My name is Gossip.
I have no respect for justice.
I maim without killing.
I break hearts and ruin lives.
I am cunning and malicious and gather strength with age.
The more I am quoted, the more I am believed.
My victims are helpless.
They cannot protect themselves against me because I have no name or face.
To track me down is impossible.
The harder you try, the more elusive I become.
I am nobody's friend.
Once I tarnish a reputation, it is never the same.
I topple governments and wreck marriages.
I ruin careers and cause sleepless nights, heartaches and indignation.
I make innocent people cry in their pillows.
Even my name hisses.
I am called Gossip.
I make headlines and headaches.
author unknown
May God's Word on this subject speak to our hearts:
Proverbs 16:28 A perverse man stirs up dissension, and a gossip separates close friends.
Proverbs 18:8 The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to a man's inmost parts.
Proverbs 26:20 Without wood a fire goes out; without gossip a quarrel dies down.
Romans 1:29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31 they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.
2 Corinthians 12:20 For I am afraid that when I come I may not find you as I want you to be, and you may not find me as you want me to be. I fear that there may be quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, factions, slander, gossip, arrogance and disorder.
Let's make sure that we are not party to (whether speaking or listening to) gossip. Let's make sure that no decisions that we make, actions we take, or words we say come as a result of gossip. Gossip tears down! It is the opposite of the Scriptural exhortation to build up our brothers and sisters (Eph. 4:29). Where we have been a party to gossip, we need to repent, confess, and submit ourselves to Christ. Nothing that is borne of sin is holy, and any actions, decisions, or words that are borne of sinful behavior (such as gossip) will NOT be blessed by God. 1 Sam. 15 (starting with verse 29) bears out this truth.
2 Corinthians 13:5 Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?
Pray!
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