How could a call for prayer ever be the wrong thing to do? After all, most Christians readily agree that prayer should be the first step rather than a last resort in responding to pressing needs.
One drawback occurs, however, when a specific prayer request is inaccurate, outdated or misleading. Such is the case with an e-mail prayer request making the rounds these days.
The e-mail message urges recipients to pray for Ezekiel David Allen. He is described as a young Southern Baptist missionary to Thailand who “is critically ill with an unknown parasite and apparently WILL DIE WITHIN TWO MONTHS unless there is an intervention by the Lord.” They prayer request asks individuals to “help create a global blanket of prayer” for Allen and his family.
Now for the facts: Yes, there is an international missionary named David Allen; yes, he serves in Thailand; and yes, he has faced serious illness due to an unidentified parasite. However, Allen is not a Southern Baptist missionary; the outdated e-mail alert has been circulating for more than two years; and the initial round of prayers reportedly already have worked.
According to Mark Kelly, a spokesman for the Southern Baptist International Mission Board, “The e-mail was true more than two years ago. Allen was desperately ill. People all over the world prayed and God answered those prayers.”
He said Allen has since returned to Thailand where he serves with another evangelical missions organization.
On the positive side, Kelly said such incidents “can help educate people about the need to verify e-mail requests.”
He said “good-hearted believers are likely to pass it on” when they receive an appeal for urgent prayer and he encouraged people to learn to confirm the original source of e-mail bulletins they receive. (BP)
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