The YouTube prayer channel started during Covid that’s causing a stir
While some Americans are bracing for their first day of work to begin, a group of Americans are using prayer to weather the coronavirus pandemic. With YouTube channel, Pray4Life, they’re posting daily prayers, and, in the past, have used videos of a church service to deliver them to viewers for free.
The prayer channel has raised eyebrows, including from some Christians who say the prayers are blasphemous, given Christians are strongly encouraged not to pray during a pandemic. And, because the channel, which has an impressive following, has videos of Christian services, Christian critics are concerned.
“The best way is to just be strong, and not give up, and pray every day,” one user said. “You have every right to pray, but you don’t have a right to pray in the name of a false god.”
Another complained that Pray4Life was “blasphemy, because Jesus is our Lord” and “gave us these rules, and that’s our way” in the Bible. “This is not a free speech channel.”
Pray4Life said it was just using the Christian model “to offer the Lord and Savior, and the teachings of the Bible,” and that’s how everyone used to pray during pandemics.
Pray4Life founder Andy Peeples says he started the channel simply to give Americans a sense of unity during a time of public health crises.
“This is not a campaign against Christianity,” Peeples said. “It’s just a channel of prayer that we’re using our free time to pray and offer prayers to others, who are sick. But it’s not blasphemy, it’s just offering prayer.”
Peeples added, “Jesus said that we are always under a curse. He said it’s better to bear that curse than to break it through our own selfishness. We’re at war against this