Some “prayer requests” are just gossip wearing church clothes.

Concern makes an excellent cover story. Information about someone else’s situation gets passed on in a serious voice, and everybody involved gets to feel responsible rather than nosy. The tell is usually the detail: whether the teller needed to include that part, and whether the person it is about would be fine hearing it repeated.

Before you pass something on this week, ask whether you would say it with them in the room. If it is not yours to tell, pray about it or think about it privately and say nothing. Being the person whose name never comes up in those conversations is worth more than being interesting.