A researcher from Copenhagen reported seeing an exponential increase in Google search users who looked up the word “prayer” during the deadly coronavirus outbreak that has reached across the globe.
Jeanet Sinding Bentzen, a professor at the University of Copenhagen, released her preliminary draft on Monday, according to the Christian Post.
“In times of crisis, humans have a tendency to turn to religion for stress relief and explanation. The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic is no exception,” she wrote. “I document that Google searches on prayer has skyrocketed during the month of March 2020 when the COVID-19 went global.”
She pointed out that even Denmark, which is considered to be among the least religious countries, has seen a dramatic increase in internet searches. Her preliminary study pointed out that prayer intensified most sharply in countries that have been recently hit by the pandemic.
The “Todd Starnes Radio Show” had a caller named Susan on Friday who talked about life’s challenges and the need for faith during tumultuous times.
She said when met with hardships, it is only natural for our immediate reaction to be: “God, why are you doing this.” But she said a more productive question during hardships could be the question, “God, what can we learn as we go through this?”
“We tend to look at these things in the negative,” she said. “But He uses it for good.”
She said we are “all perfect examples.”
She recalled the time as a little girl when she was shopping with her father and noticed a woman in the store who was “horrible” to someone else. She recalled telling her dad, “She’s a perfect example.”
She said her father responded, “Yes, she’s the perfect example of what you never should do if you want to live to be a grownup.”
Pastors from across the U.S. have found themselves in an unexpected standoff with state governments over recent orders that ban large groups of people from congregating. These pastors claim the government is misguided and insist that their congregations need “spiritual nourishment” in the same way that we find physical nourishment in supermarkets.
“Go to Costco and Walmart,” one Louisiana pastor said. “They’re open for business. I’m here offering spiritual guidance for congregants who’ve just lost their jobs and need God more than ever.”
The Christian Post reported that churches reported a “dramatic” increase in online viewership, and pointed to Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church.
“We saw 4.51 million people tune in throughout the weekend across platforms,” the church said. “This broke our previous record of 4.17 million in November of last year when we broadcast Kanye West’s Sunday service from Lakewood.”