A man in Woodstock, Georgia, is currently under fire after he recorded himself praying for his wife and posted it online. His prayer was focused on the fact that she was on her period, and, among many other things, he asked for her not to be “unproductive” or “unfruitful.”
The original clip was shared on Instagram by Banks Ramsey. He is an influencer centered around lifestyle, fitness, and faith-based content. While his initial post on May 27 didn’t stoke the fire backlash-wise, his prayer did get picked up by other creators such as Jubilee Dawns. The clip attached above, a stitch, became one of her biggest, garnering 2.1 million views, 309,700 likes, and more than 3,500 comments.
The Georgia man started his clip by disclosing that his wife, Abigail, had started her period. After saying she was feeling frustrated, emotional, and in pain, he decided to “start her period in prayer,” since it would be helpful for both of them and their child, who was sitting on Abigail’s lap.
The prayer started with Banks expressing gratefulness over Abigail’s “healthy body that works properly.” He would then ask God to be with her during her period to “comfort her and strengthen her.”
‘Unproductive And Unfruitful’
Then, the controversial bit of the prayer began, as Banks asked for his wife not to be “driven by her emotions” or her “feelings.” Instead, she should be “anchored in your truth today.”
“We come against the enemy who would try to cause her to be unproductive and unfruitful today,” he continued. He then asked for his wife to have life, blessing, productivity, and ambition. Then, the Georgia man prayed for his daughter, Brecklyn, asking for her not to cause Abigail more pain.
“But even if she does, I pray that mommy would have grace,” Banks said. “Supernatural grace.”
Heated Reactions
Banks’ Instagram post did have some pushback, with some criticizing the prayer and Banks directly. As said above, however, the clip gained a second wave of backlash days later. Content creators such as Jubilee found the clip very upsetting.
“If my husband used a performative prayer to bash me and say that I was unproductive and unfruitful, today, and was just praying that god would help me stop being so lazy, I would actually lose my [expletive],” she said.
Many agreed with Jubilee, and the video sparked multiple responses.
Some viewers were just flabbergasted. One said, “We don’t utilize frying pans enough these days.” Another one commented, “I’m too optimistic. I was thinking he would pray for her good health, comfort, and positive mental health.”
Other users straight-up refused to believe the clip was real, even though it was. One said, “For my mental health, this is AI.” Another one asked, “That wasn’t a skit?“
In a follow-up, Banks referred to the criticism he received as “a lot of hate.” He would then tell the ones who believed he was being performative were possibly displaying “pharisaical judgment.”
