{"id":4576,"date":"2024-11-10T06:10:11","date_gmt":"2024-11-10T11:10:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/?p=4576"},"modified":"2024-11-08T12:13:37","modified_gmt":"2024-11-08T17:13:37","slug":"pray-without-ceasing-how-tech-can-enhance-prayer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/2024\/11\/10\/pray-without-ceasing-how-tech-can-enhance-prayer\/","title":{"rendered":"Pray Without Ceasing: How Tech Can Enhance Prayer"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_4579\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4579\" style=\"width: 724px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-4579\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/452\/2024\/11\/tim-wildsmith-DNfWr3oR7fw-unsplash-2-1-350x263.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"724\" height=\"543\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4579\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo by <a href=\"https:\/\/unsplash.com\/@timwildsmith?utm_content=creditCopyText&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_source=unsplash\">Tim Wildsmith<\/a> on <a href=\"https:\/\/unsplash.com\/photos\/person-holding-black-android-smartphone-DNfWr3oR7fw?utm_content=creditCopyText&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_source=unsplash\">Unsplash<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Apostle Paul encourages Christians to <em>pray without ceasing<\/em> (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=1%20Thessalonians%205%3A17&amp;version=NASB\">1 Thessalonians 5:17<\/a>). How can believers \u201cpray without ceasing\u201d while still carrying on a \u201cnormal\u201d life? Can technology help? How are individuals and churches using technology to help increase and improve prayer? What types of apps and websites are available, and what features do they offer?<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><em>Individuals and Prayer Apps<\/em><\/h3>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Technology is an ever-present and ever-increasing influence in daily life. Understandably, that also extends to the spiritual aspects of life. A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/religion\/2023\/06\/02\/use-of-apps-and-websites-in-religious-life\/\">Pew Research Center study<\/a> from 2023 revealed that 28 percent of Americans who identified as \u201chighly religious\u201d use prayer apps or websites. That figure may be skewed by age; the older a highly religious person is, the less likely they are to use religious technology.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400; padding-left: 40px;\"><strong>There are several ways that individuals and groups can use this technology.<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul>\n<li>Reminders to pray regularly<\/li>\n<li>Help track particular prayer requests or prayer emphases<\/li>\n<li>Assist in directing thoughts toward spiritual subjects<\/li>\n<li>Connect with other believers in prayer<\/li>\n<li>Offer resources for meditation and prayer<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><em>\u201cI Need Prayer\u201d App<\/em><\/h3>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Recently, a new prayer app called \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/ineedprayer.world\/\">I Need Prayer<\/a>\u201d was announced by its developer, TL Dream Enterprises. The press release for this app describes it as follows:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u201ca platform that offers real-time prayer, spiritual encouragement, and mental health resources within a compassionate global community that bridges cultures and backgrounds.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201ca secure, welcoming platform for meaningful spiritual connections that uplift and encourage.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Featuring \u201clive, interactive prayer requests\u201d and \u201cresponses within minutes.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Integrated with the 988 Lifeline to provide connection with mental health resources<\/li>\n<li>Premium features include custom prayer groups, live streaming, and account verification<\/li>\n<li>\u201cwelcomes users from all spiritual backgrounds\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">From the press release, it seems that this new app is designed to offer a source for prayer support for those who want someone to pray for them.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><em>Churches and Prayer Apps<\/em><\/h3>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not surprisingly, a number of apps are either directed toward or at least able to be used for group use. Some of these uses include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Connecting people in prayer<\/li>\n<li>Sharing prayer requests<\/li>\n<li>Categorizing prayers<\/li>\n<li>Setting up prayer groups<\/li>\n<li>Organizing prayers<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Certainly, these applications can help people to \u201cgrow\u201d their prayer involvement. For instance, reminders to pray can function much like other reminders \u2013 as with a calendar app. However, the potential benefits are much greater. Reminders of particular subjects for prayer may increase connection between people \u2013 both between those who are praying and the people they are praying for, and between people who are praying about the same subjects. Apps may also suggest Scriptural passages that teach about prayer and scripture passages focusing attention on types of prayer \u2013 worship, adoration, confession, thanksgiving, petition, intercession, and more.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Furthermore, apps that assist in organizing people to pray together can foster connection within congregations, and the Church as a whole. Praying with and for other people can help people to \u201clook outward,\u201d to become more caring and more alert to others and their needs. James chapter 5 encourages prayer for those who suffer (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=James%205%3A13&amp;version=NASB\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">James 5:13<\/a>), who are sick (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=James%205%3A14&amp;version=NASB\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">5:14<\/a>), and those who need forgiveness (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=James%205%3A15&amp;version=NASB\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">5:15<\/a>). James then says: <em>Therefore confess your sis to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. A prayer of a righteous person, when it is brought about, can accomplish much<\/em> (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=James%205%3A16&amp;version=NASB\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">James 5;16<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The use of apps for corporate prayer may also increase the amount and frequency of such prayer by making it more convenient and accessible. People may not be able to gather together in person regularly for prayer, but they can connect virtually much more easily \u2013 and presumably more frequently. While virtual connection for prayer should not completely replace in-person gathering (as is true with worship), increased availability could well translate into increased participation.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><em>Specific Apps<\/em><\/h3>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While this list is not exhaustive, the following are several prayer-related apps (in addition to the new I Need Prayer app) that are available:<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><u>Echo Prayer<\/u> \u2013 offers both individual and group plans, with different features and pricing models for small groups and for churches. The individual plan is free and offers the ability to create prayer lists and receive reminders. Individuals can also access feeds from groups and churches, as well as guided prayers. (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.echoprayer.com\">echoprayer.com<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><u>PrayerMate<\/u> \u2013 offers daily reminders and tracking of the list of items an individual is praying for. It also offers the ability to connect with groups, utilize other prayer resources, and follow the feeds of organizations that participate with PrayerMate.\u00a0 (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.prayermate.net\/app\">prayermate.net<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><u>Prayer Prompter<\/u> \u2013 \u201cis like a two-drawer file cabinet. The top drawer stores and organizes Scripture passages in folders by topic. It comes with 650+ passages from the New American Standard Bible already installed and more can be added. You can change the passages to another version if you want and even delete the passages you don\u2019t like. The bottom drawer stores and organizes prayer requests and answers to prayer in folders.\u201d (<a href=\"https:\/\/prayerprompter.com\">Prayerprompter.com<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><u>Ora<\/u> \u2013 allows Christians to anonymously submit prayer requests and see when others are praying for them. The app allows for updating requests. Users are expected to pray for the next request shown to them. There do not appear to be any corporate-related functions (i.e., churches or small groups). (Only available as a smartphone app; features listed are from a review of the app on an iPhone.)<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><u>Abide<\/u> \u2013 offers prayer and devotional materials for daily use, directed toward individual meditation. These materials include morning prayers, bedtime prayers, Bible meditation, Spiritual Growth, and others. There is also a premium version of the app which offers more features. (<a href=\"https:\/\/abide.com\">Abide.com<\/a>)<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><em>Conclusions<\/em><\/h3>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With the growing acceptance and use of technology by individuals and churches, more people and churches are turning to prayer-related apps to encourage prayer. For individuals, prayer apps offer several types of help, including reminders to pray, the ability to create and track prayer lists, and access to resources related to prayer. For small groups, churches, and other ministries, apps provide the ability to connect members together and encourage prayer among them.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Finally, the recently announced <strong>I Need Prayer<\/strong> app provides a source of prayer and encouragement for people who might not otherwise be connected to a group of believers. One thing seems clear: prayer apps can provide assistance and encouragement for those seeking to learn how to <em>pray without ceasing.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Apostle Paul encourages Christians to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17). How can believers \u201cpray without ceasing\u201d while still carrying on a \u201cnormal\u201d life? Can technology help? How are individuals and churches using technology to help increase and improve prayer? What types of apps and websites are available, and what features do they offer?&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":705,"featured_media":4579,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4576","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Pray Without Ceasing: How Tech Can Enhance Prayer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Apostle Paul encourages Christians to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17). 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New stories updated daily from a Christian perspective.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/#\/schema\/person\/6d894aa19f15e91d1d8b7318fc3cb1a6","name":"Rick Rice","description":"Rick Rice served as pastor of Traverse City Church of the Nazarene from August 1999 through December 2024 and has recently retired from pastoral ministry. He is a graduate of Olivet Nazarene University (B.A.), Notre Dame Law School (J.D.), and Trinity Theological Seminary (D.Min.). 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