If you wanted to build a prayer app for the iPhone, where would you start?
The first thing you might want would be a way to store your prayer requests, kind of like a prayer journal. One website defines a prayer journal as “a notebook or binder that contains your prayer requests, Bible study notes, verses that apply to a situation you are going through, daily confessions, goals, and revelations that God has shown you.”
Being able to keep track of these things and have them with you where ever you go sure would be a good thing. There are a number of prayer apps for the iPhone that store prayer requests and do a pretty good job of it. You would probably want to be able to organize your prayer requests and maybe even have a way to remind you to pray for them every so often.
But wait! Prayer is more than asking for things. Derek Thomas, writing in Tabletalk magazine, says that although prayer is “talking to God” sometimes the “talk” is all about us but… “When Jesus taught us to pray, He showed us that prayer begins (and continues) with God: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed by your name’ (Matt 6:9). Take a look a the structure of the Lord’s Prayer and it will show you that at least half of our praying should be addressed to the praise and worship of God.”
Dick Eastman says, “Praise and worship is the expression of admiration and devotion to God. Only praise puts God in His rightful position at the outset of our praying. In praising God, we declare His sovereignty and recognize His nature and power.”
Richard C. Trench says, “Prayer is not getting man’s will done in heaven, but getting God’s will done on earth. It is not overcoming God’s reluctance but laying hold of God’s willingness.”
So the first thing you should want in your prayer app would be a way to help you with the praise and worship part of praying. Unfortunately, this “first thing” is not part of most existing prayer apps.
The ways that Prayer Prompter can help you with praise and worship of God will be the subject of the next post, “Building a Prayer App for the iPhone-Part 2 – Praise and Worship”.
