DeFord: I'm praying that you'll like this app

I have heard it said that prayer changes things, and I believe that is true. The findings of a Duke University study published in the American Heart Journal is just one of the many attempts by science to prove the power of prayer. And that is why I have found the PrayerPro app to be so invaluable.

PrayerPro is available in a free “Lite” version with scaled-down features. It is also available in a full-featured version for $1.99. PrayerPro is a complete prayer journal with tracking, reminders and publishing options. You can find the app in the Apple App Store or on iTunes.

Each day I am able to go into the journal and pray, making the longstanding requests that I have. Some of these include prayers for friends who are going through difficult times; members of my church youth group, whom I pray will continue to seek God; my co-workers; my family; and my church. Each request has a check mark beside it so I can check it off my list.

You also can put in new requests for which you want to pray for only once, or automatically make the prayer recur on your list for a set duration. Categories for prayer in the app include Children, Comfort, Confession and 18 others. Once you select the category, you can even add a photo of the person or thing for whom you are praying.

Through an intuitive request listing, you can see what have you have prayed for, how many requests have or have not been answered, and what requests are overdue for your prayer time.

In addition to these request tracking features, you can make requests for prayer for yourself. The app interfaces with your email system to send prayer requests to friends whom you choose on your contact list.

We all know that we go through dry times in our life when it seems like we don’t even know what to pray. The app has an area that allows you to select from a number of prayers and quotations of Scripture on the same subjects on which you can make requests. The prayers are succinct, direct and allow you to email the prayer to a friend who may need to read it.

That’s all we have for this week’s app. Do you have an app you want me to review? Drop me an email at rdeford@sedaliademocrat.com and you might see a review of it in next week’s paper! I’m praying that you have a great weekend!