WHat is this?
Maybe you’re struggling. Maybe a friend is struggling. We believe God, The Universe - whatever you want to call it - cares about that. We believe you can ask for support and there will be a response.
Maybe you believe the same thing, or maybe you don’t but you just want to share a problem with a fellow human being. Either way, we’re here.
Prayer requests sent to us will be confidentially distributed amongst a network of people, who will pray for your request. If you want us to, we will follow up to see if you need practical support. If you don’t, we won’t.
Still got questions? That’s fair. Scroll down for our FAQ.
Text messages are charged at normal carrier rates. If you need to contact us for free, please use Facebook messenger or our web form.
Jonny Harding explains the idea behind the textprayer service.
Who is this for?
Humans. There is no faith, politics, sex, gender, orientation, status, creed, ethnicity, race, age, ability or lack thereof, class, net worth, culture, upbringing, background, history, or tea-strength preference that would change how we treat you.
Who do you pray to?
The God of the Christian Bible, who we know through Jesus Christ, as would be recognised by most mainline Christian denominations. We appreciate there’s a lot more nuance that could go into explaining our view of God, but this isn’t the place for a statement of faith.
are you a church?
We are not directly affiliated with any single church, although currently most of the people doing the praying and offering support are in some way connected with the Elim churches of the Isle of Man. You can find out more about them here (Peel) and here (Ramsey), and about their parent charity here.
Is there anything we can’t send you?
Don’t send anything we would be obliged to inform law enforcement or government authorities of, unless that’s what you want us to do. Likewise, any obscene material may result in you being referred to the relevant authorities if it’s necessary.
Does this prayer thing work?
We believe there is power in prayer, but that doesn’t mean it works like a genie in a lamp; it isn’t a wish fulfillment thing and it won’t magically grant health or wealth. Rather than get into the complex theology of if, how, and why prayer works, we would rather keep it simple: what’s the harm?
do you just pray, or do you do other useful things too?
We believe prayer can be both a comfort and an effective way to influence the world. We do, however, complement it with other practical support. Anyone who says they want a follow up to their prayer request will be offered practical support if possible, whatever that looks like in their situation.
What kind of support are we talking about?
Emotional support, financial support, legal support, someone to talk to, someone to help with practical tasks, referrals to specialist care providers… whatever is needed, we can usually find it.
How fast do you respond?
We check our inbox just about every day, so usually anywhere from a couple of hours up to about 48 hours. We aren’t a crisis-response service, so if you require immediate support we recommend you try something like The Samaritans IoM.
It’s a small Island, how confidential can you be?
You can read our privacy statement for the whole nine yards, but in general terms you can be assured we’ve put a lot of thought and effort into ensuring your secrets remain safe. We retain and share the absolute minimum amount of data we can get away with.
WHat do you get out of this?
We appreciate most people and organisations out there are trying to sell you something, but we can honestly say that’s not what we’re about. We’re not asking you to join a club, pay a fee, make an oath, recommend a friend, write an IOU, or even say thank you. We want to help and support people who need it, and that’s the whole story.