ARTICLE POSTED on MAY 28, 2010 by ANDREW PAUTLER from NewCityCatholicChurch.com

A few weeks ago I was told about The Prayer Engine. After initially being drawn in by the beauty and simplicity of the site, I learned more about the huge capabilities of the Prayer Engine and believe it is a great resource that parishes should tap into. The Prayer Engine is a customizable, web-based prayer wall and moderation system that you host directly on your site. It merges prayer with technology. It is a great way to use the technology God has given us to strengthen our parish communities.

How It Would Work
On the Prayer Engine website there is a ten minute demo that explains how the Prayer Engine works and what it can offer your parish. I would encourage you to watch the video and spend some time on the site to learn more. Below is a brief explanation of how it could work for your parish.

Begin by paying for, downloading and installing the Prayer Engine. The Prayer Engine costs a one-time fee of $99 and on the site they claim it takes less than five minutes to install. You can also test drive it if you would prefer to try it out before purchasing.

Once it is all setup, parishioners can begin sharing prayer requests on your parish’s prayer wall.
During the installation process, you will setup an administrator in your parish who will monitor prayer requests. As parishioners share prayer requests, they will be filtered through the monitor to make sure there is no sensitive or inappropriate information. Once the monitor reads over them and approves them, they prayer request is posted on the prayer wall.
Parishioners can ask to receive the prayer requests from the prayer wall either through email, RSS feed or other newsreader program, Twitter, and mobile web app. This means that whenever someone adds a prayer request to your parish’s prayer wall, you can receive an email, have it come up on your Twitter account, etc. informing you of that prayer request. The Prayer Engine makes sharing prayer requests so easy.
The Prayer Engine also allows people to know when they are being prayed for. After submitting a prayer request, there is an “I prayed for this” button next to each request. Whenever someone hits that button, the person who submitted the prayer request would get an email letting him know that whoever clicked the button is praying for him.
Overall, the Prayer Engine is a simple, inexpensive way to strengthen your parish community by increasing the amount you pray for one another. Many churches I know have a prayer book, but like so many other areas within the Catholic Church, why not bring this up-to-date with the 21st century? The Prayer Engine lets parishioners know each other’s prayer requests throughout the week regardless of where they are. I would encourage every parish to look into the Prayer Engine and think about using it in their community.