LONDON (WordNews.org) Feb. 4, 2021 —  In the midst of the pandemic, more people are looking for ways to connect spiritually.

Enter: ChatPray, the free app launched this week.

The app was created by Soultime, based in London, which has 500,000 Christian members on its Soultime app.

Research shows that while some churches and other religious gatherings have been closed during pandemic, there’s been a significant increase in people turning to prayer and other forms of spirituality. In a survey of more than 500 people, 77 percent of respondents said that knowing they were being prayed for by others would help their mental health. Another 72 percent said they had prayed more and 78 percent said they had felt more spiritual during COVID.

When asked if they would like to explore new ways of connecting spiritually online, nearly half (48%) said yes.

The free ChatPray app was created in response to those needs. The app has been specifically designed as an intuitive way to help people connect with friends and family in prayer, its developers said. With ChatPray, users can get notified that someone is praying for them in real-time.

Where existing chat apps have only a single thread of messages for each friend or group relationship, ChatPray always has two channels – a regular chat channel and a second “pray” channel to express the more important things, the creators said in a release. Every entry in the “pray” channel gets a “pray” button which, when pressed, increments a prayer counter. More importantly it sends a notification to the author and anyone “@mentioned” in the prayer, to let them know they’re being prayed for. Prayers can be marked as “answered” too.

When prayers are answered, a notification is sent to anyone who has ever prayed that request. ChatPray is designed to be as familiar and intuitive as WhatsApp but without requiring the mass of private data WhatsApp now seeks.

ChatPray also includes a way to keep a journal of what and who really matters to you.

The ChatPray app is available for iOS and Android and is free to download and use.

“ChatPray is a wonderful new way for Christians to support each other and to pray together,” said Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury. “It’s new and another step in using technology to serve the church. I know the people behind it and will give it a try.”

Father Christopher Jamison Abbot President of the English Benedictines says, “Whether we pray often or rarely, the ChatPray App helps us to know we’re not alone. You’re in my thoughts and prayers, we say. This App shows we mean it.”