The story
It began with an A to Z and a highlighter
Before there was an app, there was a map book, a pen, and one person deciding to pray for every street they could see. This is how Pray My Street started, and what it will keep.
Pray My Street started with someone who had been a Christian for more than thirty years and had always wanted to do what they could for God. Not a musician or a singer. Not a preacher or a teacher. An introvert, by their own account. But there was one thing they could do, and believed could make a difference in the world, and that was pray.
“The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”James 5 : 16, NIV
So that is what they did. For their area and their neighbourhood, for their church, for the nation, and for the world, especially wherever there was disaster or war. And then, street by street, for the neighbourhood itself. Sometimes walking and praying. Sometimes at home. Every street prayed for was coloured in on an A to Z, so they could keep track of where they had been.
It got laborious. There was always the same thought: is there a quicker way? Could a map update itself once a street had been prayed for? Online maps were in their infancy then. It was looked into, and it was not how it had been pictured. So the idea was set aside, waiting for the technology to catch up. That is where Pray My Street began.
The belief underneath it is simple. Prayer makes a difference. Imagine if a great many people thought the same, and had a tool that helped them do it. That is Pray My Street.
What it will keep
Six principles, written down first
Decided before a line of the app was written, so they cannot quietly drift later.
Free to pray, always
The heart of it will never cost anything. If it is ever supported by the people who love it, praying stays free and supporters get extras, not access.
It never knows where you are
There is no location permission to grant. You choose a street; the app does not follow you to it. That is a design, not a setting.
Nobody is named
A green street says that someone prayed. It never says who. There are no profiles, no leaderboards, no public records.
One street is one street
The whole named road inside its own town. Simple enough to explain in a sentence, and every colour and every percentage rests on it.
Calm, not gamified
No streaks, no badges, no red dots demanding attention. A held moment, a colour that changes, and a record you keep for yourself.
The whole world, from the start
Any street on earth can be prayed for on the first day. The percentages begin where the data is best and fill in as people do.
The words underneath it
“Love your neighbour as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.”Mark 12 : 31
“I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people.”1 Timothy 2 : 1
“You will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.”Isaiah 58 : 12
How it stays free
Supported by the people who love it, not by adverts
Praying is free, for ever
Choosing a street, the moment, the colour changing, your record, your town's coverage, the verses and sending a street to someone. None of it will ever be behind a payment, and there will never be an advert next to a prayer.
Later, people who want to keep it going will be able to support it, a small amount a month or once and for good, and get a few extras as a thank you. That is how the servers get paid for without selling anything.
Who is building it
Pray My Street is being designed and built by BozApps, a small UK studio that draws things before it builds them and puts them in people's hands in stages. The concept screens on this site are that drawing. The app is being built now, and a small group will try it before anyone else.
bozapps.co.ukQuestions
Asked so far
Is it free?
Yes. Choosing a street, praying for it, watching it turn green, your own record and your town's coverage are free for ever. Later, people who want to keep it going will be able to support it and get a few extras as a thank you. Nobody will ever pay to pray.
Does it track where I am?
No. The app has no location permission at all, so there is nothing to grant and nothing to leak. You find a street by searching for it or tapping it on the map. Whether you are standing on it or sitting at home is your business.
Will anyone know I prayed for a street?
No. The street turns green for everyone, but it never shows who prayed. Your own record is private to you and never appears on the shared map.
What counts as one street?
The whole named road inside its own town. High Street in Brierley Hill and High Street in Stourbridge are two different streets.
How many prayers make a street gold?
Many. The exact number is never shown, so nobody is praying to reach a target. Praying for the same street again counts once a day towards its colour.
Is it only for the UK?
No. Any street in the world can be prayed for from the first day. Percentages start with the places where the street data is most complete and grow from there.
Do I need to install anything?
No. It runs in the browser on a phone, a tablet or a computer, and can sit on your home screen like any other app. Apps for the stores come later, once the loop has proved itself.
Can my church use it together?
That is the plan for the second stage: a shared map, one total, invitations and prayer walks for a church or a group. If your church might want to be among the first, say so when you register.
When can I try it?
A small group of people will try it before anyone else. Register and you will get one email when it is ready for testing, and nothing else.