PrayNow App for iPhone

June 4, 2010

Concordia Publishing House, the publishing arm of the LCMS (Lutheran Church Missouri Synod) has been pushing the envelope of online accessibility for the last year or so. Based on what I have seen this seems to be largely the work of Pastor Paul McCain the Publisher at Concordia Publishing House and Executive Director of their Editorial Division who is quite the tech maven. You can read more about, and by Paul HERE.

Most lately, the LCMS has turned out some of the first Lutheran Apps for the iPod / iPad crowd. (So far no word on whether an Android version is forthcoming.)

The App looks OK, though it won't win any beauty contests for flashy interfaces or slick graphics. It has basic iPod menus that link almost exclusively to text. No video. No audio. No bells, whistles, or smoke. That said, it does exactly what it advertises to do:

Readings The app provides you with all the psalms, and some canticles.

Services It provides you with the text to Matins, Vespers, Compline (three prayer services that are designed to bookend the day with prayer) I have to admit to finding this an odd application. These services are designed to be read aloud, responsively. That is to say, in a call and response service with other people. So is everyone supposed to stand around with their own iPod and read from them? Books seem a more logical approach to this sort of thing. I have to admit I was a bit confused by how to use this effectively.

Prayers For those who like to have pre-written prayers on hand for their devotional time, this is a wonderful treasury of well written prayers.

Daily Readings Here is where the app shines. You can look up by day the RCL readings including hymnody and suggested readings from the Book of Concord. For any clergy who preach from the lectionary this is a wonderful resource to have in hand.

Raves: The Daily Readings are the reason to buy this app. By a long shot, any other function in this app would be as well served or better served in dead tree format. However, having a readily searchable data base of readings with suggested hymns and suggested prayers for worship is a real strong element.

Rants: The app costs $8.99. Bottom line, it costs too much. If I was not reviewing it, I would not have bought it. The price point puts this app in the top 5% cost wise in the iTunes store. But, it certainly lacks the flash and functionality of it's fellow expensive apps.

Let's be honest, this is a niche driven, long tail reliant app that will only appeal to a limited number of people. This is not a populist offering, nor was it meant to be. In fact, very little Concordia Publishing House does is crowd friendly. This is for serious traditionalists who want a serious app for serious prayer. I say that with no malice or judgement. I will use the app myself in my more serious moments. If traditional liturgical based devotions and prayer are your cup of tea, you will like this app.