Right From The Knees
14 March 2008Do you have needs and issues in your life that need prayer? Of course you do. We all do. Unfortunately, our society prides itself on being self-sufficient. Having to ask for help—especially asking for prayer—is seen as a sign of weakness. Yet, we know we need to pray, and we know we need people to pray for us.
We know that our prayer life is an important component of our daily walk with God, but sometimes it’s difficult to find a safe place to share your request and know that people will care enough to actually pray for you. There are many needy people walking around pretending to not need anything, but many people would love to pray for you if they knew your needs.
It’s for that reason that this week at Right From The Heart, we launched a brand new prayer community web site called Right From The Knees. You can post your prayer requests, and real people are waiting to pray for you, waiting to lift you up and support you. I know first hand since I posted this request, and it’s been encouraging to know that people are praying for my request.
I do believe in prayer. I believe that prayer makes a difference for the one being prayed for, but just as much (if not more) for the one doing the praying. God is mighty, but He is also mysterious. We don’t always understand why He quickly answers some prayers, but seems to be silent at other times. He promises to meet your needs, though sometimes instead of meeting a surface need, He meets a need that is much deeper and more profound. He’s not always predictable, but he’s always reliable, and always on time.
It’s a shame to walk around pretending to not need anything, when there are many people would love to pray for you if they only knew your needs. To share your request, and pray for someone today (like my request perhaps), go to www.rightfromtheknees.org and take a minute to sign up for a free account.
Work Done
Design
The user interface is visually simple and clean. It uses very few images, but it focuses on keeping nice grid, typography, and spacing, using horizontal rules to separate content areas.
Development
The backend of the site is built on the always-reliable PHP scripting language and a postgreSQL database. When users of the site post a request or a prayer, their data is sent to the database without a page refresh. This technology called AJAX, allows sites like this—that are more like web applications than web sites—to function very smoothly and quickly to the end user.
Core Features of the Site
- Users login with their own account and can update their public profile, including uploading a profile photo.
- When praying for a request, you can write out your prayer and have it posted (much the same way that the comments on a blog work) or you can leave a “prayer ping,” which is a the online equivalent of touching someone on the shoulder and tell them that you prayed for them.
- The ability for users to flag requests or prayers that aren’t appropriate.
- Users can edit their prayer requests and post updates to their prayer request.
- Users can keep a prayer list.
- RSS feeds for all requests, all prayers and an individual feed for each request so you can track the prayers for that request.
- Invite a Friend
- A search tool for the site
Screenshot
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