Lecrae says prayer is everything, partners with app to help Christians grow stronger in faith
Platinum-selling recording artist Lecrae has partnered with the Christian app Pray.com and says difficult times remind believers just how important prayer is in life.
The Reach Records founder is a new brand ambassador for the Pray.com app that grew in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic when most houses of worship were forced to close.
Launched in 2017 to help people stay connected with their faith, Pray.com is described as the world’s No. 1 app for Christians. Those behind the app "do some impactful work," Lecrae told The Christian Post in a recent interview.
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"They really take their time and energy to make sure the resources are right,” he said. “We have similar visions; they want to do good in this world. There are narrated stories. I did one called ‘Hope in a Dark World.’ It's a bedtime Bible story, so I'm going to read you to sleep. And [there are] just a ton of different things along those lines that help parents and families share lessons with their kids about having faith in tough times.”
Lecrae revealed that during the pandemic, he was forced to press into his own faith.
"Not being able to be at our local church put a lot of onus on me to really process how we're going to develop our kids because our church wasn't doing a live stream of youth services at the time. I had to really get creative and step up,” the father of three added. "I learned a lot about communicating to these kids and helping them understand things.
"Prayer is everything,” he declared. “I'm a firm believer that God is near the brokenhearted. So when you're going through tough times, God is near. I have a little model of the temple that existed in Israel. And I have [it] because it's a reminder that this is how serious the believers in God took their faith that they would build this temple, and they believed His presence was felt in this temple.
“For me now, knowing that I'm the temple and the Spirit of God lives in me, I can access God at any given moment. It's a massive thing,” Lecrae added. “That's been huge for me. Being able to do that is massive. So prayer is super important.”
Reaching more than 10 million people worldwide, The New York Times bestselling author says the app is for any and everybody, regardless of your denomination or views. Along with daily prayers and a free radio stream, the app features content that listeners can subscribe to for $7.99 a month and includes content from pastors, podcasts and bedtime Bible stories.
"It's an opportunity for you to pray; it's an opportunity for you to talk [to God], because some people don't even know where to begin,” Lecrae told CP. “I like the verse that says the Spirit intercedes for us because sometimes we don't even know where to start. This app is a good opportunity to just say, 'Hey, let us pray with you. Let us pray for you. Let us give you some things to think through.'”
Lecrae said that the app is also intended to get people in the discipline of prayer: “Some people just don't have that muscle, and so this is a helpful way to start that.”
In the midst of the pandemic and chaos of that time, Lecrae said he and his wife, Darragh, prayed about how to lead and encourage their children.
"It's wild because our kids are ... Zooming to go to school, they're not able to go outside for a season ... they're processing racial issues. So for me, I thought it was really important to keep them in the know; it's important for them to understand what was going on,” the Grammy Award winner said. "Typically, my kids wouldn't be watching the news with me or watching all these different series. But now we're just having to do that because they need to understand what's going on as much as I do.
"We had a lot of good, strong talks,” he added. “At the time, they were 8, 11, and 12, so it was a lot of heavy conversation that had to be had. But it was good, and God showed up in those times.”
Lecrae and his Reach Records team are now on the road for their We Are Ashamed tour. But before the tour began, the label parted ways with artist Gawvi after he was accused of sending unsolicited, explicit photos to women while he was married.
Lecrae said he and his team have stayed close in the midst of that unforeseen scandal, and he prays that Gawvi and everyone involved would find “restoration” in God.
"We're consistently praying for him and everyone involved in what happened," Lecrae said. "I do believe that no one is too far from God to find restoration, so that's our prayer, that everyone in that circumstance will be restored.
"It's been good being on the road because we're together. We're together and we are encouraging one another daily,” he maintained. “The younger artists are growing and getting time with the veterans and learning so much. So it's really exciting because it's just looking at what we're eventually passing the torch to, the next generation of artists, so it's really exciting.”
Along with being on tour, Lecrae is working on his next music release, Church Clothes 4 and writing two books.
"I've been working. I'm working on another book that I've finished and it's some expressive thoughts about different things and then I'm working on another one.”
Lecrae concluded his interview reflecting on the blessings of all of his successes.
"I'm grateful, every minute is a blessing to just be able to be a voice in this way and I don’t want to take a single minute for granted,” the “Blessings” performer ended. “I'm trying to celebrate more. I don't celebrate enough, and so just trying to be like, 'Man, God, thank you for these little milestones and just being grateful for that.”
Jeannie Ortega Law is a reporter for The Christian Post. Reach her at: jeannie.law@christianpost.com She's also the author of the book, What Is Happening to Me? How to Defeat Your Unseen Enemy Follow her on Twitter: @jlawcp Facebook: JeannieOMusic
