How To Use Prayer Groups

Prayer groups are online communities of Be Still users who share prayers.  Each prayer group, often called simply a group, has a name and a purpose.  Every member of a group can create new prayers in the group, and then all other members of that group see those prayers and can include them in their own prayer times. 

Only prayers that you create in a group can be seen by other Be Still users.  Prayers that you create yourself on your My Prayers list are always private and visible only to you. 

Each group has one admin, who creates the group and supervises the members and prayers in that group.  All other Be Still users can join the group as members.   

You cannot be both the admin and a member of a group.  You are either the admin, who creates and manages the group, or a member, who joins an existing group and reads the prayers that other group members can post.  

Many Be Still users use groups only as members and never become admins of new groups.   

As a member of a group, you typically do these things: 

  • Find and join a prayer group.  Before you join a group, you must know its name or its key attributes, such as location, church, or admin name.   

You often learn about the existence of a group by some means outside of Be Still.  For example, a prayer team could announce the name of a new group, or a circle of friends could agree to start a new group, or a Bible study class could notify class members by email about a group for the class.  You can search all Be Still groups by name or key attribute, so it’s easy to find a group even if you’re not sure of its exact name. 

When you find a group, you can join it.  Depending on how the admin created the group, you can either join the group instantly, or you can request to join the group.  The group admin will then review your request and either approve it or deny it.  

  • View prayers in the group.  After you join a group, you can view all the prayers that other members have added to that group.  These prayers appear in a list that is similar to your own My Prayers list.  You cannot edit prayers in groups or change their status unless you created the prayer or are the admin of that group. 
  • Follow and unfollow prayers.  Sometimes a prayer in a group will be especially interesting to you.  You may optionally follow the prayer, which causes Be Still to include the prayer in your personal My Prayers list.  It then appears during your prayer time like all the other prayers in your My Prayers list.  In addition, you will be alerted if the prayer is updated or changes status. 
  • Create new prayers in the group.  You can create new prayers in any group of which you are a member.  These prayers become visible to all other members of the group, who may then follow them on their own My Prayers list. 
  • Flag a prayer as inappropriate.  If you encounter a prayer in a prayer group with inappropriate content, you may mark or flag the prayer as inappropriate.  This can happen if the prayer is posted to the wrong group or it violates someone’s privacy.  The group admin will be immediately notified and alerted and can review the prayer and then edit it or delete it altogether. 
  • Leave a group.  You may leave a group at any time.  Any prayers you have followed from the group will be withdrawn from your My Prayers list.  You will no longer see any prayers in that group, even prayers that you added to that group..  If you wish, you may rejoin the group later. 

On the other hand, if you ever choose to become the admin of a group, you typically perform these actions: 

  • Create a group.  You select a name and purpose of a new group and then create it.  The new group can be found by any Be Still user who searches for it by its name.   
  • Approve new join requests.  If you created a group that requires explicit approval of new members, you will be notified and alerted when a new member sends a request to join the group.  You can then approve or deny the request based on the prospective member’s email address.  
  • Supervise members.  You can review the roster of group members and expel any member whose membership is no longer appropriate for the group. 
  • Delete a group.  If the group is no longer needed, you may delete the group and all its prayers. 

Admins can also follow prayers and create new prayers within the group.  However, an admin of a group may not leave that group.  An admin who wishes to leave a group must delete the group, and another Be Still user must re-create it as its new admin.