Think of it as a party line with a holy purpose.

A local church, Bethesda Porch Family Worship Center, located at 162 S. Main St., has been administering a conference call-type prayer line for the past year or two, giving believers a virtual place to come together in prayer and supplication to God. The prayer line opens at 7 a.m. each day and provides a place where people can pray for one another, receive encouragement and bolster their faith.

It’s a high-tech take on any number of biblical commands regarding prayer, including this one: “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” (James 5:16 ESV)

There’s a popular Christian saying: Prayer changes things. Among the things that it changes is a believer’s attitude toward his or her Heavenly Father. When a follower of Jesus comes to understand that the God of the universe desires a relationship with His people and that the relationship is built through prayer, obedience and study of His word, prayer ceases to be a litany of requests and becomes communion with God Himself through His Son, Jesus Christ.

That kind of relationship is built through individual prayer, but it is also nourished through the connections Christians make with one another, and there is no truer path to close connections among Christians than shared prayers that come straight from broken hearts.

In this age of texting, Facebook and Twitter, the idea of sharing prayers through a conference call seems an obvious way to harness technology toward a holy purpose. To participate in the prayer line, call 605-475-4875 and enter code 186291#.