Rejoice always, ¹⁷ pray without ceasing, ¹⁸ give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18

The creator of a fake prayer website, which sold prayers to customers for payment, has been forced to pay restitution of up to $7.5 million to customers he swindled. Benjamin Rogovy, from Seattle, created the for-profit company Christian Prayer Centre (CPC) which sold prayers to 125,000 customers for $9-$35 per prayer.

Rogovy created a fake pastor named John Carlson who allegedly ran the website. Rogovy even created a LinkedIn profile for Carlson, describing him as “Senior Pastor, Christian Prayer Centre, January 2009-present.” Rogovy also used the name Eric Johnston as a supposed leader of the company.

The website included "fictitious testimonials from consumers using stock photos that claimed they successfully prayed to avoid home foreclosure, deliver a healthy baby, win the lottery, obtain negative results of an HIV test and put cancer into remission." Rogovy is being forced to pay back all the money he took under false pretences to the victims of the scam.

I was shocked, no stunned to read this story. Doesn’t everyone know that prayers are free? Apparently not. As Christians we should not only be praying at all times but sharing with people the power that is available to all freely. Have you told shared the power of praying with someone lately? Think about it, prayers are not expensive because Jesus has already paid the cost.

‘Just a prayer away’ is sung by Jaci Velasquez. Click on the picture to listen.