Put Scripture before the scroll.

Prayer First is a Bible-first app blocker. It holds distracting apps until you open your Bible, read a physical Bible, or write a journal entry.

Free to start, with optional Power Pack features.
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QR code for Prayer First download options
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Prayer First Today screen with choices to open a Bible app, read a physical Bible, or write a journal entry
The Today screen on Android.
Why Prayer First

The first thing you reach for in the morning becomes the shape of your day.

Most of us reach for the feed. The thumb knows the way to Instagram, TikTok, X, Facebook — before the eyes are open. Twenty minutes gone, and the day has begun in someone else's noise.

Prayer First is the gate. A small lock on the apps that own your mornings — Instagram, TikTok, Reels, the rest. Try to open them, and Prayer First asks one thing first: scripture. Open your Bible app, read from a physical Bible, or write a short journal line. Then the world is yours again.

Not a guilt machine. Not a screen-time scold. Just a door, with a small key shaped like a verse.

a gentle gate, before the feed
§ II
How it works

Four small steps,
between you and the feed.

i.

Pick the apps

Instagram, TikTok, Reels, X, Facebook, YouTube — anything you'd rather not open first. Set them and forget the list.

ii.

Reach as usual

You wake, you grab the phone, your thumb finds Instagram. Prayer First steps in — a still screen instead of a feed.

iii.

Scripture first

Open your Bible app — YouVersion, Olive Tree, the one you already use — or start a quiet physical Bible timer. Prayer First counts either as your morning.

iv.

The gate opens

The lock lifts. Scroll if you must — but the first word of your day was God's, not the algorithm's.

§ III
What's inside

A small lock
with a beautiful key.

Blocks the feed

Instagram, TikTok, Reels, X, Facebook, YouTube, Snapchat. Protect as many apps as you like on the free plan, subject to platform limits.

Bible-app aware

Use YouVersion, Olive Tree, Logos, or the Bible app you already love. Read for the time you set, and Prayer First counts it as your key.

Or read your physical Bible

Have a paper Bible? Start the timer, set the phone down, and read. When the timer finishes, the gate lifts.

A verse for the day

A single line of scripture on the lock screen. Quiet, direct, and never a substitute for the reading itself.

§ IV
Trust & privacy

What Prayer First can see,
and what stays yours.

Prayer First asks for powerful phone permissions because blocking apps is powerful. The rule is simple: use those permissions for the morning gate, keep intimate data on-device, and say plainly where each platform behaves differently.

No hidden feed of your journal. No server copy of selected apps. No web tracker on this site. The product has to earn trust before it asks for discipline.

Local first

Your private pieces stay on your phone.

The shield list, daily unlock state, and journal entries are designed as local app state, not a remote profile of your morning.

  • Journal text and photos stay on your phone during normal use.
  • Tidy and Smart Topics process journal text on-device on supported Apple and Android devices.
  • Photos and images are never uploaded.
  • Your blocked-app list is never uploaded as a readable list.
  • Email is used for launch updates and account access.
Android

Android can enforce the firmest gate.

Android lets Prayer First detect when a chosen app opens and place the Prayer First shield in front of it until today's unlock is complete.

  • Requires Accessibility and usage-access permissions.
  • Can block ordinary apps you choose.
  • You can disable the rule in Android settings.
iOS

iOS uses Apple's Screen Time path.

iOS does not allow arbitrary foreground-app interception. Prayer First uses FamilyControls, DeviceActivity, and ManagedSettings instead.

  • Requires Apple's Screen Time authorization.
  • Uses opaque app/category tokens, not readable app names.
  • Shields selected apps through Screen Time APIs rather than Android-style foreground interception.
Limited anonymous mobile analytics may be used to understand onboarding and paywall health. Prayer First does not collect journal text, photos, selected app lists, foreground app names, Screen Time tokens, email inside analytics events, or raw referral codes.
§ VIII
App Store reviews

Built for a quieter first reach.

5-star reviews on the App Store. Read the listing.

“It has helped me build the habit of spending time with God first and starting my day with the right mindset.”

App Store review

“It’s clean, simple, and does exactly what it sets out to do without feeling overwhelming.”

App Store review

“Quiet time reflection on the daily verses takes pride of place on our agenda.”

App Store review
§ IX
Frequently asked

Questions, gently.

So Prayer First doesn't have its own readings or prayers?
Right. Prayer First isn't another Bible app — it's the small lock between you and the feed. We send you to your Bible app (YouVersion, Olive Tree, Logos, the one you already love), or let you use a physical Bible timer. The verse on the lock screen is a small daily nudge, not a substitute for the real thing.
Which apps can it block?
Ordinary apps you choose. We pre-list the usual suspects — Instagram, TikTok, Reels, X, Facebook, YouTube, Snapchat, Threads — and you can add other apps you want held until you've opened scripture. Android uses Accessibility Service and Usage Access; iOS uses Apple's Screen Time APIs, so the shielding experience is shaped by each platform.
How does the physical Bible unlock work?
Start the physical Bible timer, set the phone down, and read. When the timer completes, Prayer First marks the morning done and opens the feed for the day.
How do Android and iOS differ?
Android has the firmest overlay-style blocking path because it can use Accessibility Service and Usage Access for selected app detection. iOS uses Apple's Screen Time APIs, which means app selection uses opaque tokens and the shield behaves differently from Android foreground detection.
Is my data private?
Normal journal use stays on your phone. Tidy and Smart Topics use on-device AI on supported Apple and Android devices; journal text stays on the device for this processing. Photos and images are never uploaded. Selected blocked apps are not uploaded as a readable list, and foreground app names are not sent in analytics. We use email for launch updates and may use limited anonymous mobile analytics for onboarding and paywall health. We don't sell or share your data.

All questions

§ X
From the maker

A note on why
this exists.

I built Prayer First because I couldn't stop scrolling. I'd wake up, reach for Instagram before the eyes were open, and lose forty minutes to a feed I didn't enjoy and didn't remember by lunch. I tried screen-time apps. I tried hiding the phone in another room. I tried sheer willpower. None of it stuck.

What worked, eventually, was a tiny rule. Before Instagram, scripture. Even a page. Even a verse. After a few weeks, the order of my morning had quietly flipped. So I built the rule into the phone — a small lock with a small key, so the right thing was easier than the wrong thing.

I'm one person, building this slowly. If you sign up, you'll hear from me directly — not a marketing team, not a chatbot.

With care, in the early hours — BRIAN