Prayer is totally free. However, according to a nonprofit group that is pushing for free prayer, accessing prayer lines through conference call services via one of the largest mobile carriers in the U.S. isn't free.
Freedom to Pray, a nonprofit organisation launched last month to protect the people's right to pray, says T-Mobile is charging subscribers an extra amount per minute for joining prayer conference calls.
According to a petition started by the organisation, despite T-Mobile's offering of the "first unlimited subscription" that doesn't have any surcharge, bogus fees or other taxes, subscribers are being charged $0.01 per minute for simply joining prayer lines through conference call services such as FreeConferenceCall.com. Tens of thousands of callers to prayer lines have been affected, and many are getting discouraged.
T-Mobile considers these conference call services "out-of-plan" phone numbers that "tend to cost more" for the calls to be completed. It requires that subscribers pay an extra fee so that the carrier can manage these costs.
The carrier said it doesn't want to surprise subscribers with extra charges, and will warn all subscribers of additional charges should they dial an out-of-plan number. It also said the charges can be avoided by simply hanging up.
Freedom to Pray, however, says with this setup, thousands of subscribers are forced to pay to access prayer lines, adding that the carrier cuts off a "spiritual lifeline" from those who cannot afford to pay the extra charges.
An expert reportedly even considers T-Mobile's policy as a war on prayer.
Kay Horner, the executive director of The Helper Connection & Awakening America Alliance, told The Christian Post that while corporations do make conference calls, these don't take much time and are not consistent in terms of schedules. Accessing 24/7 prayer lines, on the other hand, will require more minutes and can be done at any time.
"They appear to be targeting the faith-based prayer lines," she said.
Freedom to Pray's petition to #KeepPrayerFree has reached more than 1,800 signatures as of writing time. It needs nearly 700 more signatures for the petition to be submitted to the carrier. Those who want to sign up and support this move to promote liberty in prayer can do so here.
