Have you ever wanted to make an NFT of your prayer? Of course you haven’t. You’re normal. But, like so many things in our strange and confusing world, what people should want and what is actually available to us are two different things. Because now there’s a new service called Eternal Prayer that is promising to “commemorate your prayers for all of eternity on the blockchain.” And as a free “perk” of this service, will “mint a unique NFT for your prayer that you can keep forever.”

Why would anyone want to do this? Well, as with many things in the world of crypto, it’s really best to not start asking too many questions. The whole situation surrounding nonfungible tokens is one that can fall apart pretty easily no matter which thread you start pulling, and goes double for prayer-based NFTs. No matter how many grifters get into the crypto space — and plenty have — you can be sure that things get disproportionately grifty when you start mixing new tech with spiritual practice.

Because you don’t have to dig too deep into the details here before things start looking mighty sketchy.

Eternal Prayer tries to rope you into its web via simplicity. There are just three “easy” steps. “Submit your prayers to Eternal Prayer,” “We inscribe your prayer on the blockchain” and “You receive an NFT to honor your prayer.” Well, that all sounds easy. God doesn’t seem to be particularly involved but maybe that’s besides the point. It also doesn’t include much mention on how much any of this costs, but can you really put a price on eternifying your prayer on the blockchain? Yes, you can. It costs $20 per prayer, though you can currently get 15% off with code PRAY2JESUS.

That’s all very cringe as is, but we haven’t even gotten into the shady stuff. For starters, who is behind this? No idea. All the website says is that it is run by a “a Christian organization dedicated to spreading the Gospel and prayer with our community.”

It cites several testimonies of, uhh, let’s say, unconfirmed veracity. “Through the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:14–30, Jesus instructs us to invest our resources and time wisely and in a way that benefits The Kingdom of God,” says “John T” from Tennessee. “Jesus softened my heart to lift my prayer to Him permanently on the blockchain with Eternal Prayers. My heart takes solace that my prayers will live on until Judgement Day when we can be reunited in Heaven as one flock.”

Sure.

The prayers are limited to 250 words, and the “prayer process” (receiving the NFT) takes up to 24 hours, since each one is custom made. What does Eternal Prayer do with the prayers you just turned over? Well, we couldn’t find any language on the spartan website that said one way or the other. Nor could we find any contact info. The only options available to you are forking over $20 for your blockchain prayer and giving up an email address for the newsletter.

Exchanging money for a chance to get closer to God isn’t exactly new. Martin Luther was ranting about it all the way back in the 1500s, and of course the legacy of Prosperity Gospel is easy to spot on any late night channel surfing binge today. But new tech offers new opportunities for a con, and crypto is nothing if not ripe for rubes.

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