A poster of the praying hands emoji has popped up in many home windows in Devon. 

Rediscover Church in Exeter encouraged their members to do it to let people know they are praying for the coronavirus crisis. 

Nigel Williams, associate pastor of the church told Premier many people say it's sparked a conversation about faith and prayer with their neighbours. 

"I printed mine out and put it in my window and within five minutes I had an Amazon delivery.

"He knocks on the door, puts the parcel on the floor and steps back. I went to get the parcel and he said, 'What are you praying about?' 
And I said, 'I'm praying for our nation in this time, believing that God can make a difference'.

"And I said, 'Do you pray?' He said,' I've never prayed in my life'. So I said, 'What would you like me to pray for you about?' And he said, 'Well, I suppose I'd like to make sure that me and my family are safe and well', I said, 'Okay, I'm going to pray for that now'.

"What a wonderful opportunity that would have never happened if we weren't displaying that we're praying people."

The church was inspired to start the initiative a month ago after seeing rainbow posters in windows in support of the NHS.

Mark Pugh, lead pastor of Rediscover Church, said: "Since the lockdown began, more people have been exploring big questions about their lives and faith. I understand more people are searching Google about prayer and recent research has found that 1 in 4 adults have visited a church online. The Christian message is one of good news and while our buildings may be closed the church certainly isn't. These praying hands posters are just one way of letting our communities know we are trusting in God and praying for them at this time."

You can download the posters to print here.

Listen to Premier's interview with Nigel Williams here: