Words for prayer
Prayers for the life you are actually living
Use these prayers as a beginning, then change the words until they tell the truth about your own life. Each page includes scripture, context, and a practical next step.
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Put a personal prayer into your own words
Choose a need, add one sentence of your own, and edit the finished prayer before you copy, print, or download it.
34 guides
The prayer Jesus taught
The Lord's Prayer
The prayer Jesus taught, in full. Traditional and King James wording, why some churches add "For thine is the kingdom," and how to pray it when you feel nothing.
Read the guideA prayer most Catholics learn before they can read
The Our Father
The words in full, plus the answers nobody gave you: which Rosary bead it belongs to, where it falls at Mass, and why some people keep going past deliver us from evil.
Read the guideA prayer assembled over five centuries
The Hail Mary
The full Hail Mary, then the honest part: which lines Gabriel and Elizabeth really said, who added the rest, and what to do if you are asked to pray it.
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A short prayer with a long paper trail
The prayer to Saint Michael
The St Michael prayer in full, in English and Latin, the vision story nobody can find a source for, why it left Mass in 1965, and when fear needs a doctor.
Read the guideThe words most Christians still say together
The Nicene Creed
The full Nicene Creed in traditional English, what each line is actually claiming, and why one word in it still divides East and West. Free to read and copy.
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A short prayer for mercy
How to pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet
The seven minute prayer people reach for at a hospital bedside. Every bead in order, the three o'clock hour, the novena, and the opening prayers in full.
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Prayer for a hard season
A prayer for healing
A sincere prayer for healing, with Bible passages and words for illness, pain, medical treatment, caregiving during recovery, and an uncertain future.
Read the guideSorrow you can put into words
The Act of Contrition
Pray the traditional Act of Contrition tonight, in the old words or your own. What each line means, whether it forgives sin, and what still needs a priest.
Read the guideA prayer you can hold
How to pray the rosary
Pick up the beads tonight and finish your first rosary. Which bead comes next, which mysteries belong to today, and what to do when your mind drifts.
Read the guideA question asked in good faith
Catholic vs Christian
Catholics are Christians. The comparison most people want is Catholic and Protestant, and here is where those two differ, in each side's own words.
Read the guideAt the close of the day
A night prayer
A peaceful night prayer for gratitude, forgiveness, worry, family, and sleep, with Bible passages and a short bedtime practice.
Read the guideWhen you have little left
A prayer for strength
A prayer for strength when you are tired, grieving, afraid, or carrying too much, with Bible passages and practical next steps.
Read the guideThe prayer that closes a psalm
The Glory Be
Ten seconds long, sixteen centuries old. The Glory Be in traditional English and Latin, what world without end really means, and where it falls in the Rosary.
Read the guideTraditional Marian prayer
The Memorare
The full Memorare, short enough to say right now. Then the honest history: the St Bernard printed on the holy card is almost certainly the wrong Bernard.
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A famous prayer with a borrowed name
The Prayer of St. Francis
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. The whole prayer, including the two lines most cards drop, plus the honest answer about who wrote it and when.
Read the guideWhen your mind will not settle
A prayer for anxiety
A gentle prayer for anxiety, with grounding steps and Bible passages for an uncertain day, including support for panic and racing thoughts.
Read the guideConfession without hiding
A prayer for forgiveness of sins
A prayer for forgiveness of sins, with Bible passages about confession, grace, responsibility, practical repair, and making an honest change.
Read the guideA quiet beginning
A good morning prayer
A good morning prayer for gratitude, wisdom, work, family, and the day ahead, with Bible passages and a simple five-minute prayer rhythm.
Read the guidePeace with truth
A prayer for peace
A prayer for peace in your mind, relationships, community, and world, with Bible passages and practical steps toward peace.
Read the guideNo polished language required
How to pray
Learn how to pray with simple words, scripture, silence, and the Lord's Prayer, with honest examples and a practical way to begin today.
Read the guideRepentance and faith
The sinner's prayer
Understand the sinner's prayer, use a simple prayer of repentance and faith, and learn why Christian traditions describe this moment differently.
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Prayer for someone you love
A prayer for my husband
A thoughtful prayer for your husband, with Bible passages and words for his health and work, his faith and relationships, and your marriage.
Read the guideFor the people closest to you
A prayer for family
A prayer for family through ordinary life, conflict, distance, illness, and change, with Bible passages and practical reflection.
Read the guideA prayer from the fourteenth century
The Anima Christi
The Anima Christi in full, English and Latin, what inebriate me is actually asking for, and why the prayer Ignatius prayed daily was written before he was born.
Read the guideWhen someone you love is sick
A healing prayer for a friend
A healing prayer for a friend who is sick, with Bible passages, a message worth texting tonight, and what to say when they are not getting better.
Read the guideWhen the situation has stopped moving
A prayer to St. Jude
The full traditional novena to St. Jude, the apostle you reach for when nothing else has worked, and what to do if day nine comes and nothing has moved.
Read the guideA prayer that marks the hours
The Angelus
The full Angelus printed straight through so you can just pray it, plus the three hours it keeps, what the nine bell strokes count, and why a missed hour is fine.
Read the guideWhen something has you afraid
A prayer for protection
A prayer for protection you can say out loud tonight, with the Psalms people reach for when they are afraid, and the numbers to call in real danger.
Read the guideFor the hours you are awake
A prayer for sleep
A prayer for sleep you can say out loud at two in the morning, with Bible passages for a racing mind and honest help when the nights keep repeating.
Read the guideWhen you cannot watch everyone
A prayer for family protection
A prayer for family protection you can say out loud over your house, plus the Psalms to read and what to do when the danger is inside.
Read the guideFor a parent still awake
A prayer for my son
A prayer for your son you can say out loud tonight, with Bible passages for his safety, his choices, and the years you cannot walk for him.
Read the guideWhen God feels far away
How to get closer to God
How to get closer to God when he feels distant: a small daily practice, a prayer you can say tonight, and Bible passages that start where you are.
Read the guideWhen you feel unseen
A prayer for loneliness
A short prayer for loneliness, scripture references, and practical ways to reach a real person or faith community today.
Read the guideWhen you need a real person
How to ask a pastor for help
A plain first message, questions for choosing a safe pastor, and ways to prepare for a pastoral conversation when words are hard.
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