Lampada
Articles
Notes on personal prayer: how to pray, keep a prayer journal, and return to what mattered.
-
Thanksgiving Prayer in Your Own Words: How to Thank God, Even When It’s Hard
A thanksgiving prayer in your own words means naming something specific for God: a person, a day, light in a window. A prayer of thanks needs no special words and no joy on demand; you can thank God even in the middle of pain. With the stories of Alexander Schmemann, James Fraser of Brea, Francis Asbury and John Newton.
-
Quiet Time with God: How to Listen in Silence — and Test What You Hear
Quiet time with God is time alone with Him when you don’t only talk but also fall silent. “Hearing God” usually means noticing His presence, recalling a word of Scripture or seeing the truth about yourself rather than hearing a voice, and anything you “hear” is tested by Scripture, other people and time. Stories of Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh, George Fox and the hermit Nikifor, and what contemplative, centering and breath prayer are.
-
Praying for Others: How to Pray for Someone
Praying for others (intercessory prayer) means bringing a real person to God: you say their name, tell Him honestly how they are doing and ask Him to help them without dictating how. With the stories of Newman Hall, Hudson Taylor, John of Kronstadt, Ambrose of Optina and Elizabeth Wheaton.
-
Rule of Prayer: What It Is, How to Choose Your Own and What to Do When It Isn’t Working
A rule of prayer is the set of prayers you say every day, usually in the morning and evening. A short rule for beginners and lay people, St. Seraphim’s rule with the texts of the prayers, the Daily Office, and how to find a measure that fits your life. With the stories of Hilarion Alfeyev, Macarius of Optina, Abbot Nikon Vorobyov and the desert monk Paul.
-
Prayer for Healing: Short Prayers for the Sick and How to Pray in Your Own Words
A prayer for healing can be as short as “Lord, the one You love is sick,” followed by the person’s name. Tell God what is wrong and what you are asking for, and pray alongside medical treatment, not instead of it. With the stories of Elder John of Valaam, David Brainerd and Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh, who was once a doctor.
-
Prayer for Anxiety: A Short Prayer, Psalm 23 and How to Pray When You’re Anxious
A short prayer for anxiety can be as simple as “Lord, have mercy” or a line from a psalm; Psalm 23 is printed here in full. When borrowed words don’t fit, tell God exactly what you are afraid of. With the stories of Anthony of Optina, Julian of Norwich, Hudson Taylor and Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica.
-
The Examen Prayer: A Gentle Way to Look Back on Your Day with God
The examen is a short prayer in which you look back over your day with God: you give thanks, ask for light, go back over the day, ask forgiveness and, with God’s grace, resolve to do better. Ignatius of Loyola’s five steps, how to pray the examen tonight, and the stories of Hester Ann Rogers, Dorotheus of Gaza and John Woolman.
-
How to Focus During Prayer: What to Do When Your Mind Wanders
Everyone gets distracted during prayer, even the saints. Don’t scold yourself; calmly come back with a short “Lord, help me,” familiar words of Scripture and fewer words of your own. The stories of Teresa of Ávila, Edward Pusey, Abbess Arsenia and Brother Lawrence.
-
Daily Prayer Routine: When to Pray, How Long and How to Make It a Habit
To build a daily prayer routine, tie prayer to something that already happens every day: waking up, meals, the commute, bedtime. Start with a few minutes you can set aside even on a difficult day, and after a missed day come back without beating yourself up. How long to pray and how to pray in the morning, with the stories of John Paton’s father, Andrew Bonar, Abbess Taisia and Rachele Guardini.
-
Praying Scripture: How a Psalm Becomes Your Prayer and a Passage Your Answer
To pray Scripture is to borrow a psalm’s words when you have none of your own, and to bring your question to the Bible by reading a whole passage rather than guessing from a random line. How to pray the Psalms, with the stories of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Athanasius the Great, Augustine and Thomas Boston.
-
How to Keep a Prayer Journal: What to Write, Paper or App
A prayer journal is a set of short notes on what you brought to God, what you asked for and what happened next. How to start one, what to write and how to read it back, with prompts and the stories of George Müller, Henry Martyn, Eugénie de Guérin, Barsanuphius of Optina and Theodosius of Karoulia.
-
How to Do Lectio Divina: Reading Scripture Slowly as Prayer
Lectio divina (“divine reading”) is a way of praying with Scripture: read a short passage slowly, stay with the word that catches you, consider what it is saying to you, answer God in your own words and rest with Him in silence. With the stories of Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh, Guigo the Carthusian, Hannah Whitall Smith and Enzo Bianchi.
-
What to Pray About: Prayer Topics and Questions to Ask
What to pray for: the people around you, your work and needs, thanksgiving and confession, and the Lord’s Prayer as a map of topics, plus a prayer list with a question for each. Stories of Silouan of Athos, Robert Murray M’Cheyne, Simone Weil, and Barsanuphius and John.
-
How to Start Praying in Your Own Words
How to start praying: talk to God about what is on your heart right now, in ordinary words. No perfect formula needed. Stories of Silvio Pellico, Rosalind Goforth, Thérèse of Lisieux and Theophan the Recluse.