Christian Prayers — Words, History and How to Pray Them

Prayers Christians have said for centuries, each with its text, where it came from, when to use it, and alternatives from across the tradition. None of them require you to feel ready.

• Morning Prayer
• Evening Prayer
• The Serenity Prayer
• The Jesus Prayer
• Prayer for Anxiety
• Prayer for Healing
• Prayer for Strength
• Prayer for Protection
• Prayer Before Surgery
• Night Prayer
• Prayer Before Meals
• The Prayer of St Francis
• The Apostles' Creed
• The Hail Mary
• Prayer for Guidance

Why use someone else's words

There is an old suspicion, mostly a Protestant one, that a written prayer is less sincere than an unscripted one. It does not survive contact with the Psalms, which are written prayers, or with the Lord's Prayer, which Jesus gave as a text when his disciples asked to be taught. What a set prayer does is carry you on the days you cannot generate anything: at a hospital bed, at four in the morning, at a graveside. You are not performing sincerity. You are borrowing words the Church has worn smooth, and meaning them.

The reverse is also true. A prayer said out of habit, at speed, while thinking about something else, is not improved by having a good pedigree. Most of the pages below therefore say when to pray the thing as well as what the words are — the timing usually matters more than the wording.

The shape most Christian prayer takes

Across every tradition, prayer tends to move through four motions, and it helps to know which one you are skipping. Adoration — saying something true about God before asking him for anything. Confession — naming what you have done rather than apologising in general. Thanksgiving — counting what has already arrived, which is the motion most often left out. Supplication — asking, specifically, for yourself and for other people. Most of us start at the fourth and stop there, which is why prayer starts to feel like a list of requests read to a ceiling.

You do not need to hit all four every time. But if prayer has gone flat, the usual reason is that three of them have quietly dropped out.

When you do not know what to say

Most prayer is not eloquent, and it is not supposed to be. Our guide on praying when words run out is the place to start, and how to pray covers the plain mechanics. For a shape to keep, the Lord's Prayer line by line is the model Jesus gave.

Prayer for a particular weight

Scripture gathered by situation, for the days when a set prayer is not the thing you need:

• Verses about anxiety
• Verses about grief
• Verses about healing
• Verses about fear
• Verses about hope
• Verses about strength

Keep going

• A prayer timer, so you are not watching the clock
• Ask for prayer, or pray for someone else
• Talk to a verified pastor or priest
• Single verses explained