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Ancient Christian prayers

Find a prayer for what you’re facing. Christians have prayed these through the centuries. Each is here in plain English, beside its traditional words.

Picture: Isaac Levitan, Evening Bells, 1892

find a prayer for…

Illness and healing 5 prayers Sadness and depression 4 prayers Anxiety and fear 4 prayers Stress and overwhelm 4 prayers Grief and loss 5 prayers Financial stress and provision 3 prayers Wisdom and guidance 4 prayers Forgiving someone 4 prayers Protection from evil 4 prayers Gratitude and praise 5 prayers
All 108 situations

every situation

Worry, fear and sadness

11

When it is hard

9

To grow closer to God

9

Communion, feasts and fasts

6

Health and healing

8

When someone dies

10

Struggles and temptations

9

For the wider world

8

Through the day

15

For someone you love

12

Life’s big moments

11

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common prayers

The Lord’s Prayer The prayer Jesus taught, shared by Christians of every tradition. About 30 seconds The Jesus Prayer A few words calling on Jesus, said slowly again and again. To ChristA few seconds each time O Heavenly King Asks the Holy Spirit to come and dwell in us. To the Holy SpiritAbout 20 seconds The Trisagion Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal: a cry for mercy. To the Holy TrinityA few seconds Prayer of St Ephrem The Lenten prayer to see our own sins and not judge others. About a minute each time O gladsome Light An ancient hymn to Christ, the Light, sung as the sun goes down. To ChristAbout 30 seconds Prayer of the Optina elders A Russian monks’ prayer of the early 1900s, to meet the day calmly. About a minute Prayer of St Polycarp A martyr’s thanks to God, prayed at the stake about AD 155. About a minute
All 410 prayers

How the plain wording is made

Most of these prayers were first written in Greek or Church Slavonic. Their traditional English translations speak in “thee” and “thou”.

So each prayer here is given in our own plain English. It is made from the original words and checked against the traditional translations. Beside it stands a traditional translation, word for word as printed, except that every word for God takes a capital and no word for the devil does. Where the two differ in meaning, the page says why.

Every prayer names its source, its age and who is said to have written it, and says so plainly where that is only tradition.

One line of O Heavenly King, three ways
The Greek
ὁ πανταχοῦ παρών, καὶ τὰ πάντα πληρῶν
Traditional English, 1906
Who art in all places and fillest all things
Our plain English
You are everywhere and fill all things.
Quiz What prayer do you need right now? A few honest taps about where you are, and a prayer of the Church for exactly that. 8 questions, about 3 minutes. Start

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