A guided Christian prayer you can pray right now: Psalm 46
This is day 1 of our 40-day prayer plan, written out in full so you can pray it from this page. It takes about ten minutes. You need no account and no email. A guided prayer is simply a prayer with a path: a moment to settle, a passage of scripture, a few thoughts on what it says, one question to carry, and words to pray when you have none of your own. Read it slowly, out loud if you can. If you would rather hear it, play day 1 read aloud.
Step 1: Settle (Come as you are)
Wherever you are right now, you can stop. Let your shoulders drop. Breathe in slowly, and let the breath go. You don't have to get ready for God. He is already here, closer than your next breath. Let's be quiet with him for a moment.
Step 2: Read the scripture (Psalm 46:1–3, 10)
1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we won’t be afraid, though the earth changes, though the mountains are shaken into the heart of the seas;
3 though its waters roar and are troubled, though the mountains tremble with their swelling. Selah.
10 “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted on the earth.”
Scripture is from the World English Bible, a modern public-domain translation. Read it once for the sound of it, then once more, slowly, and notice the word or phrase that stays with you.
Step 3: Think it over
Picture the kitchen before anyone else is up. The coffee maker ticks. The house is dark except for the light over the stove, and in an hour the day will start pulling at you from every side. Psalm 46 was written for days like that, and for much harder ones. Mountains shake. Waters roar. And the psalm doesn't say the trouble will stop. It says God is 'a very present help in trouble.' Present. Not waiting for you to calm down first. Then God speaks: 'Be still, and know that I am God.' Stillness here isn't a mood you have to produce. It's a turning. You stop holding everything up for a moment and remember who does. You can come to him today exactly as you are, tired, distracted, half awake.
A question to sit with: What are you holding up right now that God never asked you to carry alone?
Step 4: Pray
If you do not know what to say to God, you can pray these words and make them yours. Change anything that is not true for you today; the point is to be honest, not to be polished.
God, you are our refuge and our strength. You are not far off, watching from a distance. You are a very present help, here in this room, here in this hour. When the ground under us shifts, you do not shift. Thank you that I don't have to earn a place with you. You have already made room for me.
Lord, I'll be honest. Stillness is hard for me. My mind runs ahead to the list, the calls, the people who need something. Some of what I carry is heavy, and some of it I've been carrying as if it all depends on me. Here it is. I set it down in front of you. Teach me to be still and know that you are God.
Today, help me notice you in the ordinary minutes: the drive, the dishes, the conversation I'd rather avoid. When I feel the rush rising, remind me that you are with me. And be near to the people I love, especially anyone facing their own roaring waters this morning. Be their refuge too. Let them find in you a quiet place to stand. In Jesus' name, amen.
Step 5: Carry one line with you
Be still, and know that I am God.
Say it once more when the day starts to pull at you: at the sink, in the car, before a hard conversation. A single remembered line does more through a busy day than a long prayer you cannot recall.
How to use this prayer
- In the morning, before the house wakes. Light a lamp, read the passage, pray the words, and carry the line.
- At night. Read the question first, answer it in a sentence in your head or on paper, then pray.
- With a friend or your family. Read the verses aloud one at a time, pass the question around the table, and let one person read the prayer.
- With two minutes. Read Psalm 46:10 and say only the first sentence of the prayer: “God, you are our refuge and our strength.”
Common questions
Is this a Catholic or Protestant prayer?
It rests on scripture and the Apostles’ Creed (what we believe), and it is written for Protestant Christians, though anyone who prays to the God of the Bible is welcome to use it. We never ask for donations and we are not a church.
Do I have to sign up?
No. This page is free and complete. If you want the next 39 days, answer a few questions to build your 40-day prayer plan; the price is shown before you pay, and you can cancel in one tap.
Is this the whole plan?
No, it is day 1 of 40. Each later day has its own passage, reflection, question and prayer, read aloud and written out, in the same ten minutes.
More prayers and guides are on our prayer guides page.