The end of the year is the perfect time to hit the refresh button—not to start new things, but to seek a deeper relationship with Jesus. Cultivating a habit of prayer is a great way to do that. Regular conversation with God amidst our busy schedules can be both energizing and freeing.
But where do we start? With so many prayer resources available, it can be overwhelming to choose. To make things simpler, here are five resources I’ve used in my personal life and in my ministry as a pastor. I hope they help you deepen your prayer life in 2025!
1. Every Moment Holy Prayer Journal-
- What it is: A journal that helps you build personal rhythms of practicing God's presence. It’s organized around themes and offers scripture prompts, pre-written prayers, and space for reflection.
- Why I like it: It’s versatile and offers a great balance between scripture, prayer prompts, and reflection questions, making it helpful for all levels of prayer experience. Whether you are new to praying without ceasing, or want a resource to help you go deeper, there isn’t a resource I would recommend higher. The journal is also well-crafted, aesthetically pleasing, and something you will want to pick up.
- Where it gets hard: The depth and number of components in each prompt—poetry, prayer, questions, and response space—can be time-consuming. If I don’t feel I have the time to fully engage, I hesitate to pick it up.
- Links: More Information | Amazon | Christianbooks
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- What it is: A free daily devotional app that helps you pray and meditate through the Bible, available on both Android and iPhone.
- Why I like it: Lectio 365 provides two short daily prayers, morning and evening, with a scripture focus. It’s accessible, easy to use, and beautifully designed. Lectio-365 is not only easy to use for its specific purpose, it’s elegant in its design. The audio is soothing and frankly delightful to listen to. I love using it on early morning walks, as it helps start my day with focus.
- Where it gets hard: Since it’s strictly an app on my phone, I sometimes get distracted by other notifications. I’m either reminded of something else I want to be doing on my phone or trick myself into believing I can read the news while listening to a prayer. It’s much easier to listen than to read, so when I want to read, not listen, I don’t open this app.
- Links: More Information | Android | iPhone
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- What it is: A collection of written prayers from the Puritans, saturated with scripture and designed for meditation or personalization.
- Why I like it: This book taught me how to structure prayers, helping me move beyond repetitive phrases. Often when I pray, I can get into a rut of praying the same general truths or asking the same petitions, which lack variety and definiteness. This book is theologically rich and scripturally grounded. It guides me through different seasons of prayer, helping me stay focused and intentional while giving me a breadth of language and themes to take with me through the day.
- Where it gets hard: The dated language can feel distant, requiring extra effort to adapt the prayers to modern life.
- Links: More Information | Amazon | Christianbooks
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- What it is: A beautifully designed prayer book offering prayers for various occasions and personal needs.
- Why I like it: The book’s thoughtful layout and range of prayers make it a joy to use. With more prayers than days in the year, it provides guidance and wisdom for all seasons, making it a reliable companion in prayer. I agree with how Jerram Barrs, a former seminary professor and mentor of mine, put it in his review, “Kari gives voice to the longings, hopes, fears and anxieties that exist in all of our hearts.” Mix this with the fact that there are more prayers offered than days of the year, what more could you want for a year of prayer?
- Where it gets hard: The sheer volume of prayers can be overwhelming. Sometimes I struggle with whether to read it cover to cover or skip around, which paralyzes me from picking it up.
- Links: More Information | Purchase
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- What it is: A digital daily prayer companion that is available either as an app or through their website.
- Why I like it: I must be honest, this one is new for me. But I’ve been encouraged by what I’ve seen and worked through so far. With many different prayer categories and options, the hope is to create a habit of prayer. It gets you straight into prayer and lowers the bar for how and what to pray. It’s intentionally designed like Spotify, which gives it a high score for usability. Want prayer before you fall asleep? Check. Prayer about being a more loving parent? Check. Prayer about how to go into work with a joyful and positive attitude? Check. I’m excited to see what this platform will do for my prayer life, maybe you should join me?
- Where it gets hard: It’s an app, so it comes with the same downsides as Lectio 365. Beyond that there is a paywall. The free version is plenty helpful, but if you want to go deeper and unlock some of the unique components it will cost you.
- Links: Pray.com | Android | iPhone
These resources are designed to meet you wherever you are in your prayer journey, offering practical and spiritual support for a richer prayer life in the coming year.
Looking for more, practical tips on how to transform your prayer life? Learn the practice and benefits of incorporating scripture into your prayer life.
