These soulful and introspective poems delve into the act of prayer as a form of spiritual communication. They explore the connection between the individual and the divine, expressing hopes, gratitude, and seeking guidance.
These verses may contemplate the transformative power of prayer, its ability to bring solace in times of hardship, and the sense of unity it fosters among believers.
Poets use language to convey the intimate and sacred nature of prayer, inviting readers to find their own connection to the divine and explore the depths of their spirituality through heartfelt words.
‘Sonnet XIX’ by John Donne depicts the poet’s struggle with faith. He varies, he says, from moments of deep devotion to those of disregard and forgetfulness.
Prayer in the poem is both a means of seeking divine favor and a reflection of Donne's fluctuating devotion. The poem highlights its role as a bridge between humans and the divine.
Kilmer’s ‘Trees’ marvels at nature’s beauty, declaring trees as divine art surpassing human creation, in simple yet profound couplets.
Prayer is personified in ‘Trees’, where the tree is described as ‘lifting her leafy arms to pray.’ This imagery highlights its spiritual connection to God, portraying it as a living worshipper. Kilmer uses the tree as a metaphor for unbroken devotion, presenting nature as inherently sacred and capable of expressing gratitude and reverence to the divine.
‘A Prayer for my Son,’ written from the perspective of a father who wants to protect his son against all odds during the brewing war in Ireland. Read the poem with a complete analysis.
The father's constant prayers for his son's safety show how important prayer is for comfort and protection. Yeats shows the father using prayer to express his fears and hopes. Prayer is a way to seek help when feeling helpless. It provides emotional and spiritual reassurance. Prayer is a source of comfort and strength.
‘Prayer’ by Zaffar Kunial explores love, faith, and family ties through simple yet powerful language, inspiring gratitude for parents’ support.
'Prayer' explores the role and limits of prayer. The speaker begins with his father’s words, “Allah hu Akbar,” which immediately connects the poem to a spiritual sense. This sets prayer not just as a ritual but as something deeply personal. The reference to George Herbert’s 'Prayer'—where prayer is seen as a natural, life-giving force—adds another layer. In Kunial’s poem, prayer becomes a source of hope, something the speaker turns to for comfort and solace.
‘A Prayer’ by James Joyce is a bemoaning poem that agonizes over love’s overwhelming capacity to instill both great passion and dreadful misery upon those afflicted with it.
As the title suggests, the speaker's words unfold as a prayer, one that's possibly addressed to their beloved. This is ironic for a number of reasons, not least of all because this person is a source of both great comfort and anguish. Ultimately, the purpose of their prayer is to articulate their surrender, relinquishing their will to their lover.
Again!
Come, give, yield all your strength to me!
From far a low word breathes on the breaking brain
Written in the form of a prayer, ‘O Lord, Our Father,’ is a poem in which Mark twain takes aim at the horror of war as well as the idea of religion being used to support war. War and religion were two subjects that Twain was a regular critic of and he turns his full anger on them in this poem.
This poem is told in the form of a prayer. The main character in the poem, the narrator, is saying a prayer calling for their soldiers to be protected while also calling for terrible things to happen to the soldiers on the other side. The poet doesn't see any irony in their prayer that they can call for mercy and kindness while also praying for death and violence for their enemies.
‘Upon A Wasp Chilled With Cold’ sees the narrator observing the natural world in the first half and the second half is almost in the form of a prayer as he hopes to be able to continue seeing God’s work around him and to feel God’s loving influence.
The second half of this poem is written almost as if it was a prayer. It begins by invoking the name of God and beseeching him to help the author to do what they want to do in devotion to him. The poet wants to feel God's love just as the wasp felt the warm sun. He hopes that he will continue to be able to see God's work around him.
‘Hymn on the Morning of Christ’s Nativity’ by John Milton masterfully unveils divine serenity amid earthly chaos, fusing theology with poetic brilliance.
‘Hymn on the Morning of Christ's Nativity’ subtly addresses prayer through its reverence for the divine. The poem's tone, akin to a devotional hymn, reflects a prayerful attitude. The imagery and descriptions of the nativity event serve as a form of spiritual communion, inviting readers to join in contemplative prayer. Through its sacred themes and solemn tone, the poem engages with prayer by drawing readers into a meditative, reverent state.
‘Some keep the Sabbath going to Church –’ is one of Emily Dickinson’s best-known poems. It features the poet’s growing disbelief regarding the customary Christian rituals and her intention to seek salvation without resorting to the conventional means.
The poem suggests that prayer does not have to follow a strict format or take place in a church. The speaker does not pray in the traditional sense but still feels a connection to God. She believes that true prayer is not about rituals but about sincerity. Her way of worship is quiet and natural, showing that prayer is more about personal devotion than following specific religious practices.
‘Matins [Not the sun merely]’ by Louise Glück wonders if god, like humanity, experiences the reverential delight of nature’s splendor.
The poem's title alludes to the dawn prayer and liturgical hour observed in the Christian faith. As a result, the poem resembles a kind of poetic prayer, one the speaker uses to contemplate god's behavior, role, and capacity for sentiment. This is an important detail, as it means that these are words of faith, spoken in earnest hope but still subject to doubt.
‘Prayers of Steel’ by Carl Sandburg is an original poem. In it, the poet focuses on the imagined dreams of steel.
The steel's repeated prayers to God show its deep need for guidance and transformation. Prayer is a way of expressing hope, faith, and desire for a better future. The steel's prayers highlight its belief in divine intervention. This topic reflects the spiritual aspect of seeking help from a higher power. It's about the power of prayer in finding purpose and direction.
Lay me on an anvil, O God.
Beat me and hammer me into a steel spike.
Drive me into the girders that hold a skyscraper together.
Take red-hot rivets and fasten me into the central girders.
‘I wake and feel the fell of dark, not day’ by Gerard Manley Hopkins tells of a speaker’s suffering as he tries to understand the role of God in his life.
Prayer is something the speaker turns to again and again, even though it often feels pointless. He describes his cries for help as “dead letters,” showing just how hopeless his prayers have become. Even though he keeps reaching out, he never gets a reply, and that silence only adds to his pain. The act of praying itself becomes a reminder of his loneliness and how far away he feels from God.
I wake and feel the fell of dark, not day.
What hours, O what black hours we have spent
This night! what sights you, heart, saw; ways you went!
‘i thank You God for most this amazing’ by E.E. Cummings is addressed to God and expresses a speaker’s thanks for being allowed to exist in the world.
The poem feels like a personal prayer where the speaker takes time to thank God for everything they have. Instead of asking for anything, they focus only on appreciation. Their words are filled with a sense of devotion, as if they are fully aware of God’s presence in their life. The poem itself feels like a moment of reflection and connection with something greater.
‘O friends,’ by Mirabai is a deeply poignant poem that wrestles exhaustingly with a yearning heartache.
Since this poem is a devotional addressed to Krishna, it can be seen as a form of prayer. Many similar works are attributed to Mirabai and are still sung today, speaking to the timelessness of their expressions. This poem unfolds as a prayer to be reunited with Krishna so that the speaker's heartbreak can be healed.
‘Johannes Agricola in Meditation’ by Robert Browning features the various beliefs about salvation the titular character was known for during his life.
While not directly about prayer, the references to religious figures like monks and nuns hint at acts of devotion and the potential futility of such rituals if one's fate is predestined.
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