Short Prayers

Award-winning narrator Mike Vendetti narrates "The War Prayer", a short story or prose poem by Mark Twain, a scathing indictment of war and particularly of blind patriotic and religious fervor as motivations for war.

Fiction, poetry, and music come together to create something new: Verb. Original stories and poems you won't find anywhere else, by the best writers in the country, brought to you in an innovative format. Verb is the ancient oral tradition and the venerable literary magazine combined into a fresh new package: the audioquarterly.

Annie and Willie's Prayer was written by Sophia P. Snow in 1884 and has since become a family tradition for many. It's a heartwarming story of how two children help teach their father the true meaning of Christmas.

In this essay originally aired in the 1950s, novelist and screenwriter Niven Busch discusses faith, prayer, and subway rides in "The Fellowship of the World", his contribution to NPR’s This I Believe series. This I Believe is a National Public Radio program that features Americans, from the...

In the late 1930s, and with a perfect storm brewing, there is still hope. The very fabric of America begins to unravel because of innocence lost. "Through our own recovered innocence we discern the innocence of our neighbors." - Henry David Thoreau.

Do you find it difficult to hear God in this noisy, distracting world? Do you feel like you could do more, if you could truly relax? Do you think prayer would be more satisfying if you could focus on what you're trying to say to God and not be distracted by the material world? Meditation is the key to gaining focus in a world that seems to fight every attempt at focus. It will help you quiet your mind, find peace, and be fully present in prayer.