How to send a prayer request

What a prayer request is — and why people send them here

A prayer request is one of the oldest habits of faith: asking someone to pray with you, or to carry your prayer to a holy place you cannot reach yourself. Saint Paul, writing to this very city, asked the Ephesians to “keep on praying for all the Lord’s people” — and to pray for him, too. Pilgrims have left prayers for absent loved ones at the House of Virgin Mary for as long as anyone remembers — folded onto the wishing wall in the lower garden by the thousand. Prayers Unchained simply extends that hand to everyone on earth: if you cannot come, we carry your words for you.

Step 1 — Write your prayer

Write it as you would say it. Who it is for, and what you hope. Some examples of what people send:

• “Please pray for my mother, Rosa — strength through her treatment.”
• “Thank you for the work that finally came. Keep our family close.”
• “For my grandfather, who passed last spring. Rest well.”
• “I don’t know what to ask. Just peace.”

Up to 300 characters — about the size of a real note on the wall — in any language you like. There is no wrong way to do this.

Step 2 — Send it

Use the form on our home page: your name, your e-mail, your prayer, and the button. As you type, you will see your words appear on a little paper note — that is roughly how it will look on the wall. Prefer e-mail? Write to submit@prayersunchained.com; it lands in the same place.

Step 3 — We carry it, and place it on the wall

Every prayer is received with care. On our next regular visit to the House of Virgin Mary — we live a short drive from the shrine and go often — we place it on the wishing wall ourselves, among the prayers of pilgrims from every nation. Nothing is skipped, nothing is judged, nothing is thrown away.

Sending a prayer for someone else

More than half the prayers we carry are for another person — a parent in hospital, a child leaving home, a friend who lost someone, a spouse who has passed away. Write their first name and your hope for them. If you would like, tell them you did it: people write to us that knowing a prayer waits for them in Ephesus was itself a comfort.

After you press send

You will see a confirmation on screen. We share moments from the wall — the notes, the garden, the seasons — on our social pages, so you can see where your hope now lives. And if you ever come to Ephesus yourself, you will know exactly which corner of the garden to walk to first.