THE Brazillian author of a bestselling collection of personal prayers is donating all its proceeds to homeless projects and churches around San Francisco.
The book, The Prayer: Rise with Jesus, illustrated by Alexander Debelov, comprises morning prayers and reflections by Stefania Leão.
Ms Leão migrated with her young son from Brazil to the United States, where, she says, she had to work 20-hour days to survive. The prayers began as a way to help her through “the darkest season of life”, she says.
The collection is an Amazon bestseller, and been translated into five languages. Hundreds of copies are being sent to a pastor in the Assemblies of God Church in Malawi, Edward Mikwamba, after he saw news of its success online and emailed to ask for copies to support his ministry.
Mr Debelov told the Church Times: “His work is mostly prayer conferences and preaching across both urban and rural communities, including in villages where just getting around is a challenge. We’re shipping books to support that.”
Proceeds from the book sales were paying for food drives run by churches to support outreach to the homeless, Mr Debelov said. “Every dollar of royalties from the book has gone to charity. In practice, that’s looked like a lot of food drives. The next one is in a week, when we’re handing out a few hundred pizzas alongside 100 copies of the book.”
Mr Debelov said that, when Ms Leão showed him some of the prayers, he realised that they deserved a wider audience. “It was her own private notes — prayers she had written for herself, one morning at a time, during a very hard season of her life,” he said. “She had never intended to publish them. They were simply the way she got herself through the day.
“The prayers that became The Prayer were written in that season, not as content but as the way she spoke to God when there was no one else to speak to. They were her morning lifeline. The fact that the same prayers are now read by so many people around the world is something neither of us takes lightly.”
A Bible passage, a short reflection, a prayer, and an illustration are provided for each of 30 days.
Ms Leão said: “This book started as prayer during one of the darkest seasons of life. To see it reach readers across countries and languages is overwhelming. But the mission is bigger than bestseller rankings. Every copy is part of something practical — prayer becoming service.
“One thing that is important to me is that The Prayer is not focused on a specific denomination or religion. My hope was to create something that brings hope, encouragement, comfort, and wisdom to anyone going through a difficult time, regardless of their background.”