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Prayers for a Marriage That Looks Fine

Sixty short prayers for the quiet kind of lonely

by Nan Ellison

Sixty prayers, one a day, each short enough to say with your hands in the dishwater.

They are for a marriage with no crisis in it: he is home, the evenings run on time, and the space between your shoulder and his on the couch is a few inches you cannot cross.

Each day opens with a few plain lines about an ordinary evening — a good day, the polite prayer you could say in your sleep, a kindness that was partly fear — and then gives you words for God that are true rather than polite. You may stop partway; the book allows an early Amen.

It offers no plan for staying or for leaving, and it says so at the start. If your home isn’t safe, it tells you to find help that isn’t a book.

Kindle →Paperback

The Kindle edition is included with Kindle Unlimited.

From the book

God, I am six inches from him and I cannot reach him. I am not asking You to make him different before morning.

Day 1 — Six inches

The sink is the chapel you did not pick. Four minutes. Plates. A laugh track in the other room.

Day 6 — Hands in water

You stopped asking. You called it kindness. Some of that was love. Some of it was fear wearing a nicer shirt.

Day 12 — What you called kindness

In the book’s own words

This book is prayer and companionship. It is not counseling, medical advice, or a plan for leaving or staying. If a house is not safe, get help that is not a page.

In the United States, the National Domestic Violence Hotline answers at any hour: call 1-800-799-7233 or text START to 88788.

Formats
Kindle and paperback
Published
September 17, 2026
Paperback ISBN
979-8953054034
Publisher
Anchorline Publishing
NE
Saying Grace Alone
Seven short prayers for the minute before the meal
NAN ELLISON
“They’re short because the minute is short.”
A free gift from Nan

Saying Grace Alone

If you’re the only one at your table who prays, the start of an ordinary meal may be where it shows most. Out loud or silently. Before he picks up his fork, or after.

  • Seven short prayers, new writing not found in any of Nan’s books
  • A printable PDF to keep in a kitchen drawer or on your phone
  • Say one silently. Say half of one. He doesn’t have to bow his head for it to count.

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