Find My Prayers
Illustrated portrait of Saint Teresa of Ávila, with a soft halo
Feast · October 15

Saint Teresa of Ávila

Born
1515
Died
1582
Country
Spain
Canonised
1622-03-12
Century
16th century
Teresa de Cepeda y Ahumada (1515-1582) was a Spanish Carmelite nun, mystic, and reformer who founded the Discalced Carmelites to restore a life of prayer and simplicity. Her writings, including The Interior Castle and her autobiography, remain classics of Christian mysticism. Declared a Doctor of the Church in 1970, she is honored as one of the great teachers of contemplative prayer.

Prayers to Saint Teresa of Ávila

01

Prayer for Peace During Uncertainty

Inner Peace

Saint Teresa of Ávila, you who walked long years without knowing how God's plans for you would unfold, be near to me now as I wait in this uncertainty, not knowing what comes next. I do not know how this will end, and the not-knowing is its own kind of burden, heavier some days than the outcome itself. Teach me to make my home in this present moment rather than in the future I cannot yet see, trusting that God is already present in whatever is coming. Help me hold this waiting with open hands instead of gripping it with fear, remembering that uncertainty for me is never uncertainty for him. Let your own trust become my own: let nothing disturb me, for all things are passing, and God alone does not change. Grant me the patience to wait well, and the peace of knowing I am held even in what I cannot foresee. Amen.

02

Prayer to Calm an Overthinking Mind

Inner Peace

Saint Teresa of Ávila, you who knew how a restless mind can chase the same thought in circles until it wears down the soul, pray for me now as my own thoughts refuse to be still. One worry leads to another, and before long I have replayed the same fears a hundred times without finding any answer in them. Teach me to notice when my mind has begun to spin, and to gently bring it back, again and again, into the presence of God. Help me see that not every thought deserves my attention, and that peace is found not in solving everything at once but in resting in the One who already knows the outcome. Quiet the noise in my head as you once quieted the many voices that competed within your own soul. Let me set my thoughts down at God's feet like a burden too heavy to carry alone. Amen.

03

Prayer for Inner Peace

Inner Peace

Saint Teresa of Ávila, teacher of the interior life, you have left us these words as a light for troubled hearts: "Let nothing disturb you, let nothing frighten you. All things are passing; God never changes. Patience obtains all things. Whoever has God lacks nothing: God alone suffices." Teach me, as you were taught, to find in God alone a peace the world cannot give. When anxiety rises within me, let your words return to my heart, that I may rest, unshaken, in His presence. Amen.

04

Prayer for Anxiety

Anxiety

Saint Teresa of Ávila, who knew the restlessness of a troubled mind before you found your rest in God alone, come to my aid in this hour of anxiety. My thoughts race and my heart is heavy with fears I cannot quiet; teach me to lay them, one by one, into the hands of the Father who numbers every hair on my head. You wrote that all things are passing and God alone suffices — let those words steady me now, when so much feels uncertain. Ask the Lord to still the storm within me as He stilled the sea, and to replace my worry with the patience that obtains all things. Whatever tomorrow holds, let me rest today in the God who holds it too. Amen.

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