Unpolished Prayer creates room for raw, honest connection with God. This podcast is dedicated to helping people rediscover prayer not as performance, guilt, or obligation-- but as genuine, life-giving conversations with God.
Through honest and approachable conversations, biblical reflection and practical encouragement, we invite listeners into a deeper and more authentic prayer life.
New Series: Overturn. We are starting an exploration of the story of Jesus clearing out the temple, found in all four gospels. In this story, Jesus says that the temple is supposed to be a house of prayer, but it has become a den of robbers. We take a look at exactly what that may mean, then turn our attention to the before and after pictures of the temple. What could change in our prayer lives and in our churches if our own temples were cleansed?
Link to Resource here (https://unpolishedprayer.com/overturn-episode-12-companion/)
1 Sept 2026
The Path of the Seeker
Hebrew Roots Series: For this last installment of the Biblical Hebrew word study, we are looking at two words: baqash and darash, both of which mean "to seek". We explore the similarities and differences of these words, how they apply to the concept of prayer and especially the role of humility in our seeking of God. We look at stories, prayers and promises featuring this pair of words, ending on the promise of God's posture towards those who seek him with all their heart.
Link to resource (https://unpolishedprayer.com/root-words-episode-11-companion/)
12 Aug 2026
God's Response to Prayer
We continue our Hebrew Roots Words series, talking about how ancient Biblical Hebrew can inform our modern lives of prayer. Today we tackle a word "awthar" which is rarely used, but very powerful when it is found in the Bible. We move from the fervent petition of man into the merciful response of God and how those two dynamics are connected through this word.
Link to Episode Resources (https://www.unpolishedprayer.com/root-words-episode-10-companion)
30 Jul 2026
What's Rooted in Prayer
Part 2 of our mini-series on the Hebrew words that describe and define prayer, breaking them down to their roots and basic meanings. This episode covers the most common verb and noun form that are translated as "pray" or "prayer" in English. For more information about how to study and visualize these Hebrew letters and words, check the episode companion on the website.
Link to Episode Resources (www.unpolishedprayer.com/root-words-episode-9-companion/)
24 Jul 2026
The Call and the Cry
For the next few episodes, we will explore the etymology of some of the Hebrew words depicting prayer. This episode looks at Genesis 4:26 "call upon the name of the LORD" as well as two words that describe crying out to God.
Link to Episode Resources (https://unpolishedprayer.com/root-words-episode-8-companion/)
9 Jul 2026
Emotions : A Doorway to Prayer
So many people struggle to deal with their emotions, and in the prayer closet is no exception. The Bible definitely provides guidance and examples of emotional prayers, but how does that help us pray when we don't "feel like it"? In this episode we look at what to do with big emotions, long seasons of emotional pain, and even how to pray when you are emotionally numb.
Link to Episode Resources (https://unpolishedprayer.com/foundations-episode-7-companion/)
1 Jul 2026
Without Ceasing
Pray without ceasing is a challenging and awe-inspiring command from 1 Thessalonians, but what does it actually mean? and how have Christians sought to follow this command throughout church history? Finally, what does it look like to model this type of prayer? These are some of the questions we explore this episode, and if you are curious about Brother Lawrence, we talk about his life and writings.
Link to Episode Resources (https://unpolishedprayer.com/foundations-episode-6-companion/)
25 Jun 2026
Habits in the Bible
For this episode, we explore habits found in the examples of Daniel, David, Jesus and others in the Bible. We look at the habits of morning, midday and evening prayer - and what this practically looks like. We also discuss the habit of fasting vs. a crisis-induced fast or a penitent one. Finally, we talk about the habit of blessing as a form of prayer.
Link to Episode Resources (https://unpolishedprayer.com/foundations-episode-5-companion/)
19 Jun 2026
Habits and Origens
(https://unpolishedprayer.com/foundations-episode-4-companion/)The history of the early church father, Origen and the ties from his book On Prayer to the modern popular prayer acronym A.C.T.S, and taking a second look at the concept of confession in prayer and how it can help grow a deeper intimacy with the God to whom we pray. John and Taylor also discuss the similarities and differences between the clear call to "pray for one another" and the modern experience of "taking prayer requests" and how that has impacted the prayer habits of the modern church.If you want to read the book Origen On Prayer, which we reference in the podcast, click here. (https://www.ccel.org/ccel/o/origen/prayer/cache/prayer.pdf)
Link to Episode Resources (https://unpolishedprayer.com/foundations-episode-4-companion/)
10 Jun 2026
Navigating our Beliefs
In this episode, we move into an exploration of the layers of belief and how they can positively or negatively influence our prayers. From a Biblical perspective, we discuss the role of Biblical instruction in both the practices and the content of our prayers.
Link to Episode Resources (https://unpolishedprayer.com/foundations-episode-3-companion/)
3 Jun 2026
When the Switch Flipped
DISCLAIMER:: We share some personal stories of loss and grief in this story, and don't want to catch you by surprise. This episode is heavy.
We continue the conversation about where the understanding of prayer and the experience of prayer shape our definition of prayer. We discuss places in our story where prayer moved from an academic understanding (or ritual to practice) into a life-infused, faith building lifestyle.
Link to Episode Resources (https://unpolishedprayer.com/foundations-episode-2-companion/)
28 May 2026
Defining Prayer
Introductory Episode: We introduce ourselves as the hosts of a new podcast and give some background to the reason for this podcast, our why. Then we share some of our story and begin to explore the shaping experiences that developed our prayer lives as adults. We also discuss a working definition of prayer, and how our actions and beliefs influence our prayer lives for good or for bad.
Link to Episode Resources (https://unpolishedprayer.com/foundations-episode-1-companion/)
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