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Portals of Prayer is a quarterly publication of the Concordia Publishing House of St. Louis, Missouri, the denominational publisher for The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod with a printed circulation of almost 900,000 copies each quarter. The 4" × 6" publication consists of one-page daily devotions based upon a verse of Scripture along with suggestions for further reading of a Scripture and of a Psalm. Each devotion closes with a brief prayer. A separate section features prayers for the days of the week and occasional prayers covering liturgical and civic calendar events as well as for various situations. Each issue has a short prayer order that can be used by individuals, families, and small groups. Along with the prayer order are printed out Luther's Morning and Evening prayers, and meal-time prayers.
The first issue of this devotional booklet was published in Lent 1937 with the title “Standing In His Grace” For the first several years the booklets carried a variety of names such as “He Loved Me,” Walking With God,” “Streams of Living Water,” and “Quiet Moments With God.” Beginning in the spring of 1948, the periodical took the name Portals of Prayer for each issue. Other changes have happened over the years as well. First delivered seven times a year, Portals of Prayer became a bi-monthly devotional in 1959, and quarterly publication began in 1981. A German language counterpart, Tagliche Andachten was published from 1937 until 1999, a Spanish language version, Portales de Oracion began in 2008, and braille edition has been available since __<<date needed>>__. And while the devotional has always been available in the familiar “pocket-sized” edition, new sizes and formats have joined it over the years. A large-sized ‘sight-saver’ print edition was in introduced in the 70s, a digest-sized print edition began being offered in 2010. Over the years the reach of Portals of Prayer was extended as the daily devotions were made available on long-playing (LP) record albums, cassette tape recordings, as well as broadcast on numerous radio stations. Today, Portals of Prayer continues to adapt to the changing times and can be accessed on the World Wide Web, and downloaded onto computers and smart phones.
In 2007 the interior layout of the devotions was changed, the first significant change in the layout since its inception.
In 2008 the trim size changed to 4⅛" × 6½" to accommodate changes in printing technology. Again, this is the first time Portals changed its trim size since inception.
By editorial policy, the covers of the saddle-stitched booklets never depict people. Instead they usually feature photos of natural outdoor scenes.
Three anthologies of Portals of Prayer meditations have been made by the publisher over the years.
Rev. Eric Forss S.T.M., MDiv served as Editor of Portals of Prayer from 2002 to 2009. Rev. Scot Kinnaman, Senior Editor at CPH, currently serves as Managing Editor (2003-- )and Editor (2009--).
Writers are recruited each year in the Fall through recommendations, invitation made to previous writers, and application. Guidelines for writing samples can be downloaded from the publisher's information page (see external links below). Prospective author's writing apart from these samples is never accepted for review by the editorial committee. While often members of the LCMS, past authors have been selected from both clergy and lay among Lutherans in the USA, Canada, Australia, and Britain. Writers are selected based upon their demonstrated ability to write in a clear and engaging style while demonstrating a keen ability to proclaim the Gospel of God's love and mercy in the person and work of Jesus Christ as presented in Holy Scripture and confessed in the Confessions of the Lutheran Church (Book of Concord, 1580).
Portals of Prayer, Vol. 70, No. 395