Portals of Prayer - History

History

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 Oración began in 2008, and braille edition has been available since __<>__. 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.