Hands holding a wooden prayer nut stamped with the letters PS.91

A handmade little travel altar for your prayer

The Prayer Nut is a travel altar, a wooden object on which you can inscribe your prayer or the name of a loved one. It is intended to be carried with you every day. It is a tool to help you remember those who are important to you and to pray for those who need the Creator’s help and attention.

OrderThe story

Handmade by Wiebe van Dingen, from € 10.

An opened prayer nut, inscribed with names and Bible verses

How to use the prayer nut

The nut is flat and blank. You write a name, a date or a symbol in it with a pen. Only what matters most goes in.

It is small and easy to keep, so you always carry your prayer with you.

Has your prayer been answered, or do you feel it has been in there long enough? Take a piece of sandpaper and there is room for something new again.

Coming up

Full calendar
  1. Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 17 – 24 January 2027 Across the Netherlands

Why pray?

“Everyone who asks receives” (Luke 11:1–13)

Prayer is timeless and practised by all people. Worship is both a need and a calling. Personal prayer can be a cry for help, a habit or a skill. Prayer is an expression of personal communication with God the Father and Jesus the Son. The Holy Spirit helps us to put into words what and how we should pray. Every situation is different.

Praying is tuning in

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Read all 57 sentences
  • Praying is tuning in
  • Praying is listening
  • Praying is hearing
  • Praying is speaking
  • Praying is asking
  • Praying brings unity
  • Praying helps
  • Praying does you good
  • Praying gives space
  • Praying is not pious
  • Praying makes you honest
  • Praying brings change
  • Praying opens your eyes
  • Praying is honouring God
  • You can pray together and alone
  • You can write a prayer down
  • You can sing a prayer
  • You can repeat a prayer
  • You can dance your prayer
  • Prayer can lift you up
  • You can paint a prayer
  • In prayer, you can proclaim victory
  • Prayer brings freedom
  • Praying gives courage
  • Praying gives strength
  • Praying helps you bring order
  • You can pray anywhere and in any situation
  • Praying opens doors
  • Praying renews your youth
  • Praying makes things better again
  • Praying breaks through boundaries
  • Praying makes you happy
  • Praying builds bridges
  • Praying gives new dreams
  • Praying brings light
  • Praying opens the eyes of your heart
  • Praying is sending and receiving
  • Praying reveals who Jesus is
  • Praying like a child
  • Praying lets you give what you do not have
  • Praying keeps your dream alive
  • Praying shows a way out
  • Praying makes you sensitive
  • Praying gives hope
  • Praying brings you to your destination
  • Praying reveals God’s plan
  • Praying shows you how much grace you need
  • Praying stops injustice
  • Praying lets you walk on water
  • Praying gives protection
  • Praying brings blessing
  • Praying heals
  • Praying brings heaven to earth
  • Praying makes you wiser
  • Praying sets you free
  • Praying gives peace and new energy
  • Prayer brings insight and offers guidance

How it is made

Wiebe makes every prayer nut by hand. He selects the wood himself and lets it dry for 1 to 2 years. Then he saws it into slices, sands it, pre-drills it, fits the hinge and removes the bark and the sharp edges. Without bark, insects and woodworm don’t stand a chance. Finally he polishes the nut, the way you cut a gemstone from rough material.

Would you like an ornament? Then he sets something meaningful into it: recycled glass (a coloured glass splinter that turns into a shiny bead in the kiln), a gemstone, another type of wood, a bead or a pearl. Finally he stamps his letters WD (Wiebe van Dingen) into the nut.

Uses

  • As a gift. Give the prayer nut as a gift. “A gift opens the way” (Proverbs 18:16).
  • For a new stage of life. For a birth, birthday, anniversary or a new period in life, or as a farewell gift when leaving school or colleagues.
  • Comfort and connection. Your attention and care bring comfort and create connection when the name of a friend is written in the prayer nut.
  • After a retreat. Write what you have learned, summed up in one word, in your prayer nut.
  • In a coaching process. The prayer nut can be an effective tool. Only what matters most still goes in; away with the side issues that weigh you down!
  • To give thanks. Count your blessings. Make a point of it and you learn to give thanks.
  • On pilgrimage. I’m going on a journey and I’m taking… my travel altar. Whether the route leads to Santiago, Jerusalem or Rome, make sure you stay connected with Above.
  • At the new year. The new year begins on 1 January. What do you put at the top of your list of priorities, in your prayer nut?
  • Among your friends. The prayer nut is passed around among friends. Week by week, someone else prays for what is going on.
  • Workshop. Take part as a group or individually. The workshop can be held indoors or outdoors, in any season. Ask about the possibilities and join in!

Unique prayer nuts

All unique prayer nuts
Inlaid woodcarving, 100 years old Compass I named this little prayer nut ‘compass’, because the inlaid wood looks like an old-fashioned compass. The inlaid ornament is… Read the story Metal button Button To remind myself, I’d sometimes tie a knot in my handkerchief. You could also use an antique button from your grandmother’s sewing box… Read the story Silver Zeeland button Zeeland button The Zeeland button is the symbol of everything that evokes and refers to the culture of Zeeland. The design of this… Read the story

Translations

Each prayer nut comes with an explanation. It is available in more than 50 languages. Choose a language to read the text.

English

Prayer-nut

At the Amsterdam Rijksmuseum someone called my attention to a medieval object; a ball made out of palmwood, which was divided into two halves. Both halves were cut out subtly, so that very clearly all kinds of pictures such as the birth and crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ could be seen, and they were able to hinge like a little cupboard. The whole object was hidden in a copper ball, and was finally put in a little bag of leather; the gospel in a nutshell. It was obviously made to carry with you while travelling. Several years later I was challenged to breathe new life into the prayer-nut. At present it is flat and ‘blank’ but you can write down your prayer-subjects by just using a name, date, symbol etc. As the nut is easily to be put away, you can always carry your prayers with you. When your prayer is answered, or you feel it’s time to remove a specific prayer-subject, you can just erase it with some sandpaper, and there will be room for something new.
Medieval prayer nut of boxwood with a finely carved crucifixion scene

The story of the prayer nut

In the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, someone once pointed out to me an object from the Middle Ages: a ball of palm wood, divided into two halves, very finely carved with the birth and crucifixion of Jesus. The whole gospel in a nutshell, made to take with you on a journey.

Read the story

Experiences

All experiences
In secret Mirjam Deckers “After a talk, Wiebe simply gave me a prayer nut, because he knew I could use one. What he could not have known: on that very day I had reached a low point in my life.” Read more Also made of wood: the prayer nut Hans van Dalen “The nut now lies on the windowsill of my study. As I open it, almost automatically a thought, a memory and once again a prayer is born.” Read more

Order a prayer nut

Available in various sizes and designs, from €10. With or without decoration, a name or embossed lettering.

Order
Wiebe van Dingen at his workbench with prayer nuts and letter punches

About the maker

Wiebe van Dingen is a visual artist who works on the Veluwe, in the heart of the Netherlands, on sculptures made mostly from locally found wood, combined with other materials such as glass and weathered metal.

About the maker