When Stefania Leão first began writing to overcome a dark time in her life, she never expected she would publish her devotions. Nor did she anticipate they would be translated into six languages.
Now, three of those translated versions have become best sellers in their respective countries. However, with the help of entrepreneur and illustrator Alexander Debelov, along with strength drawn from the Holy Spirit, Stefania and Alex independently published The Prayer: Rise with Jesus with the aim to help people during times of darkness.
Leão is a Brazilian author who has used her experience to intersect artistry, faith and female empowerment with her online platform Stefania Hub. Debelov is an American entrepreneur and a member of Forbes’s 30 Under 30 list for his multiple business ventures.
Their success story began when Leão approached Debelov with a collection of writing she had composed during a very dark and uncertain period of her life. She was struggling to support her son and was debating whether or not to return to Brazil, so she began reading the Bible.
“I realized when you are in a very hard time in your life, even to read the Bible, it’s complicated,” she explained.
Leão began to write about what she read during her mornings as a way to better understand them and draw closer to God. When she noticed this had a positive impact on her mindset and mental health, she attributed it to the Holy Spirit working through her. But God moved her not only to write about her reflections on Scripture, but to see how sharing them could help other people like her.
When Leão approached Debelov with her original writings in Portuguese, he immediately recognized the potential for them to become a publishable work. She sent the PDF in Portuguese, asking for his input “and within a few minutes, he came back to me and said, ‘Hey, that book, that’s amazing. That can help many people.’”
Debelov took the drafts Leão had sent him, edited them, translated them into English, and created the watercolor illustrations that accompany each daily devotional. The devotionals themselves are each meant to inspire quiet contemplation and positively connect the reader to God.
The duo decided to publish their book independently through Amazon Kindle Direct. Advertising came through word of mouth and social media reviews.
“Word of mouth for us is TikTok videos,” Leão said. “Because it’s real, the people could see the review of people saying, ‘You can feel the energy.’”
TikTok reviews came from people overcoming addiction, handling grief from the death of a son, those recovering in a hospital.
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“These kinds of stories have bolstered both awareness of the book and faith in the book’s mission to provide guidance to the struggling,” Leão said.
Despite their meager expectations, the book became a huge success. In addition to winning awards such as the Best Indie Book Award of 2025, The Readers Favorite Badge and the Storytrade Award, the book has become a bestseller in English, Portuguese and Italian, with additional translations of the book done in French, Spanish and Russian.
But from the start, Leão and Debelov never set out to profit from this book, so every cent made from Rise with Jesus has gone toward helping homeless outreach in the San Francisco Bay area where they both live. That includes supporting ministries such as Pastor Edward Mikwamba’s church in Blantyre, Malawi.
“We’re set up with one mission, which is to bring light to everyone, but especially those who need it,” Leão said.
That also includes people of all kinds of faiths, because the devotional was not written to push one idea of Christianity onto readers. “It’s strongly for everybody who needs to be closer to God,” she added.