diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index 25db863..17a0597 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -5,7 +5,14 @@ RUN npm ci
 COPY . .
 RUN npm run build
 
-FROM nginx:alpine
-COPY --from=build /app/build /usr/share/nginx/html
-EXPOSE 80
-CMD ["nginx", "-g", "daemon off;"]
+FROM node:20-alpine
+WORKDIR /app
+COPY package*.json ./
+RUN npm ci --omit=dev
+COPY server.js ./
+COPY --from=build /app/build ./build
+
+ENV DATA_DIR=/data
+VOLUME ["/data"]
+EXPOSE 4000
+CMD ["node", "server.js"]
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index 6a89a1e..744a090 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -2,4 +2,9 @@ services:
   prayer:
     build: .
     ports:
-      - "3000:80"
+      - "3000:4000"
+    volumes:
+      - prayer-data:/data
+
+volumes:
+  prayer-data:
diff --git a/server.js b/server.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6284264
--- /dev/null
+++ b/server.js
@@ -0,0 +1,62 @@
+const express = require('express');
+const cors = require('cors');
+const fs = require('fs');
+const path = require('path');
+
+const app = express();
+const DATA_DIR = process.env.DATA_DIR || path.join(__dirname, 'data');
+const DATA_FILE = path.join(DATA_DIR, 'prayers.json');
+const PORT = process.env.PORT || 4000;
+
+app.use(cors());
+app.use(express.json());
+app.use(express.static(path.join(__dirname, 'build')));
+
+function readPrayers() {
+  if (!fs.existsSync(DATA_FILE)) return [];
+  try {
+    return JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync(DATA_FILE, 'utf8'));
+  } catch {
+    return [];
+  }
+}
+
+function writePrayers(prayers) {
+  fs.mkdirSync(DATA_DIR, { recursive: true });
+  fs.writeFileSync(DATA_FILE, JSON.stringify(prayers, null, 2));
+}
+
+app.get('/api/prayers', (req, res) => {
+  res.json(readPrayers());
+});
+
+app.post('/api/prayers', (req, res) => {
+  const prayers = readPrayers();
+  const prayer = req.body;
+  prayers.unshift(prayer);
+  writePrayers(prayers);
+  res.status(201).json(prayer);
+});
+
+app.put('/api/prayers/:id', (req, res) => {
+  const prayers = readPrayers();
+  const idx = prayers.findIndex(p => p.id === req.params.id);
+  if (idx === -1) return res.status(404).json({ error: 'Not found' });
+  prayers[idx] = { ...prayers[idx], ...req.body };
+  writePrayers(prayers);
+  res.json(prayers[idx]);
+});
+
+app.delete('/api/prayers/:id', (req, res) => {
+  const prayers = readPrayers();
+  const filtered = prayers.filter(p => p.id !== req.params.id);
+  writePrayers(filtered);
+  res.status(204).end();
+});
+
+// Serve React for all other routes
+app.get('*', (req, res) => {
+  res.sendFile(path.join(__dirname, 'build', 'index.html'));
+});
+
+app.listen(PORT, () => console.log(`Server running on port ${PORT}`));
diff --git a/src/App.css b/src/App.css
index 34e15bb..3fad4a4 100644
--- a/src/App.css
+++ b/src/App.css
@@ -234,6 +234,13 @@ body {
   gap: 0.75rem;
 }
 
+.loading {
+  text-align: center;
+  color: var(--text-muted);
+  font-style: italic;
+  padding: 1rem 0;
+}
+
 .empty {
   text-align: center;
   color: var(--text-muted);
diff --git a/src/App.tsx b/src/App.tsx
index 781f32e..633bc0f 100644
--- a/src/App.tsx
+++ b/src/App.tsx
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ type Filter = 'active' | 'answered' | 'all';
 export default function App() {
   const {
     prayers,
+    loading,
     addPrayer,
     updateAnswer,
     markAnswered,
@@ -111,6 +112,8 @@ export default function App() {
         </button>
       </div>
 
+      {loading && <p className="loading">Loading prayers…</p>}
+
       <ul className="prayer-list">
         {filtered.length === 0 && (
           <li className="empty">
diff --git a/src/usePrayers.ts b/src/usePrayers.ts
index cc83f8c..1617a4f 100644
--- a/src/usePrayers.ts
+++ b/src/usePrayers.ts
@@ -1,23 +1,20 @@
-import { useState, useEffect } from 'react';
+import { useState, useEffect, useCallback } from 'react';
 import { Prayer } from './types';
 
-const STORAGE_KEY = 'prayer-journal';
+const API = '/api/prayers';
 
 export function usePrayers() {
-  const [prayers, setPrayers] = useState<Prayer[]>(() => {
-    try {
-      const stored = localStorage.getItem(STORAGE_KEY);
-      return stored ? JSON.parse(stored) : [];
-    } catch {
-      return [];
-    }
-  });
+  const [prayers, setPrayers] = useState<Prayer[]>([]);
+  const [loading, setLoading] = useState(true);
 
   useEffect(() => {
-    localStorage.setItem(STORAGE_KEY, JSON.stringify(prayers));
-  }, [prayers]);
+    fetch(API)
+      .then(r => r.json())
+      .then(setPrayers)
+      .finally(() => setLoading(false));
+  }, []);
 
-  function addPrayer(request: string, tags: string[]) {
+  const addPrayer = useCallback(async (request: string, tags: string[]) => {
     const prayer: Prayer = {
       id: crypto.randomUUID(),
       request,
@@ -26,51 +23,46 @@ export function usePrayers() {
       createdAt: new Date().toISOString(),
       tags,
     };
-    setPrayers(prev => [prayer, ...prev]);
-  }
+    const saved = await fetch(API, {
+      method: 'POST',
+      headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
+      body: JSON.stringify(prayer),
+    }).then(r => r.json());
+    setPrayers(prev => [saved, ...prev]);
+  }, []);
 
-  function updateAnswer(id: string, answer: string) {
-    setPrayers(prev =>
-      prev.map(p => p.id === id ? { ...p, answer } : p)
-    );
-  }
+  const patch = useCallback(async (id: string, updates: Partial<Prayer>) => {
+    const updated = await fetch(`${API}/${id}`, {
+      method: 'PUT',
+      headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
+      body: JSON.stringify(updates),
+    }).then(r => r.json());
+    setPrayers(prev => prev.map(p => p.id === id ? updated : p));
+  }, []);
 
-  function markAnswered(id: string) {
-    setPrayers(prev =>
-      prev.map(p =>
-        p.id === id
-          ? { ...p, status: 'answered', answeredAt: new Date().toISOString() }
-          : p
-      )
-    );
-  }
+  const updateAnswer = useCallback((id: string, answer: string) =>
+    patch(id, { answer }), [patch]);
 
-  function markActive(id: string) {
-    setPrayers(prev =>
-      prev.map(p =>
-        p.id === id ? { ...p, status: 'active', answeredAt: undefined } : p
-      )
-    );
-  }
+  const markAnswered = useCallback((id: string) =>
+    patch(id, { status: 'answered', answeredAt: new Date().toISOString() }), [patch]);
 
-  function archivePrayer(id: string) {
-    setPrayers(prev =>
-      prev.map(p => p.id === id ? { ...p, status: 'archived' } : p)
-    );
-  }
+  const markActive = useCallback((id: string) =>
+    patch(id, { status: 'active', answeredAt: undefined }), [patch]);
 
-  function deletePrayer(id: string) {
+  const archivePrayer = useCallback((id: string) =>
+    patch(id, { status: 'archived' }), [patch]);
+
+  const updateRequest = useCallback((id: string, request: string) =>
+    patch(id, { request }), [patch]);
+
+  const deletePrayer = useCallback(async (id: string) => {
+    await fetch(`${API}/${id}`, { method: 'DELETE' });
     setPrayers(prev => prev.filter(p => p.id !== id));
-  }
-
-  function updateRequest(id: string, request: string) {
-    setPrayers(prev =>
-      prev.map(p => p.id === id ? { ...p, request } : p)
-    );
-  }
+  }, []);
 
   return {
     prayers,
+    loading,
     addPrayer,
     updateAnswer,
     markAnswered,