Prayer For Your Church
Jesus, this is our big-picture prayer, and we are convinced that it aligns with your heart. We pray for true transformation in the lives of the people we serve. May there be tremendous life change!
We are asking for marriages to be restored, people to be freed from addictions, and healing to take place in broken hearts. We pray for teens to rise into leadership in their schools, for our business leaders to speak boldly for you, and that each of us would see ourselves as an ambassador of your transforming power.
May we carry your name well Jesus and see many lives changed for the good.
God, we could never out give you, but we want to give like you generously. Thank you for all the good and perfect gifts you provide for us, and for the opportunities to advance the gospel.
We pray that our church would be generous with their time, finances, talents and abilities. We pray that we would be generous with kindness, patience, and encouragement.
We desire to be a church who serves others well. We desire to serve because it's a privilege to be part of your Kingdom work and because we care about others. We pray that a spirit of generosity would prevail both inside the church, and outside into the community.
Lord, You have told us in Your Word that You hear our prayers. We are crying out to You, we are humbling ourselves before You and seeking Your face. We come together as a church body to seek You. We repent and turn from our wicked ways, thank You for hearing us. Thank you for Your forgiveness and healing.
God, help our church body to walk in a manner worthy of the calling You have given us. Help us in all our interactions with one another to have humble and gentle hearts. Grant us patience for one another, bearing with one another in love. Grant the Body of Christ unity. May we walk humbly with You, God, allowing You to show us our wrongs.
Lord, I lift up my deacons to You. May they walk worthy of respect with sincere hearts. Keep them from indulgence and greed. Help them keep hold of truth. May they keep short accounts with You so that their conscience is clear. Bless their households with peace and respect. Fill them with Your Spirit and let them operate in wisdom as they carry out their responsibilities.
Lord, I lift up my elders (church board) to You. Help us respect and honor them as they direct the affairs of our church. May they wholeheartedly give their attention to prayer and ministry of the Word. Keep them above reproach, devoted to their families, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable and able to teach. May they be gentle and honest as they deal with people.
Lord, I lift up my pastor to You. Thank You for his servant's heart. Keep him from losing heart when ministry gets tough. Help him prove faithful with the things you have entrusted to him. Teach him Your ways so that he knows You and finds favor with You as He leads us. Keep him open and honest before You and help him to represent the truth plainly.
Lord, thank you for all you do in our lives. I am truly grateful for all you have provided me. From my friends to my family, you are always blessing me in ways I can't imagine or completely understand. But I feel blessed. Lord, today I lift up to you my church. It is the place I go to worship you. It is where I learn about you. It is where you are present to the group, and so I ask for your blessings over it.
My church is more than a building to me, Lord. We are a group that lifts one another up, and I ask that you give us the heart to continue in that way. Lord, I ask you to bless us with the desire to do more for the world around us and for one another. I ask that those in need are identified by the church and are given a helping hand. I ask that we reach out to the community where you see fit to help. Most of all, though, I ask that you bless us with the resources to fulfill your mission for our church. I ask that you give us the ability to be great stewards over those resources and that you guide our hand in using them.
Lord, I also ask that you give us a strong sense of your spirit in our church. I ask that you fill our hearts with all that you are and direct us in ways that we are always living in your will. I ask that you bless us in our direction and point us toward how we can do more in you. Lord, I ask that when people enter our church they feel you all around them. I ask that we remain hospitable to each other and to outsiders, and I ask for your grace and forgiveness when we slip up.
And Lord, I ask for the blessing of wisdom on our church leaders. I ask that you guide the messages that come out of our leader's mouths. I ask that the words uttered among the congregants be ones that honor you and do more to spread your Word than to harm relationships with you. I ask that we be honest, yet uplifting. I ask that you guide our leaders to be examples to others. I ask that you continue to bless them with servants' hearts and a sense of responsibility to those they lead.
I also ask that you continue to bless the ministries in our church. From Bible studies to youth group to child care, I ask that we be able to speak to each congregant in ways they require. I ask that the ministries be led by those you have chosen and that we all learn to be more by the leaders you have provided.
Lord, my church is one of the most important things in my life, because it brings me closer to you. I ask for your blessings on it, and I lift it up to you. Thank you, Lord, for allowing me to be a part of this congregation and a part of you.
In your holy name, Amen.