Category: Prayer

Articles with a strong focus on biblical Christian prayer

My Pastoral Prayer List

When my church gathers, we always pray.

As senior pastor, I understand that it is my responsibility to lead church member in prayer and to teach church members how to pray. I lead and teach in several ways, but one of the methods I have used for a while now is rotating through a list of topics for prayer.

If I am the one praying a prayer of supplication, I jot down several bulletpoints beforehand to guide my prayer, including a selection of topics from my prayer list. I use this list to keep me from praying the same things every time and to keep me from forgetting many things I ought to be praying for.

The list provides me with a variety of good and important topics, and rotating through the list ensures that I’ll hit on many of them over the course of a fairly brief period of time.

If I ask someone else to pray a prayer of supplication, I choose one or more topics from this prayer list and assign the topic(s) to the person. These people enjoy the same benefits as I do, and I am teaching them about what kinds of things they should be praying for by assigning them prayer topics.

This practice keeps our public prayers from becoming a laundry list of physical ailments or an opportunity for subtle gossip, and it also teaches our whole congregation how to pray and what to pray about.

My own pastoral prayer list is a compilation of topics I’ve borrowed from other pastors or added for myself. I cannot take any credit for creativity and insight you might find in this list, but I do take great comfort in the fact that I haven’t tried to reinvent the wheel.

Feel free to use this entire template or any portion of it to your own benefit or that of your church family.

General Topics for Churches and Communities

  • Pray for the regular preaching of God’s word.
  • Pray for elders/pastors and deacons.
  • Pray for husbands to bless their wives, and parents to bless the children in their charge.
  • Pray for those who are having a hard time integrating into the church family (making new connections).
  • Pray for widows and widowers in our church.
  • Pray for salvation for our parents, our siblings, our children, and our grandchildren.
  • Pray for us to live lives of both justice and mercy.
  • Pray for our younger members to regularly reach out to our older members to check on them.
  • Pray for those with prolonged chronic sickness.
  • Pray for those who are fainthearted and discouraged.
  • Pray for politicians and civil servants.
  • Pray for families and single members to build good relationships.
  • Pray for God to convict and draw to Himself those who are lost in immorality.
  • Pray for God to knit us together as a church family, despite our differences in age, life experience, and preferences.
  • Pray for us to rejoice in God’s work in other churches, and to speak of His work among us only with the deepest humility.
  • Pray for persecuted brothers and sisters around the world.
  • Pray and thank God for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way (1 Tim 2:1-2).
  • Pray about a point from the morning sermon.
  • Pray for intentional and growing discipling efforts among members.
  • Pray for evangelistic efforts (gospel conversations) with family, friends, and/or neighbors.
  • Pray for freedom from bondage to sinful thoughts, words, and/or deeds (greed, pride, anger, lust, idolatry, lethargy).
  • Pray for more godly men to take personal responsibility for the shepherding care of fellow church members.
  • Pray for our retired members.
  • Pray for us to have boldness in gospel conversations and conversions as a result
  • Pray for our children and teens.

Church Membership among My Own Church

  • Pray that people would see relationships in the local church as part of what it means to be a Christian.
  • Pray that people would understand the need to make their relationships here transparent, to ask and answer careful, loving questions.
  • Pray that people would expect conversations with other church members often to be deep, and often theological in nature.
  • Pray that people would think it important to encourage each other with Scripture.
  • Pray that people would see part of being a Christian as being a provider, and not a consumer.
  • Pray that people don’t see service in the local church as being primarily about meeting their own felt needs by utilizing their giftedness but about bringing God glory.
  • Pray that people would not see it as unusual when their lives become increasingly centered around the local church.
  • Pray that people would see it as unusual when a member’s life seems to keep church on the periphery.
  • Pray that people would see hospitality as an important part of being a Christian.
  • Pray that church members would be humble and quick to rejoice when we talk about other churches and their members.

Discipling among My Own Church

  • Pray that our congregation would care well for our youth, particularly, our teens, working to build discipling relationships with teenagers and coming alongside parents in the building up of their sons’ and daughters’ faith.  
  • Pray that our teenagers would be open to, and even seek out, discipling relationships with young adults in the church.  
  • Pray that parents of teenagers in the church would wisely and purposefully encourage and choose discipling relationships for their sons and daughters with members of our church.  
  • Pray that our church would be faithful in its members’ purposeful investment in the lives of teenagers inside the church.   
  • Pray that many of our members would make the discipleship of teenagers in our church one of their primary ministries

Financial Faithfulness among My Own Church

  • Pray that more of our members would give, and more would be able to give more.
  • Pray that we would be overwhelmed by how much Christ has given us.
  • Pray that we would give cheerfully, not out of guilt or obligation.
  • Pray that we would be wise in how much we decide to give.
  • Pray that we would give regularly, deliberately and proportionately.
  • Pray that we would gladly part with what our world values in order to take hold of what God values.
  • Pray that our church would be wise in how it stewards our gifts.
  • Pray that our giving would show God to be good, delightful, and generous.
  • Pray that God would bring to fruit the hopes that we have for every line in our church’s current budget.

Marc Minter is the senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Diana, TX. He and his wife, Cassie, have two sons, Micah and Malachi.

Connect with Marc on Twitter or Facebook.

Distinct Christian Prayer

Many people pray, and not just Christians. It seems that prayer, talking to someone or something greater than ourselves, is natural to humanity. Christian prayer, however, is quite peculiar and unnatural. While Christians offer petitions of hope and desire, the same as non-Christians, Christians pray with a distinctive approach and goal.

The Christian knows that his or her only basis for acceptance before God is the person and work of Jesus Christ. Therefore, his or her approach to God is as heavenly Father by way of adoption through Christ. Such an approach is by sheer grace and divine mercy.

The Christian also understands that God’s will is wiser and truer than his or her own desires. He or she knows that God is always working towards better ends, as a good heavenly Father. Therefore, his or her goal in prayer is not so much to get something from God but to align himself or herself to the will of God being worked out in the world.

May God not only teach us to pray but may He also create within us an unnatural desire to pray as fervent and sincere Christians.

Praying with a Purpose

Since my first experience of cross-cultural missions (about 15 years ago), I have been inescapably drawn towards this sort of effort. I have had multiple opportunities for Gospel ministry in countries and cultures other than my own, and each time I teeter on the brink of selling everything I have and relocating my family to some distant land. The logistical realities and my wife’s soft reluctance have been sufficient to keep me from taking the radical plunge.

Like my prayer-life in general, my prayers for missional efforts are not systematic. I do pray regularly, and I am in prayerful thought for much of each day (not audibly, but cognitively relying upon God, thanking Him, pleading with Him, and such). However, my prayers are based on circumstance or a recent increase in awareness of some biblical truth. I learn of a friend’s difficulty, and I trust God’s providence while asking for His mercy. I feel the pressure of life upon my own shoulders, and I run to the refuge of God’s grace and care. I notice the temptation to sin and even indulge my evil desires, and I lament such foolishness while resting in God’s love and patience with me.

Similarly, I have also prayed for missional efforts sporadically, when I become aware of a particular effort or obstacle. Right now, I have spent some time praying for evangelistic efforts in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. My church family and I have partnered with churches in the Vale for almost three years, and this week is the mission trip of 2017. I was not able to be present on this trip, but my heart and thoughts are with the rest of the team. However, I have become increasingly aware of the need for a more systematic approach to prayer (and all spiritual disciplines generally).

Using the resources at www.operationworld.com, I am reminded of the great need for Gospel ministry around the world and the great need for insulated Christians (like those in western cultures) to remember the real spiritual difficulties we all face. In my rural, East Texas community, it is highly unlikely that I will face religious persecution of any real substance. It is easy for me to fall into a rut in my thinking about Gospel mission and sacrificial engagement. A little spat between church members or some budgetary difficulty is put into better perspective when I remember that some Christians in the world right now are following Christ in the face of an imminent threat to their very lives.

With God’s help, and by His grace, I will take a more systematic approach to prayer from now on. I also plan to lead my family to do the same. May God grant us love for Him, that we may serve Him and others well.

Enjoying God in Prayer

The Valley of Vision is a collection of old prayers that exemplify intentionality, passion, and a Bible focus in prayer. The language can seem foreign to modern readers since it resembles a loftier tongue of days gone by. And yet, the content of these prayers is of such high quality that modern Christians will no doubt benefit from such examples.

Here is how I prayed, in my own words, the prayer entitled “God Enjoyed.”

Oh God, You are the incomprehensible and prayer-hearing God.

You are known and You are beyond knowledge, revealed but unrevealed; my wants and welfare compel me to bring these requests to You, for You have never said, “If you seek Me you will not find Me.”

To You, I come in my difficulties, my necessities, and my distresses; possess me with Yourself, with a spirit of grace and supplication, with a prayerful attitude of mind, and with access into warm fellowship, so that in the ordinary concerns of life my thoughts and desires may rise to You. In habitual devotion help me to find a resource that will soothe my sorrows, sanctify my successes, and qualify me in always for dealing with my fellowmen.

In habitual devotion help me to find a resource that will soothe my sorrows, sanctify my successes, and teach me to live well with others.

I bless You that You have made me capable of knowing You – the author of all being. You have given me the ability to resemble You – the perfection of all excellency. You have made me desirous of enjoying You – the source of all happiness.

Oh God, attend to me and accompany me in every part of my arduous and trying pilgrimage.

I need the same counsel, the same defense, and the same comfort that I found in You at my beginning.

Let my holiness and devotion to You be increasingly obvious to my conscience and more perceptible to those around me. While Jesus is representing me in heaven, may I reflect Him on earth; while He pleads my cause, may I show forth His praise.

Continue the gentleness of Your goodness towards me; and whether I wake or sleep let Your presence go with me, Your blessings attend me.

You have led me and I have found Your promises true; I have been sorrowful but You have been my help; I have been fearful but You have delivered me; I have been in despair but You have lifted me up.

Your promises are ever upon me, filling my mind and comforting my heart.

I praise You, O God.

A Prayer to the Great God

The Valley of Vision is a collection of old prayers that exemplify intentionality, passion, and a Bible focus in prayer. The language can seem foreign to modern readers since it resembles a loftier tongue of days gone by. And yet, the content of these prayers is of such high quality that modern Christians will no doubt benefit from such examples.

Here is how I prayed, in my own words, the prayer entitled “The Great God.”

My God and Father in heaven, oh fountainhead and spring of all good, destroy in me every lofty self-conception.

Break my pride to pieces and scatter it to the winds; annihilate each clinging shred of my own self-righteousness; implant in me true lowliness of spirit; bring me to the place of true self-loathing self-abhorrence; open within me a fountain of remorseful tears. Break me, and then bind those gracious wounds.

In this way prepare my heart as a dwelling place for You.

Then can You, my holy God and loving Father, take up residence in me; then can You, my Savior and the blessed Son, come with healing in Your touch; then can you, my convicting and comforting Holy Spirit, descend in sanctifying grace.

Holy and triune God, three persons in one God, inhabit me as a temple consecrated to Your glory.

When You are present, evil cannot abide; In Your fellowship is fullness of joy; Beneath Your smile is peace of conscience; By Your side, no fears will disturb, and no anxiety will banish peace of mind.

With You, my heart shall bloom with fragrance. Oh, God, make me suitable, through repentance, for Your indwelling.

Nothing exceeds Your power, nothing is too great for You to do, and nothing too good for You to give. Infinite is Your might, boundless Your love, limitless Your grace, and glorious Your saving name.

Let angels sing for sinners repenting, for prodigal sons restored, for backsliders reclaimed, for Satan’s captives released, for blind eyes opened, for broken hearts restored, for the despondent cheered, for the self-righteous stripped, for the hypocrite driven from a refuge of lies, for the ignorant enlightened, and for saints built up in their holy faith.

I ask these great things of a great God.

A Prayer to the Triune God

The Valley of Vision is a collection of old prayers that exemplify intentionality, passion, and a Bible focus in prayer. The language can seem foreign to modern readers since it resembles a loftier tongue of days gone by. And yet, the content of these prayers is of such high quality that modern Christians will no doubt benefit from such examples.

Here is how I prayed, in my own words, the prayer entitled “The Trinity.”

Heavenly Father, Blessed Son, Eternal Spirit, I adore You as one being, one essence, one God in three distinct persons. You bring sinners to Your knowledge and You welcome unworthy subjects into Your kingdom.

Father, You have loved me and sent Jesus to redeem me;

Jesus, You have loved me and assumed my nature, You shed Your own blood to wash away my sins, and You lived with perfect righteousness in order to cover my shameful rebellion;

Holy Spirit, You have loved me and entered my heart, You have given me eternal life, and You have made the glories of Christ known to me.

Three persons in one God, I bless and praise You, the triune God. You lavishly and scandalously give me love! Your love is so unmerited, so unspeakable, so wondrous, and so mighty to save the lost and raise them to glory.

Father, I thank You that in the fullness of grace You have given me to Jesus, to be His sheep, His jewel, and His reward;

Jesus, I thank You that in fullness of grace You have accepted me, espoused me, and bound me to Yourself;

Holy Spirit, I thank You that in the fullness of grace You have revealed Jesus as my salvation, implanted faith within my soul, subdued my stubborn heart, and made me one with Christ forever.

Father, You are enthroned to hear my prayers;

Jesus, Your hand is outstretched to take my cares and burdens;

Holy Spirit, You are willing to help my weaknesses, to show me my need, to supply me with words, to pray within me, and to strengthen me so that I will not grow weary in making my requests known to You.

Oh triune God, who commands the universe, You have commanded me to ask for those things that concern Your kingdom and my soul. Let me live and pray as one who has been baptized into Your threefold name – Father, Son, and Spirit.

A Father’s Prayer for Every Day

The Valley of Vision is a collection of old prayers that exemplify intentionality, passion, and a Bible-focus in prayer. The language can seem foreign to modern readers since it resembles a loftier tongue of days gone by. And yet, the content of these prayers is of such high quality that modern Christians will no doubt benefit from such examples.

Here is how I prayed, in my own words, the prayer entitled “The Family” (especially because of Father’s Day)

O Sovereign Lord,

You are Creator and Father of all people. You made all people, and you now sustain them as well.

And yet, You are the special Father of those who know, love and honor You. Your special children find Your yoke to be easy and Your burden light; they feel fulfillment in Your good work and glorious joy in Your commands.

Oh, how I shutter to think how little Your goodness has affected me!

Even though You have given me such good gifts – Your Word, Your Spirit, and Your Church – I have not given proper time and effort to such things. How negligent I have been in doing good to others, and how foolish I have been with my resources.

Here I am before You in my sins and my disobedience. Oh God, have mercy on me, and may Your goodness and patience bring me to repentance and renewed fervor.

Help me to hate and forsake every false way. Help me to be alert, making an honest assessment of my condition and my character.

Help me control my tongue, and make my heart burn with diligent desire for godly things. Help me watch and pray against my many temptations, and help me defeat and destroy the sinful desires remaining in me.

Pierce my heart through with sorrow and concern for the salvation of others, and make me especially aware of the souls of my family.

Oh God, I cannot stand the thought of the eternal destruction of those I love. May those who are precious to me be all the more precious to You! May they be devoted to Your glorious grace and not Your righteous justice.

Lord, please make my devotions among my family effective and holy. Make my instruction, my discipline, and my example to permeate my house, so that it becomes a nursery for heaven and like the garden of the Lord.

Enrich the little lives for which You have made me overseer, and cause these little trees to grow in fruitful righteousness for Your glory.

Lord, please make those of my household fit for heaven, and not merely suitable citizens of this world.

Oh God, grant that the experiences of grace, the exposure to Your Word, the examples of godliness, and these prayerful requests be effective means in saving those I love from their due punishment.

I rest finally and ultimately in Your goodness and Your grace. May You bring all things to their appointed ends for Your glory and our good.

Help me Live as You have called Me

The Valley of Vision is a collection of old prayers that exemplify intentionality, passion, and a Bible-focus in prayer. The language can seem foreign to modern readers since it resembles a loftier tongue of days gone by. And yet, the content of these prayers is of such high quality that modern Christians will no doubt benefit from such examples.

Here is how I prayed, in my own words, the prayer entitled “Vocation [or Calling].”

My God and Father in heaven,

You have placed my in the church, which Your Son purchased by His own blood. Add grace to grace that I may live worthy of my calling into Your family.

I am a voyager across life’s ocean. May You keep me safe in troubled waters, like You preserved Noah in the ark of Your salvation; and may You bring me into the harbor of Your eternal rest.

I am a tree in the vineyard You have planted. Grant that I would not be fruitless, with worthless leaves and wild grapes. Prune my useless branches, and water me with the dew of Your blessings.

I am part of the Lamb’s bride, the church. Help me to be true, faithful, chaste, loving, pure, and devoted. Keep me from giving in to any strong affection I have for the things of this world.

May I live high above a love of temporal things, and may I be drawn to those things that are holy, clean, unblemished, and set apart by Your grace.

May I be fully satisfied in Your love, joyful in Your glory, guided by Your rules, and restful in the shadow of Christ’s cross.

Oh God, You know that my heart is not always a flame of adoring love, but help me find hope and rest in Your Son’s redemption and the promise that one day I shall be free from those things that now hinder and distract me.

I look forward to the days of heaven, where no fatigue shall overcome me, no guilt shall overwhelm me, and no doubt shall overpower me.

I look forward to those days when I shall never grow tired and never run out of time to worship and honor You.

Father, in the mean time, will You keep my mind and soul comforted and focused with these thoughts?

May You make me the shining light You’ve called me to be, as I await the day when darkness shall be no more.

Oh God, Make Me True!

The Valley of Vision is a collection of old prayers that exemplify intentionality, passion, and a Bible-focus in prayer. The language can seem foreign to modern readers since it resembles a loftier tongue of days gone by. And yet, the content of these prayers is of such high quality that modern Christians will no doubt benefit from such examples.

Here is how I prayed, in my own words, the prayer entitled “True Religion.”

Oh Lord, God Almighty,

Please ensure that my blessings from You are spiritual and not merely earthly and temporal.

Make it my present, highest, and constant concern to obtain those blessings which are spiritual in nature, eternal, and truly satisfying.

God, Please preserve me from false views of my own character, and help me to see myself truly and honestly.

Make me to understand and guard my beliefs as well as my actions, my motives as well as my words and deeds.

Help me, God, to never mistake my emotional highs for the renewal of the Holy Spirit, to never judge my spiritual health by way of impulses or feelings, but instead by constant and prevailing patterns in my thoughts and actions.

May my heart be right with You, and may my life be lived so as to bring You glory and so as to demonstrate my gratitude for Your grace.

May I keep my eternal home in view and grow increasingly more joyful at the thoughts of Your heavenly promise, and may I feel and confess myself to be a stranger and a pilgrim in this world that is not my home.

Lord, please grant me all the direction, defense, support, and consolation my journey here requires; and keep my mind constantly fixed upon You.

Above all, please fill me abundantly with the Spirit of Christ, that I may be prepared for every duty, love You in all Your mercies, submit to You in every trial, trust You when walking in darkness, and have peace in You amid life’s many changes.

Oh God, my Redeemer, my Shelter, and my Friend, I believe and trust You, and yet I also ask that You would mercifully help my unbelief.

Oh God, May I Never!

The Valley of Vision is a collection of old prayers that exemplify intentionality, passion, and a Bible-focus in prayer. The language can seem foreign to modern readers since it resembles a loftier tongue of days gone by. And yet, the content of these prayers is of such high quality that modern Christians will no doubt benefit from such examples.

Here is how I prayed, in my own words, the prayer entitled “The ‘Nevers’ of the Gospel.”

O Lord, May I never fail to come to the knowledge of the truth.

May I never rest in a system of doctrine, even if I believe it is biblical and right, that does not bring me salvation, or extend my trust in You, or teach me to deny sin and worldly lusts, or help me to live a self-controlled life of goodness and godliness.

May I never rely on my own convictions and resolutions, but make me confident in You and in Your might.

May I never cease to find Your grace sufficient for me in all my trials, conflicts, and obligations.

May I never forget to correct my foolish thinking about You when spiritual distresses and outward troubles would try to change my proper perspective.

May I never fail to seek refuge in Christ, who is full of grace and truth, the friend who loves at all times, the God-man who knows what my mortal infirmities feel like, and the Savior who can do exceedingly more for me than I may think or know.

May I never confine my Christianity to only those extraordinary occasions, but make me to acknowledge You in all my ways – especially in the ordinary times of life.

May I never limit my devotion to You by only trusting and obeying when times are good, but make me to value and revere you all of my days.

May I never be godly only on Sundays or only in a church building, but make me a godly disciple on every day, at my job and in my home.

May I never make godliness only an outward facade or merely a habit, but make me to love righteousness and to pursue You as a way of life.

Oh Lord, please do good to me as I seek to know and love You through reading Your Word, communing with You in prayer, and singing Your praises.

Finally, my Redeemer and King, let me at last enter into that city You have prepared for all those who love and trust You – that heavenly home where Your glory is supreme and the Lamb reigns forevermore.