How to pray for your church, week by week

Most of us mean to pray for our church. We hear the notices on Sunday, someone mentions a need over coffee, and we think “I’ll pray about that”. Then Monday happens.

Praying for your church doesn’t need a long list or a special meeting. It needs a rhythm small enough that you will keep it. Here is one that works.

Why pray for your church at all

Paul never stopped praying for the churches he loved, and he told them so. To one he wrote: “I thank my God whenever I remember you, always in every request of mine on behalf of you all, making my requests with joy” (Philippians 1:3–4, WEB).

Prayer is one of the quietest and most powerful ways to love the people you worship with. It also changes you. It is hard to stay cynical about people you pray for by name.

A simple weekly rhythm

Pick one focus for each day. Keep it to a minute or two if that is all you have.

• Monday: your leaders. Your minister, pastor or vicar, and the people who lead alongside them. Pray for rest, wisdom and joy, and for their families.
• Tuesday: the people who serve. Children’s and youth leaders, musicians, the welcome team, the people who set up and pack away.
• Wednesday: people who are struggling. Anyone ill, grieving, out of work or lonely. If you know names, use them.
• Thursday: the young and the old. The children and teenagers, and the oldest members who may no longer make it on Sundays.
• Friday: your neighbourhood. The streets around your building, the local school, the people who walk past and never come in.
• Saturday: Sunday. The service, the preaching, the welcome, and the person who will walk in for the first time.
• Sunday: thanks. Look back at the week and thank God for what you saw.

A prayer for your church

Lord, thank you for our church. Give our leaders wisdom, rest and courage. Bless everyone who serves. Comfort those who are struggling, especially [name]. Make us a place where strangers feel at home and where your love is easy to see. Amen.

Let people know

When you pray for someone in your church, tell them. A message on Monday that says “Prayed for you and the family this morning” means more to a tired minister than you might think. Leaders spend a lot of time praying for others and rarely hear that someone is praying for them.

Keep it going

The hard part is remembering. A few things help:

• Write the names down somewhere you will see them every day.
• Attach your prayer to something you already do, such as the kettle or the school run.
• When a need is met, notice it and give thanks, then move on to the next.

Prayershake was made for exactly this. Add the people and needs you want to carry, pray for them one at a time, and they get a gentle note that someone prayed. You can also start a prayer group for your church or home group, so the requests from Sunday stay in front of everyone all week.