As Christians, being part of a church family can be such a blessing. You are able to encourage others and be encouraged in your walk with God.
Covering your church in prayer, whether it is for church members, visitors, volunteers, services, or the building, is an important way to support the church.
These Sunday prayers for church can help you lift up important events and details to the Lord in prayer. It also puts you in a position for God to prepare and change your heart for your time at church and with people from church.
Some of them are designed as example prayers that you can use if you are asked to say an opening prayer, closing prayer, or a prayer for a special occasion.
Take a look at these Sunday prayers for church and find the right one for your prayer time, or use it to prepare for leading in prayer during the church service.
Sunday Prayers for Church: 20 Sample Prayers
You can pray these sample prayers word for word, or you can use them to inspire your own prayers. As long as you are praying these Sunday prayers for church with a genuine heart, God will hear you.
Some people might object to preparing a prayer for the Sunday service, saying to let the Holy Spirit lead you in prayer. And that is a valid point of view.
However, taking time to pray for and prepare for leading others in prayer is an act of service and care that can reflect your heart to honor God with your best efforts.
These prayers are here for a resource for your Sunday prayers for church, to prepare for a great day in the house of the Lord!
Prayers of Preparation for Church
These Sunday morning prayers are a great way to start your Sunday! These two prayers are designed to be prayed on your own; the rest of the prayers in the article are designed to be prayed as part of the church service.
Prepare your heart for Sunday morning, as well as cover the church in prayer.
Prayer to Prepare Your Heart for Church
Dear God,
I am thankful for this day, and what You have planned for me today. As I get ready to go to church, let me put on the right attitude.
May I be ready to give to others, with a humble and understanding heart, May I also be open to receiving encouragement and instruction as I learn from the sermon and interact with others.
May I not just be seeking what I need, but look to bless others. And may You be glorified in Your church today!
In the powerful name of Jesus,
Amen.
Prayer of Blessing for the Church Service
O God,
I thank You so much for our church. I just want us to be a blessing to You today with our worship.
Please bless our church service today. Be with our pastor preaching the message. May the sermon be full of encouraging truth from Your Word.
Inspire our worship team as they lead us in worship through song. Bless the talents and gifts that You have given them.
I pray for all the volunteers, from the children’s workers to the greeters to the audio visual team, and everyone else, that You would bless them as they serve You. May they find joy in their service.
Please bless us with safety and protection as we gather together today. Give us wisdom, and help us discern any potential situations.
We ask that You would protect us from spiritual attack as well, and that Your Holy Spirit would work in our hearts powerfully during this service.
Please bless this Sunday!
In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Opening Prayers for the Church Service
These opening prayers for the church service can help you prepare if you have been asked to open the service in prayer. They can also help if you need some new ideas if this is your usual role at church.
Opening Prayer for God to Bless this Church Service
Dear Lord,
We thank You for bringing us here together at church today. What a blessing it is to be in the house of the Lord!
We invite You here, God, to be in this church service and to work in our hearts. May we know You better because of today.
Please bless the sermon, our worship, our tithes and offerings, and every other aspect of the service. Please bless the work of the hands of the many people who are serving here today.
Bless our fellowship here today, that there would be unity among the congregation. Bless our prayers here today, that we would find our guidance and our peace in You.
May we glorify You here today!
In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Opening Prayer to Prepare Our Hearts for Worship
Dear Heavenly Father,
As we get ready to start this worship service, we ask You to prepare our hearts to worship You.
May we be ready to hear You through the prayers, songs, sermon, and anything else You have for us today.
We pray that we as a congregation would be receptive to Your precious and Holy Word. Please ready our hearts to hear You.
We ask these things in the name of Jesus, Amen.
Opening Prayer to our Almighty God
Almighty God,
We are here today to worship You, our almighty and powerful God. Father God, who can stand before You?
You are so great and mighty, beyond our understanding. We thank You that You are our merciful God, willing to see us through the sacrifice Jesus made for us on the cross.
May we honor You with all that we do today, Please bless us as we worship You.
In the name of Christ Jesus,
Amen.
Prayers During the Worship Service
These prayers during the worship service can be useful for a variety of situations.
Some of these Sunday prayers for church are good for prayer before the worship through song begins, while others are more suited for the prayer before the sermon. There is also one that can be useful before the offering is taken/highlighted in the service.
Prayer for Opening Worship Time
O God,
We lift our voices to You today in worship and praise!
You are worthy of worship, our almighty and merciful God.
As we worship, please receive our gratitude and adoration of You.
In the name of Jesus Christ, we say, Amen.
Prayer for God to Hear Our Praise
Dear God,
We celebrate You today with our worship. You are good and full of grace.
We come to You with thankful hearts. You bless us with good things in our lives. Even in this broken world, we can find things to be thankful for.
And we are also so thankful and grateful for You! O God, You are faithful and merciful and compassionate. We can only come to worship because Jesus made it possible for us to be at peace with You.
We bring a sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord (Hebrews 13:15) May it please You!
Please help us to bring You beautiful and lovely praise from our hearts today, and may our worship be a wonderful offering to You.
In the holy name of Jesus,
Amen.
Prayer for Tithes and Offerings
Dear God,
Thank You for Your provision for us. You have given us many things to be thankful for each day. We owe each breath to You!
As we come to You with our gifts today, giving back just some of what You have given us, we pray that You would bless these gifts. May they be used thoughtfully and carefully, and may they stretch further than we can imagine.
May we see how You provide for us each day, and be thankful.
In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Prayers for the Congregation
These prayers are a way to pray for the congregation as a whole. Some of these you might find helpful to pray before you go to church on Sunday; others are great to pray over the congregation during the service.
Prayerfully look over these options and choose the right one for your situation.
Prayer for the Lord to Bless Our Church Family
O Lord,
I am so thankful for our church family. These dear friends are like family to me, united together in Christ.
Please bless our church community, dear Lord! Build us in unity, love and support within our church. May we reflect to each other the love that You have bestowed so richly upon us.
Help us to be a welcoming and loving church family, welcoming new family members in as they seek You and to know You better.
In the beautiful name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Prayer for Guidance for Our Congregation
O Gracious Father,
We want to honor You with our lives, and we need Your guidance to Your perfect will to do that. Please help us to seek Your will, and to patiently wait for Your answers.
In the coming week, may You direct us in our daily lives. Give us strength, wisdom, and protection to do Your will.
Thank You that You are always with us! May we always stay close to You.
In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Prayer for Comfort in Difficult Times
Dear Lord,
You know what we are facing today. Our circumstances are overwhelming, and You see how our hearts are broken during these difficult times.
We know that You are with us. Even when we can’t feel it, it doesn’t change the fact that You will never leave us. We pray for a blessing of feeling Your presence today. Provide comfort and hope to our hearts.
Please see us through these uncertain times, and give us Your peace in our hearts.
In the mighty name of Jesus, Amen.
Sunday Prayers for Specific Occasions
Looking for Sunday prayers for church based on a theme? These prayers for special occasions include prayers for New Year, Holy Week, Thanksgiving, Advent, Christmas, and Outreach/Mission Sunday.
We cover special welcomes that sometimes include prayers on our articles for welcomes for Easter and Christmas, if you need more ideas for those Sundays. You’ll also find Advent prayer ideas in our Advent readings article.
Hopefully, these will provide some good options for prayers for your special Sunday services.
Prayer for the New Year
Dear God,
We thank You for the year that lies behind us. You blessed us greatly and guided us through all that we faced.
We dedicate this new year to You, seeking Your will and guidance for the year ahead. Bless us with wisdom and discernment in setting goals and priorities for this year.
Please protect our church family as we face this new year. May this be a year of healing and growth for our church community.
May You be glorified in all we do and say in this new year!
In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Prayer for Holy Week
Dear Father,
We pray that You would prepare our hearts as we observe Holy Week together, from Palm Sunday, to Good Friday, to Easter Sunday.
Help us to reflect on these important events, and how it changed our story forever. Show us what You want us to learn this week.
May we grieve our sin that put Jesus on the cross, and rejoice that He is alive and offers us salvation!
We ask these things in the precious name of our Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen.
Prayer for Thanksgiving Service
O Lord,
We are grateful that the Thanksgiving season is a wonderful reminder to be thankful. May we turn our gratitude to You and all You have provided.
You give us what we need each day, and often give us more than we need. You are so faithful in Your provision.
May our worship here today be filled with gratitude for what You have done and who You are.
You bless us so much; help us to be a blessing to others.
We ask this in Your blessed and holy name, Jesus, Amen.
Prayer for Advent
Dear God,
As we start the Advent season, we are so thankful for the hope that was provided through Jesus’ birth.
Please quiet our hearts and prepare our hearts to encounter anew the Christmas story this season. May our reflection draw us closer to You as we get closer to Christmas.
Bring us into repentance that we might worship You with renewed hearts.
May our joy this Advent season come from the hope You have provided!
In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Prayer for Christmas
Dear Lord,
We are so thankful for the birth of Jesus! We come together as a church to celebrate this wonderful event.
Thank You for the best gift of this season – salvation through Jesus Christ. May we share this gift with others.
We pray for joy and peace during this busy Christmas season, that we would depend on You for our strength and provision as we plan our days.
May our worship today be a blessing to You!
In the blessed name of Jesus, Amen.
Prayer for Missions/Outreach Sunday
Dear Lord,
Thank You for this special day to focus on sharing Your Good News with others. It is a special privilege to share hope with others who do not know You.
Whether it is local or to the nations of the world, we pray that our church’s outreach would glorify You. Please bless the work of our hands, whether it is through the mission work we support or the ministries where we serve.
Help us to show our loving, compassionate, and gracious God to those who do not know You! May today’s worship service help us see the impact of missions and outreach inside and outside of these walls.
In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Closing Prayers for the Church Service
A closing prayer for a church service can serve a variety of purposes.
Often, when a pastor or the speaker for the day has given the message, they close in prayer, including a prayer prompt that relates to the sermon. This prayer may even be the end of the church service.
But for maybe most church services, something comes after the sermon. Maybe it is the announcements, maybe it is another song, or some other important part of the worship service.
This means that the closing prayer for the worship service will be separate from the sermon, but it still can tie back to the sermon or the overall themes of the service.
If you are closing the service in prayer, it may be wise to incorporate part of the sermon into your closing prayer. If the pastor preached on sharing the Gospel with friends, you may include something like “Lord, help us to be faithful in sharing the Gospel.”
If you aren’t sure what to say in that regard, you could say, “Help us to apply what we learned here today,” or you can ask the pastor beforehand what would be a good sentence to add to your prayer.
Be sure to keep it brief – this prayer time isn’t an opportunity for another sermon. Rather, it’s a final encouragement before the church family parts ways for a week (or a few days, depending on your church’s schedule.)
A Closing Prayer of Blessing
Father God,
We pray that You would send us forth in Your Name, with Your blessing.
May we represent You to a world that is broken and needs You.
Please guide us with Your presence in the coming week.
In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
A Closing Prayer for Strength for the Week Ahead
O God,
We pray that You would strengthen us for the week ahead.
In these coming days, may we find our hope and endurance in You! Help us to be strong in our faith.
May we honor You as we walk with You each day.
In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
A Closing Prayer to Live the Gospel
O Lord,
Your Good News has changed our lives! May we live out the Gospel in our lives this week.
As we live our daily lives, may they show the love and hope found in Jesus Christ.
Help us to be faithful in our walk with You each day.
In the name of Christ Jesus, Amen.
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We hope that one of these Sunday prayers for church will work for what you need it for. Many of them are great for praying on your own, while others are designed for praying in front of a congregation.
If you are preparing to use one of the prayers in a church service and need some reminders, you might want to jot down or print out the prayer on paper and tuck it in your Bible.
This may look more natural than reading it from your phone, but you have the best understanding of what will work best at your church.
Taking the time to research and prepare your Sunday prayers for church is a beautiful act of service that you can do for your church. Pray over what you find and ask God to guide you.
As you depend on God through prayer for what we need, incorporating it into the church service in many ways, it shows how important prayer is to the Christian walk with God.
May God bless you as you plan for and pray for your Sunday Prayers for Church!
If you liked reading Sunday Prayers for Church, you may also want to read Prayer Points for the Church, Scriptures to Pray for Your Pastor, and Church Prayer List. Also check out 9 Ideas for Prayers for Tithes and Offerings.
