Why (& How) to Pray For Your Church

When I was a kid, I prayed for a lot of things: my grandparents, my cats (Sneezy and Whiskers), my school work, and my friends who had strep throat or broken fingers. One thing I never prayed for was my church.

Pray for a church? It simply never occurred to me. From my childish perspective, our pastor was a-okay, our church was filled with lots of nice people, and everybody took care of everybody and everything that was needed.

Of course, looking back as an adult (and a pastor) I know that there was plenty to pray for in that church. In fact, it closed its doors more than 25 years ago. Looking forward, there is a whole lot to pray for in my church today.

Here are some ways that I pray throughout the week. I use a modified prayer outline originally provided by Joy of Abiding. On Sundays, I pray through all of these needs at once. Maybe you’ll see a few things that get you to think about how you can pray for your church. After all, if you don’t pray for your own church, who will?

-Strengthen our Staff and Leaders: That they will have servants’ hearts and will work with excellence and integrity.

-Energize our Youth & Children’s Volunteers: That they will build strong relationships and provide a Godly influence in this special ministry (Nursery, Sunday School, Wednesdays).

-Guide our Elders & Deacons: That they will have wisdom and insight in leading our church family through shepherding, stewardship, and administration.

-Help our Pastor: That his teaching will be Spirit-filled, clear, and steeped in God’s Word so that it “will not return void” (Isaiah 55:11)

-Sustain our Members: That their attendance will reflect their spiritual heart and that they will worship and serve in unity and harmony.

-Connect us With Our Community: Help us to see the needs around us and lead us into gospel conversations with locals, neighbors, and community contacts.

-Bless our Visitors: That we will make them feel welcome and they will see God’s Work in this church as I see it.

-Be with Similar Churches:

• New ARP Churches: Hill City, Shem Creek, King’s Parish, River Crossing, Irmo, Arsenal Hill.
• Nearby Churches: Trinity EPC, Faith PCA, Westminster EPC, Westminster ARP, Mayesville ARP, Kingstree PCA, 1st Presbyterian (ECO)

In Him,

Pastor Brian

Image: lifewaychurchinteriors.com