Praying for your church is one of God’s privileges in the Kingdom because you finally belong to His spiritual family, having moved from darkness to light. God has sealed you with His mark, the Holy Spirit, alongside your family in the church. Many Bible verses can guide you to pray for the church, and here is a great example:
“By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another” (John 13:35)
Heavenly Father, thank You for the lives of my spiritual family in the Kingdom of God. Thank You for planting Your love in the hearts of each church member. I pray that everyone will continue to walk in Christ’s likeness, loving one another, so everyone will know we are true disciples of Jesus Christ. Amen.
A Bible Verse to Pray for the Church
There are many more Scriptures that you can use to pray for your church. Praying for your church is not an obligation, a responsibility, or a burden to carry.
Praying for your church means being and staying united with the spiritual family God has placed and entrusted with you. In the same way, you want some breakthrough, protection, provision, or guidance from God for your biological family, your church also needs such love as part of the spiritual family in God’s Kingdom.
Why is it important to pray for your church?
It is essential to pray for your local church because God’s people are continuously at war with the Kingdom of darkness, the Kingdom of Satan, which hinders all the works of God and the Kingdom of God from advancing. You already know that Satan takes every opportunity to steal, kill and destroy (see John 10:10), but when you pray for your church, your leaders and your pastors, heaven moves by the authority and your declarations in Christ Jesus. For instance, when you declare God’s Word over the situations inside the church, God comes to fulfill His Word.
In the book of Ezekiel, God was searching for a man who would repair the broken walls and stand in the gap for Him on behalf of the land when it was about to be destroyed, but He found none (see Ezekiel 22:30).
God is looking for people who are ready to stand in the gap in prayer and make intercessions so that His will may be done on earth as it is in heaven. It is an honor to be one of those whom God will find available and willing to pray for His Church.
Why should we pray as a church?
While you can pray individually in your secret place with God, it is also important to pray as a collective church. Imagine the world as a vast house covered in total darkness. There’s a small lightbulb in the corner, shining as it prays. That lightbulb is you. Now, imagine when the whole church prays; how many lights do you think can fill the entire house and eradicate the darkness everywhere? That’s how it is when people pray as a Church.
Jesus said in Matthew 18:20, “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” When God’s people are praying in unity with their fellow brethren, their family in Christ Jesus, hell trembles because the enemy knows that the presence of God is manifesting strongly, and God’s glorious light will expose their works of darkness.
What does the Bible say about praying for church leaders?
Praying for your church leaders and pastors is crucial, because prayers offered in faith, in love, and by the Word of God bring the will of God, not just in their ministries, but also in their personal lives, families, business, jobs, and so on. Prayers encourage and empower your leaders to walk in the will of God. The Holy Spirit then testifies to their spirit how much you pray for them.
In the Bible, the Apostle Paul said, “Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving; meanwhile praying also for us, that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in chains, that I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak” (Colossians 4:1-3). If the great leaders during the times of Jesus Christ needed prayer from the Body of Christ, how much more do the pastors and leaders of today’s church need such support? Like everyone, your pastors and leaders need the prayers of God’s people.
Why should we pray for our pastors?
Like parents watching over their children, pastors are charged with taking care of and managing God’s people through a local church. It is their mandate from God to feed God’s sheep, take care of their spiritual needs, and keep watch over their souls, especially when Satan tries to attack anyone or cause trouble. Moreover, if the enemy can attack local church members, how much more the pastor who tends to God’s sheep? That is why you must pray for your pastors, as they carry out God’s will, first and foremost, as an example to the body of Christ. If not for their lives of sacrifice, obedience unto God, and self-denial, your local church would not exist to save so many souls through the Gospel of Christ Jesus. Even the Apostle Paul asked for prayers for the Church in Ephesus, saying, “And pray for me, too. Ask God to give me the right words so I can boldly explain God’s mysterious plan that the Good News is for Jews and Gentiles alike” (Ephesians 6:19). Praying for your pastors, leaders, and church is an integral part of faithfully walking in Christ Jesus.
What can I pray for my pastor?
Here are some of the things that you can pray for your pastors:
- Pray that God will open doors of opportunities where the Word of God can be preached to reveal Jesus Christ’s works through them.
- Pray for boldness and the right words to come upon them so that they may well explain God’s truths.
- Pray that your pastors’ heart’s desires in Christ will be answered and fulfilled according to God’s plan and purpose.
- Pray for their continued strength in the LORD spiritually, physically, emotionally, and mentally.
- Pray that their health prospers, just as their souls prosper.
- Pray for their protection against the enemy’s works, as well as their families, jobs, and businesses.
- Pray for their ministry and the works of their hands to prosper.
- Pray for continuous heavenly wisdom to be given unto them by God.
- Pray for the constant manifestation of the fruit of the Spirit in their lives.
- Pray for Christlikeness and the Father’s love to dwell richly in their hearts.
- Pray for a continuous revelation of the Word of God and their fellowship with the Holy Spirit
- Pray for the grace and mercies of God to always abound in their lives through Christ.
How do you pray for your local church?
There are many ways for you to pray for your local church. You can pray the Scriptures, you can declare and decree God’s promises over situations and crises the church is facing, or you can pray, in general or individually, for the member or a leader, if the Holy Spirit leads you to. What matters is that you let the Holy Spirit lead you in praying for your church. There are many things that you can pray for in your Church:
1. You can pray for your pastors and leaders that God’s wisdom, anointing, and Christlikeness will always manifest in their lives so that they may be good examples.
James 3:17
But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.
A Bible Verse to Pray for the Church
2. You can pray for expanding territorial influences and the provisions for church plantings, sending out missionaries, and accomplishing Kingdom assignments.
1 Chronicles 4:10
And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested.
A Bible Verse to Pray for the Church
3. You can pray for the church to be committed to serving one another in deep love and affection that glorifies God.
Ephesians 4:32
And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.
A Bible Verse to Pray for the Church
Most importantly, you can seek guidance from the Holy Spirit when praying for Your Church. It is best to pray according to the will of God for that particular season for your church. Allow the Holy Spirit to speak a particular Bible verse to you for you to pray for your church.
How can I encourage my church?
The best way to encourage your church is by being actively involved in the services, Kingdom assignments, and missions, or being a financial aid in advancing the Kingdom of God and interceding and praying for your church. When you are burning with passion for the LORD by making yourself available to the works of God through your local church, you encourage your leaders and your pastors, and you also become a great example for the next generation of believers.
James 2:26 says that faith without works is dead. Similarly, you can pray for your church and be the answer to your own prayer. God wants His people to take actions, rather than merely speak words, for the Kingdom of God is not a matter of talk, but of power (see 1 Corinthians 4:20).
Stay blessed and continuously intercede and stand in the gap for your local church, and know that you are a great encouragement to the Body of Christ and your local spiritual family, which is a gift from God in Christ Jesus. May the Holy Spirit empower you to always walk in the will of God through Christ Jesus. Amen.