Browse more Worship Ideas

Prayer worship ideas

Prayer is an address to God. It may include praise, thanksgiving, confession, lament, or petition, including intercession. Prayer may be said, thought, or sung. Prayer calls for reverence toward a holy God, but may also provide fellowship with a loving God.

View search results for Prayer

What are the different types of prayer?

    There are many different types of prayer that are appropraite for different circumstances and concerns.

    How do I write a prayer for worship?

    In corporate worship, prayer too is corporate. Consider ways to invite the congregation to participate actively in the prayer:

    • Use phrases like "we offer . . ." or "we join our hearts . . ." or "let us bring our concerns and thanksgivings"
    • Use a corporate spoken response throughout the prayer, such as "Lord, hear our prayer"
    • Use a sung refrain throughout the prayer

    Who hears our prayers?

    In the heavenly realms prayer is heard (or overheard) by more than one listener. For one thing, God is triune. Strong trinitarians may conclude that three listen, not just one. But then there's also the heavenly council, the ranks of angels and archangels. Perhaps they hear prayer. For all we know, so do the saints and martyrs. We surely don't know they don't. The point is that we likely pray into a whole cloud of witnesses.

    Paul says that not only mere humans intercede. So what if a homeless Christian under a bridge prays to God? He doesn't have a prayer chain from his church to lobby God. The two other guys under the bridge are too out of it to intercede. But what if Christ, our mediator, intercedes for him? What if the Holy Spirit groans over him? What if angels and saints and martyrs light heaven up with their intercessions for him? "Lord—and anybody else who may be listening—hear my prayer."

    Prayer calls for reverence before a holy God. Christians are aware that it is God to whom they pray. God is high—in fact, most high. God dwells in realms of glory. God is terrifying in purity, and the sworn foe of all evil. The Bible tells us that God's holiness in the temple was sometimes so intense that the priests had to back up. God was too hot for them that day. Once upon a time people loved God, but they also feared God because God is not domestic, not predictable, not safe at all.

    Finally, prayer is opportunity for fellowship with a loving God. We have a God who listens, who loves, who yearns for the best in us. We may pour ourselves out to God, knowing that at the end we will get ourselves back—stronger, cleaner, and more deeply loved than ever.

    How do I write a prayer for students and teachers going back to school?

    Corporate prayer may provide a good opportunity to acknowledge community events and seasons in worship. For instance, you could offer aprayerof intercession or commission for students and teachers going back to school, as in these examples from our search results:

    • "Hear the word of the Lord. I knew you before I gave you life. I chose you before you were born. I send you now to school. Be my people there. Share my love with everyone you meet there. Stand up for my ways in classrooms, in locker rooms, on playgrounds, in lunchrooms, and on the bus." (from Jeremiah 1:4-10) Carolyn C. Brown from Worshiping with Children
    • "O Lord, you who have called and equipped the teachers in our community, we pray for them today. Watch over them, provide for them, guide them, sustain them. May you be their sun and shield, so that they might do the work that you have entrusted to them. Amen." W. David O. Taylor

    • More worship ideas for "back to school" from Zeteosearch.org

    Where is prayer in the Bible?

    View search results for Prayer