Opening Prayer for Church Service

Psalm 95:1-6

Psalm 95, which names no author, opens with the psalmist calling God’s people to come before the LORD with joyful songs and thanksgiving and to bow down before Him as their Maker.

Lord God, we come into Your presence with thanksgiving. You are the Rock of our salvation and a great King above all gods. The depths of the earth, the mountain peaks and the sea are Yours, and so are we, for You are our Maker. As we sing, pray and open Your word today, quiet our hearts and turn them to You. We bow before You and worship You. Be glorified in all we do here. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Psalm 95, which names no author, opens with the psalmist calling God’s people to come before the LORD with joyful songs and thanksgiving and to bow down before Him as their Maker.

The Scripture

“Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout to the Rock of our salvation! Let us enter His presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to Him in song. For the LORD is a great God, a great King above all gods. In His hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to Him. The sea is His, for He made it, and His hands formed the dry land. O come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.”
— Psalm 95:1-6

Prayer points from Psalm 95:1-6

Thank God that He is the Rock of our salvation.
Praise Him as the great King above all gods, the Maker of the mountains and the sea.
Ask Him to quiet hurried hearts and turn every mind toward Him.
Pray for the songs, the prayers and the preaching of His word in this service.
Pray for guests and newcomers to meet the Lord today.
Bow before the LORD our Maker and give Him the honor He is due.

About this verse

Psalm 95 begins as an invitation spoken to a whole congregation: “Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout to the Rock of our salvation!” The reasons follow at once. The LORD is “a great King above all gods”; the depths of the earth, the mountain peaks, the sea and the dry land are His, because He made them. Then the invitation moves from singing to bowing: “O come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.” Worship here starts with God, not with us: who He is and what He has made. That is why churches have long used this psalm as a call to worship, to turn a room full of busy people toward the One they came to meet. The psalm goes on to warn against hardened hearts, so a good opening prayer also asks God to make us ready to listen. This prayer is for a pastor, worship leader or church member asked to open a Sunday service in prayer.

When to pray this prayer

At the start of a Sunday morning service
As the call to worship before the first song
At a midweek or evening service
When the worship team gathers before the service
At a church anniversary or special service
Quietly in your seat as the service begins

More prayers for church & ministry

Did this help you pray today?

Stay a little longer with Scripture

Watch the Bible word for word, or rest with a painting of Jesus, piece by piece.

Bible MoviesWhole Bible chapters as films, word for word→

Bible JigsawPaintings of Jesus to piece together, each with a verse→

No app? Watch a chapter here · Play a jigsaw here

More prayers for Church & Ministry →

Every prayer here is also a short podcast episode: follow A Short Prayer on Apple Podcasts or Spotify and new prayers come to you.

The whole prayer library

✶ · Our Bible Moments