Prayer points with Scriptures · 23 points
Prayer Points for Ministry
These prayer points are for anyone who serves in or through a local church: staff and volunteers, children’s and youth workers, worship teams, outreach and care teams, greeters, cooks and the people running sound. They cover calling and faithfulness, serving with humility, endurance and lasting fruit, provision and teamwork, and each ministry by name. Pray them for yourself, for your team, or for someone whose service usually goes unnoticed.
As good stewards of the manifold grace of God, each of you should use whatever gift he has received to serve one another. If anyone speaks, he should speak as one conveying the words of God. If anyone serves, he should serve with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.
1 Peter 4:10-11 (BSB)
A ministry team can pray one section before it serves, or the last section together at a volunteer gathering. One person reads the verse, the team prays together, and then you name the children, students, visitors or patients you serve. If you are running on empty, start with the section on endurance. Verses are from the Berean Standard Bible.
Calling and faithfulness
1Good works prepared in advance
Father, we are Your workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works You prepared in advance. Thank You that serving You was Your idea before it was ours. Show each of us the work You have prepared, and give us joy in doing it.
For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance as our way of life.
Ephesians 2:10 (BSB)2Finishing the ministry we received
Lord, Paul urged Archippus to complete the ministry he had received in You. Help us finish what You have given us to do: the class we teach, the team we lead, the widow we promised to visit, long after the excitement has worn off.
Tell Archippus: “See to it that you complete the ministry you have received in the Lord.”
Colossians 4:17 (BSB)3Found faithful
Lord, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful. We are not asked to be impressive, only faithful. Make us people who show up, keep our word and serve the same way whether a crowd is watching or no one is.
Now it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.
1 Corinthians 4:2 (BSB)4Faithful with very little
Lord Jesus, You said whoever is faithful with very little will also be faithful with much. Bless those who stack chairs, wipe tables, change diapers in the nursery and answer the church phone. Let them know that small work done for You is never small.
Whoever is faithful with very little will also be faithful with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.
Luke 16:10 (BSB)
Serving with humility
5Every gift put to work
Father, You give different gifts: serving, teaching, encouraging, giving, leading and showing mercy. Help each of us find and use ours, serving without comparing, leading with diligence and showing mercy cheerfully.
if it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is giving, let him give generously; if it is leading, let him lead with diligence; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.
Romans 12:7-8 (BSB)6Taking the towel and basin
Lord Jesus, our Lord and Teacher, You washed Your disciples’ feet and told us to do as You have done. Root out any feeling that some jobs are beneath us, and make us glad to do the lowly work.
So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example so that you should do as I have done for you.
John 13:14-15 (BSB)7He must increase
Lord Jesus, You must increase and we must decrease. Free us from serving to be noticed, thanked or given a platform. When people praise our ministry, help us point them straight to You.
He must increase; I must decrease.
John 3:30 (BSB)8Skill for behind-the-scenes work
God, You filled Bezalel with Your Spirit, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of craftsmanship. Give that kind of skill to those who run sound and video, design, build sets, fix the building and keep the website running, and let their craft honor You.
And I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability, and knowledge in all kinds of craftsmanship,
Exodus 31:3 (BSB)
Endurance and lasting fruit
9Not losing heart
Lord, it is by Your mercy that we have this ministry, so we will not lose heart. When attendance drops, volunteers quit or criticism stings, remind us that our ministry is a gift of mercy, not a test we are failing.
Therefore, since God in His mercy has given us this ministry, we do not lose heart.
2 Corinthians 4:1 (BSB)10Not growing weary
Father, help us not grow weary in doing good. Some of us have served for years without seeing much change. Keep us from giving up, and help us trust that in due time You will bring a harvest, even if we never see all of it.
Let us not grow weary in well-doing, for in due time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
Galatians 6:9 (BSB) · Pray this verse →11Fruit that will remain
Lord Jesus, You chose us and appointed us to go and bear fruit that will remain. We do not want busy programs that leave nothing behind. Make our ministry the kind that changes lives for years to come.
You did not choose Me, but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will remain—so that whatever you ask the Father in My name, He will give you.
John 15:16 (BSB)12Your word will not return empty
LORD, as rain and snow water the earth, Your word will not return to You empty. Bless every Bible lesson taught to a squirming class and every verse shared over coffee, and let it accomplish what You please long after we have forgotten it.
For just as rain and snow fall from heaven and do not return without watering the earth, making it bud and sprout, and providing seed to sow and food to eat, so My word that proceeds from My mouth will not return to Me empty, but it will accomplish what I please, and it will prosper where I send it.
Isaiah 55:10-11 (BSB)13You do not forget
Father, You are not unjust. You will not forget the work and love Your people show as they serve the saints. Comfort those whose service goes unseen and unthanked with this: You see it, and You remember.
For God is not unjust. He will not forget your work and the love you have shown for His name as you have ministered to the saints and continue to do so.
Hebrews 6:10 (BSB)
Provision and teamwork
14Grace for every good work
God, You are able to make all grace abound to us, so that we have what we need and can abound in every good work. Provide for our ministries: volunteers, supplies, rooms, budgets and the energy to keep going.
And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things, at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.
2 Corinthians 9:8 (BSB)15Workers paid fairly
Lord Jesus, You said the worker is worthy of his wages. Provide for our church staff and ministry workers. Help our church pay them fairly, and free them from money worries that pull their focus away from the people they serve.
Stay at the same house, eating and drinking whatever you are offered. For the worker is worthy of his wages. Do not move around from house to house.
Luke 10:7 (BSB)16Contending side by side
Lord, help our teams stand firm in one spirit, contending together as one for the faith of the gospel. Where there is friction between volunteers or between ministries, give honesty, forgiveness and a shared aim.
Nevertheless, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending together as one for the faith of the gospel,
Philippians 1:27 (BSB)17Every part needed
Father, the eye cannot tell the hand it has no need of it, and the parts that seem weaker are indispensable. Let the shy volunteer, the new believer and the one who can only give an hour a month know they are needed.
The eye cannot say to the hand, “I do not need you.” Nor can the head say to the feet, “I do not need you.” On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable,
1 Corinthians 12:21-22 (BSB)
Each ministry by name
18Children’s ministry
Lord Jesus, whoever welcomes a little child in Your name welcomes You. Bless our children’s workers and nursery volunteers with patience and joy, keep every child safe in their care, and let many children come to know You early.
And whoever welcomes a little child like this in My name welcomes Me.
Matthew 18:5 (BSB)19Youth ministry
LORD, let one generation commend Your works to the next. Give our youth leaders energy, wisdom and staying power. Help them listen well, answer hard questions honestly and point teenagers to Jesus, not just to a fun night out.
One generation will commend Your works to the next, and will proclaim Your mighty acts—
Psalm 145:4 (BSB)20Worship ministry
Lord, help our musicians and singers sing a new song to You and play skillfully with a shout of joy. Keep their hearts set on You more than on performance, and use their leading to help the whole church worship.
Sing to Him a new song; play skillfully with a shout of joy.
Psalm 33:3 (BSB)21Outreach and evangelism
Lord, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though You were making Your appeal through us. Give our outreach teams courage and love, and let neighbors, visitors and strangers hear the gospel plainly and be reconciled to You.
Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ: Be reconciled to God.
2 Corinthians 5:20 (BSB)22Care, mercy and benevolence teams
Father, You call caring for orphans and widows in their trouble pure and undefiled religion. Strengthen those who visit hospitals, deliver meals, foster children, help families with rent and sit with the grieving, and refill them as they pour themselves out.
Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
James 1:27 (BSB)23Hospitality and welcome
Lord, help our greeters, hosts, coffee teams and kitchen crews show hospitality without complaining. Let every visitor who walks through our doors feel noticed and welcomed, and catch a glimpse of Your welcome in ours.
Show hospitality to one another without complaining.
1 Peter 4:9 (BSB)
A closing prayer
Father, thank You for the privilege of serving You. Every gift we have came from You, and every good work was prepared by You. Make us faithful in small things, humble when we are seen and steady when we are tired. Provide what our ministries need, knit our teams together and let our work bear fruit that will remain. Help us serve with the strength You provide, so that You are glorified through Jesus Christ. Amen.
Pray with a voice
Short prayers with a voice to pray along with, each drawn from one passage.
Questions
What Bible verse is good for people serving in ministry?
1 Peter 4:10-11 is a good foundation: each of us has received a gift to use in serving others, and we serve with the strength God provides so that He is glorified. Others often prayed by church workers include Colossians 4:17, 2 Corinthians 4:1, Galatians 6:9 and Hebrews 6:10. All of them are in the list above.
How can a ministry team pray together before serving?
Gather ten minutes before you start. One person reads a verse from the list, each person prays one sentence for the people you are about to serve, and someone closes by praying for the team. Name the children, guests or patients you expect. A short prayer every week will shape a team more than a long one once a year.
What should I pray when I feel burned out in ministry?
Be honest with God; the psalms are full of honest prayers. Ask Him for rest, and tell a leader you need a break. Even Moses was warned by his father-in-law that he would wear himself out (Exodus 18:17-18). Pray Galatians 6:9 and 2 Corinthians 4:1, and if exhaustion has turned into hopelessness, talk with your pastor, a doctor or a Christian counselor; if you have thoughts of suicide, call or text 988.
More prayer points
Every verse on this page is quoted word for word from the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), which its publishers dedicated to the public domain. Copy, print and share these prayer points freely with your church.