Prayer points with Scriptures · 20 points
Prayer Points for the Month of March
These prayer points for the month of March serve individuals, families, prayer meetings and churches walking toward Easter. March brings the first signs of spring and, for many churches, the heart of Lent. The points move through repentance and confession, laying aside the old life, spring renewal, the road Jesus walked to the cross, and inviting friends and neighbors to hear the good news at Easter, with a verse behind every prayer.
Come, let us return to the LORD. For He has torn us to pieces, but He will heal us; He has wounded us, but He will bind up our wounds. After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will raise us up, that we may live in His presence. So let us know—let us press on to know the LORD. As surely as the sun rises, He will appear; He will come to us like the rain, like the spring showers that water the earth.
Hosea 6:1-3 (BSB)
Work through one section each week of March, or one point a day. When praying with others, have someone read the verse, pray the prayer as a group, and keep a minute of silent confession before the next point. Use the last section to write down the names of people you will invite to church on Easter Sunday, and pray for them by name until then.
Repentance and confession
1Mercy according to His love
O God, have mercy on us according to Your loving devotion. David came to You after grievous sin, and You did not turn him away. Blot out our transgressions, wash us clean of our iniquity, and cleanse us from the sins we have tried to hide.
For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. When Nathan the prophet came to him after his adultery with Bathsheba. Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your loving devotion; according to Your great compassion, blot out my transgressions. Wash me clean of my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.
Psalm 51:1-2 (BSB) · Pray this verse →2No longer hiding our sin
LORD, when we keep silent about our sin, it weighs on us. Today we acknowledge it to You and stop hiding. Thank You that when we confess our transgressions, You forgive the guilt of our sin.
Then I acknowledged my sin to You and did not hide my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,” and You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah
Psalm 32:5 (BSB)3The tax collector’s prayer
God, we come like the tax collector, not proud of our record but standing at a distance. Have mercy on us, sinners. Keep us from comparing ourselves with others, and teach us to lean on Your mercy alone.
But the tax collector stood at a distance, unwilling even to lift up his eyes to heaven. Instead, he beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner!’
Luke 18:13 (BSB)4Sorrow that leads to life
Father, give us godly sorrow over sin, the kind that brings repentance leading to salvation without regret, and not the worldly sorrow that only feels bad. Turn our regrets into real change, by Your grace.
Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation without regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.
2 Corinthians 7:10 (BSB)
Laying aside the old life
5Putting on the armor of light
Lord, as the days grow longer this month, remind us that the night is nearly over and the day has drawn near. Help us lay aside the deeds of darkness we have tolerated and put on the armor of light.
The night is nearly over; the day has drawn near. So let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.
Romans 13:12 (BSB)6Honest, renewed lives
Lord Jesus, in You we have taken off the old self and put on the new self, being renewed in the image of our Creator. Root out the small lies and half-truths we tell, and make us people whose word can be trusted.
Do not lie to one another, since you have taken off the old self with its practices, and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.
Colossians 3:9-10 (BSB)7Discipline for a crown that lasts
Father, athletes train with strict discipline for a crown that perishes. If we give something up this Lent, let it be for You and not for show, and let every small denial train us for a crown that will never fade.
Everyone who competes in the games trains with strict discipline. They do it for a crown that is perishable, but we do it for a crown that is imperishable.
1 Corinthians 9:25 (BSB)
Spring and renewal
8Seed that grows while we sleep
Lord Jesus, You said Your kingdom is like seed that sprouts and grows night and day, though the sower does not know how. As gardens and fields are planted this spring, we trust You with the seeds of Your word in our children, friends and neighbors.
Jesus also said, “The kingdom of God is like a man who scatters seed on the ground. Night and day he sleeps and wakes, and the seed sprouts and grows, though he knows not how. All by itself the earth produces a crop—first the stalk, then the head, then grain that ripens within.
Mark 4:26-28 (BSB)9Renew our days
LORD, restore us to Yourself so that we may return. Where our faith has gone dry over the winter, renew our days. Make our prayer, our worship and our love for one another fresh again this spring.
Restore us to Yourself, O LORD, so we may return; renew our days as of old,
Lamentations 5:21 (BSB)10Renewed by the Holy Spirit
God our Savior, You saved us not because of righteous deeds we had done, but according to Your mercy, through the washing of new birth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. Keep renewing us, and keep us from ever thinking we earned it.
He saved us, not by the righteous deeds we had done, but according to His mercy, through the washing of new birth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.
Titus 3:5 (BSB)11Water on thirsty ground
LORD, You promised to pour water on thirsty land and Your Spirit on the descendants of Jacob. Our children and grandchildren need You too. Pour out Your blessing on the next generation in our families and our church, and draw them to Jesus.
For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and currents on the dry ground. I will pour out My Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your offspring.
Isaiah 44:3 (BSB)
The road to the cross
12He set out for Jerusalem
Lord Jesus, as Your time approached, You resolutely set out for Jerusalem, knowing what waited there. Thank You for walking toward the cross for us. As we walk toward Easter, give us steady hearts that keep following You.
As the day of His ascension approached, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.
Luke 9:51 (BSB)13He came to serve and give His life
Lord Jesus, You did not come to be served, but to serve and to give Your life as a ransom for many. Thank You for paying what we could never pay. Make us servants in our homes, our church and our work.
For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”
Mark 10:45 (BSB)14The humble mind of Christ
Lord Jesus, You did not cling to equality with God but emptied Yourself, took the form of a servant, and humbled Yourself to death on a cross. Let Your mind be in us. Break our pride, and teach us humility toward one another.
Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross.
Philippians 2:5-8 (BSB)15Not my will but Yours
Father, in Gethsemane Your Son fell facedown and prayed, not as I will, but as You will. Give us grace to pray that honestly about the things we are holding on to this month, and to trust You with the outcome.
Going a little farther, He fell facedown and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me. Yet not as I will, but as You will.”
Matthew 26:39 (BSB)16Grace at the throne
Lord Jesus, our High Priest, You were tempted in every way we are, yet without sin, and You understand our weakness. So we come with confidence to the throne of grace, to receive mercy and find grace to help us now.
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who was tempted in every way that we are, yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Hebrews 4:15-16 (BSB)
Inviting others to Easter
17Come and see
Lord Jesus, Philip did not argue with Nathanael; he simply said, come and see. Give us that simple courage. Show us the friends, coworkers and neighbors to invite to church at Easter, and prepare their hearts to say yes.
“Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Nathanael asked. “Come and see,” said Philip.
John 1:46 (BSB)18Fill Your house
Lord, in Your parable the master sent his servant to the highways and hedges so that his house would be full. Send us out with warm invitations this season, and fill our church with people hearing the gospel for the first time.
So the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full.
Luke 14:23 (BSB)19Drawn to the Savior lifted up
Lord Jesus, You said that when You were lifted up from the earth, You would draw everyone to Yourself. Draw our unbelieving loved ones to the cross this Easter. Let them see Your love there and come to You.
And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw everyone to Myself.”
John 12:32 (BSB)20Ambassadors with an appeal
God, You make Your appeal through us as ambassadors for Christ: be reconciled to God. Give us words that are clear and kind, and lives that back them up, so that the people we love can hear Your invitation.
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)
A closing prayer
Lord Jesus, You set Your face toward Jerusalem and walked to the cross for us. We confess our sins and turn back to You, trusting Your mercy and nothing else. Renew us like the spring, strip away what is false, and give us Your humble mind. Prepare us for Easter, and fill Your house with friends and neighbors who need to hear that You died and rose again. Amen.
Pray with a voice
Short prayers with a voice to pray along with, each drawn from one passage.
Questions
How can I use these prayer points during Lent?
Pray one section a week or one point a day through March, alongside your Bible reading. The repentance and road-to-the-cross sections fit the weeks before Easter, when many Christians practice confession, fasting or giving something up. Lent is a church tradition rather than a command of Scripture, so use whatever helps you seek Christ.
When is Easter?
Western churches celebrate Easter on the first Sunday after the first full moon on or after March 21, as the church calculates it, so Easter Sunday falls between March 22 and April 25. Palm Sunday is the Sunday before Easter, and Good Friday is the Friday before it.
What Bible verses are good for March?
For repentance: Psalm 51:1-2, Psalm 32:5 and Luke 18:13. For renewal: Hosea 6:1-3, Lamentations 5:21 and Titus 3:5. For the road to the cross: Luke 9:51, Mark 10:45, Philippians 2:5-8 and Matthew 26:39. For inviting friends: John 1:46 and 2 Corinthians 5:20.
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.