Corrie Ten Boom, a Holocaust survivor, once said, “Don’t pray when you feel like it. Have an appointment with the Lord and keep it. A man is powerful on his knees.”
Scripture is clear that prayer is not an option for believers. It is God’s chosen way that we get to communicate with Him to express adoration, confess our sins, thank Him for His goodness, and ask Him to provide for our needs and the needs of those around us. It is powerful and effective. So, if you truly believe this as a church leader, what can you do to promote prayer at your church?
We’ve developed a list of eight ways to promote prayer at your church, including creating a church website prayer page (take a look at our prayer layout here). By prioritizing prayer, you can help guide your church to spend more time in conversation with God.
Prayer Promotion Ideas
1. Develop a Prayer Strategy
Before you just jump into corporate praying, take some time to establish a prayer strategy. Form a prayer leadership team and gather to answer these questions.
- What are our prayer goals?
- What does success as a prayer ministry look like?
- How can prayer tie into the mission and vision of our church?
- Are there events and/or resources we can provide to our church to encourage prayer?
2. Teach Your Congregation to Pray
In Luke 11, we see the disciples ask Jesus, “Lord, teach us to pray…”. If the men who witnessed how Jesus talked to the Father asked for guidance, you can be sure that members of your church need guidance as well. Teach them how to pray by modeling prayer, examining how people prayed throughout the Bible, and creating opportunities for people to practice praying.
3. Utilize Your Church Website
Your church website has the power to make prayer requests more accessible than ever before. Dedicate a page of your site to online prayer requests so that site visitors can pray for each other and submit new requests. It will serve to connect members and remind them that your church consists of people who care enough to pray for each other.
Take a look at how these churches used Ekklesia 360’s prayer layout to prioritize prayer.
Worship Center
Community of Grace
4. Create an Intercessory Prayer Ministry
An intercessory prayer ministry at your church enables people to pray beyond their own needs and intercede on behalf of others. Create a prayer room at your church where people can sign up for times to come and pray. Place any completed prayer request forms you receive in services, via email, or through your church website in this room for people to pray over.
5. Form Church Prayer Groups
Your church may already have small groups, but do you have groups dedicated specifically to prayer? Create groups where this is the sole purpose. Encourage them to meet on a regular basis to spend time praying for the other members of the group.
6. Recommend Prayer Resources
Oftentimes, when it comes to prayer, people appreciate guides and tools that can help to lead them as they pray. Put together a list of recommended resources dedicated to the topic of prayer. A few of our favorites include:
- The Bible
- War Room (the movie and the book)
- The Power of a Praying… (Author Stormie Omartian has written several of these books to choose from).
- 31 Ways to Praise prayer cards
7. Include Children and Students
It’s never too early to learn about prayer. When promoting prayer at your church, be sure to include your children’s and student ministries. Encourage teachers to lead children through age-appropriate prayer curriculum, and allow children to submit prayer requests to your intercessory prayer team.
8. Host Prayer Events
Finally, consider hosting events at your church. A few ideas include:
- As a church, pray every day at the same time for a month (example, pray at 7:07 every day for Matthew 7:7).
- Prayer walk your community, neighborhoods, and schools.
- Plan a “pray in the parking lot” event where people in the community can drive by to receive prayer.
