Praying the Lord’s Prayer as a Church

Jesus taught us to pray in what we call the Lord’s Prayer.  Have you ever thought about how you can use this prayer as a template to teach your church how to pray?

Here’s how Jesus taught His disciples to pray:

Pray then like this:

“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
10 Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
    on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread,
12 and forgive us our debts,
    as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,
    but deliver us from evil (Matt. 6:9-13).

Taking each phrase as a prayer emphasis, you could develop a specific prayer sheet or prayer stations.  Here’s how we used it once for a night of prayer at our church:

Prayer Emphases

  1. Hallowed be your name – What is one of your favorite names or descriptions of God?  Write that down on a notecard, place it on the wall, and take a moment to thank God for how He has been that specific reality in your life.
  2. Your kingdom come – Would you pray that incredible, Kingdom-sized work would be done in the ministries of this church?  Choose a ministry from the list that you aren’t normally involved in and pray that God would work in the people, raise up the leaders, and provide all the needed resources.
  3. Your will be done – The sheets before you have the names of our most recent church membership list.  Would you take some time and pray for a few of these people by name (even if you don’t know them)?  Pray for that member to be obedient to God’s will in his or her life.  Highlight the names that you pray for.
  4. Our daily bread – God is faithful to give us what we need as a church.  Would you pray that in the coming months that God’s people would be faithful to give generously to the work of the ministry?  Pray that all needs regarding ministry, missions, benevolence, and renovations would be met.
  5. Forgive us our debts – As we prepare to worship in the gym during renovations, these chairs represent lives that will sit in our services and hear the gospel.  Will you pray that God will bring about a harvest of salvation in this room over the next 3 months?  Pray for people by name if you know that they need to receive the gospel.
  6. Forgiven our debtors – Pray for the unity of this church.  Where specifically could Satan create division?  Is there bitterness in your heart towards someone in the church?  Pray that we would be a church that forgives each other like Jesus forgave us.
  7. Lead us not into temptation – What are the sins that are so easily entangling you (Heb. 12:1)?  Like shoestrings tied together, that same sin seems to be tripping you up repeatedly.  Will you take time to confess that sin to God, and ask that He help you to avoid that temptation this week?
  8. Deliver us from evil – Our ministry staff and partners are on the frontlines of Kingdom work and the enemy would love to slow them down.  Pick a staff member and ministry partner to pray for.  Choose a staff member on the list and pray that God would deliver him or her from evil.  Also, find a ministry partner in the newsletter, read the update, and pray specifically for that person or group that God would deliver them from evil.