This page gives you a written prayer for church leaders, along with a shorter version for busy moments and a few Scriptures to pray alongside it. Pray it in the morning before the day’s meetings, during your quiet time, or whenever a pastor, elder, deacon or ministry volunteer comes to mind. You can read the prayer aloud exactly as it is written, or use it as a starting point and speak in your own words.
Daily Prayers for Church Leaders
Lord, you know the people who lead your church, and you know the weight they carry when no one else is looking. Be near to our pastors and elders today. Give them clear thinking for the decisions in front of them, patience with the people who disagree with them, and the courage to say the hard thing when it needs to be said. Guard their marriages and their families from neglect, because they so often give the best of themselves to others and have little left at home. Keep them from the pride that comes with being noticed, and from the discouragement that comes when nothing seems to grow.
Refresh them in body and in spirit. Give them real rest on their days off, and let them hear your voice more clearly than the voices of the critics and the crowd. When they are tired, carry them. When they are unsure, show them the next faithful step. Let the people they serve feel their care, and let them be honest about their own needs so they are not alone. We ask all this in the name of Jesus, the good Shepherd, who knows his sheep and laid down his life for them. Amen.
A Shorter Version to Pray in a Moment
Father, bless the leaders of our church today. Give our pastors wisdom for what they must decide, strength for what they must carry, and rest when the work is done. Protect their families and their hearts from burnout and from bitterness. Let them feel your nearness, and let your people encourage them with honest, kind words. Keep them faithful to you above everything else. Amen.
Scriptures to Pray Alongside
Hebrews 13:17
Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they watch on behalf of your souls, as those who will give account, that they may do this with joy, and not with groaning, for that would be unprofitable for you.
(WEB)
Pray this for leaders who keep watch over souls, asking that they would do the work with joy rather than groaning, and that the people in your church would support them rather than make their task harder.
1 Timothy 2:1-2
1 I exhort therefore, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and givings of thanks, be made for all men: 2 for kings and all who are in high places; that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and reverence.
(WEB)
Paul urges prayer for everyone in authority. Use these verses to lift up your church’s leaders by name, asking God to grant them peace and quiet to do their work well.
Psalm 127:1
Unless the LORD builds the house, they labor in vain who build it. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman guards it in vain.
(WEB)
Pray this when leaders feel they must hold everything together themselves. Ask God to build the church through them, so that their labor rests on his strength and not only on their own effort.
Acts 20:28
Take heed, therefore, to yourselves, and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the assembly of the Lord and God which he purchased with his own blood.
(WEB)
Paul speaks to the elders of Ephesus about the flock God purchased with his own blood. Pray that your leaders would keep watch over the people entrusted to them, remembering whose church it truly is.
Ephesians 4:11-13
11 He gave some to be apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, shepherds and teachers; 12 for the perfecting of the saints, to the work of serving, to the building up of the body of Christ; 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a full grown man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ…
(WEB)
These verses describe leaders given to equip God’s people for service. Pray that your pastors would be faithful to this calling, and that the whole congregation would grow toward maturity in Christ.
How to Pray This Prayer
Many people find it helpful to pray for their church leaders first thing in the morning, before the phone and the news take over. Keep a short list in your Bible or on the notes app of your phone with the names of your pastor, elders, and any staff or volunteers who carry heavy responsibilities. Read the prayer slowly, pausing after each sentence to bring that particular need to mind, and let your hands rest open on your lap or hold a cup of coffee as a reminder to receive what God gives.
You do not have to pray this alone. Invite a small group, a prayer partner, or your family to read it with you once a week, and ask them to add their own names and concerns at the end. If you are able, send a brief note to your leaders on the day you pray, letting them know someone is interceding for them by name. Many leaders say that hearing this is one of the most encouraging things a member can offer.
A Blessing to Close
May the Lord bless our church leaders and keep them. May he make his face shine upon them and give them peace. May their families know their steady love, and may their labor be honored by the people they serve. May they rest in the grace that never runs out.
