Pastoral Prayer Ideas
- In any Sunday church service, the pastor can pray for and with the entire congregation collectively. A general prayer asking God for healing, greater faith and encouragement will bless the congregation. Ask the entire congregation to pray together as a group for protection, wisdom, guidance, the willingness to put God first in their lives and to live an exemplary Christian life while being a blessing to others.
- Some pastors have an altar call at the end of a church service whereby they ask people in their congregation to come up to the front of the church for prayer for specific needs. The pastor prays out loud according to the need, whether it be physical healing, for financial provision, for the restoration of relationships or for God's direction regarding a specific decision. The pastor can also pray on the phone with a church member or in a one-on-one pastoral session.
- The pastor can lead the congregation in a prayer for the community that people would come to know the Lord. Some pastors do prayer walks that involve walking around the church neighborhood praying for households as they pass by each house. Some pastors involve church members to do prayer walks in their individual neighborhoods. The pastor can pray with the congregation for the political leaders of their city, state, province and country, especially regarding elections and decisions about issues such as the institution of marriage and abortion.
- Christians should be praying for their pastors and other pastoral team members such as the associate pastor, youth minister, children's minister and worship leader. Church members should be praying that pastoral leaders have their needs met and that they resist falling into any kind of temptation that may hinder their ministry or tarnish their reputation as a spiritual leader.