11 Powerful Prayers For Church Growth

These eleven prayers for church growth, inspired by the early church in the Book of Acts, make powerful prayer points for church growth any believer can pray. 

The birth of the church can be traced back to the Book of Acts of the Apostles. The Book of Acts, the things literally done by the church, gives great insight into how we grow the church today. When we are praying for church growth, we would be wise to follow their example. After all, it was their prayers that resulted in rapid growth and the spread of the gospel.

Acts 2:41 tells us that 3,000 souls were added to the church after a powerful prayer meeting! This was just the beginning.

May these 11 prayers inspire you as you pray for church growth. Use them as prayer points or prompts, and then continue to pray what the Lord brings to your mind. Think of them as inspiration, not as a script. When we were pastoring, we found prayers like these to be especially helpful and it’s our prayer they bless you, as well.

We’ve included 11 prayer points for church growth, also inspired from the Book of Acts, which begin with obedience and end with perseverance. Use them as your focus words for each prayer.

Let’s get started.

11 Powerful Prayers For Church Growth, With Prayer Points

1. Obedience

“And when they had entered, they went to the upper room…”  – Acts 1:13

Lord, we see that to even begin to start a church or to see an existing one explode with growth, we must be obedient. If You have given us direction, we must follow Your lead. If You say, “Go”, we go. If You say, “Stay”, we stay! Obedience is surrender and if we are surrendering our will, our desires to Yours, we are well on our way to seeing souls come into Your kingdom. 

The disciples looked for a rescue from Roman authority; they couldn’t understand “The Kingdom.” Today, we have Your Word to lead us and guide us into all things Kingdom-minded. May our willingness to submit to You give us wisdom to reach the lost at any cost. Help us be obedient to you as we are praying for the church growth. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

2. Prayer  

“All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer…” – Acts 1:14

Lord, by coming together in prayer, literally DEVOTING ourselves to be in Your presence on a daily, and throughout the day, basis, we can know Your heart and Your will for our city and community. May we be ever mindful of the power of prayer and to know without it, we are only beating the air. The early church devoted themselves to prayer, they committed, they sacrificed other things to pray without ceasing; how can we do less, Lord? Prick our hearts, draw us to prayer, compel us with the urgency of the hour. Help us to draw on what we know to be true and what we have seen You do in the past and believe for greater things as we grow the church and your Kingdom. In Your Mighty Name, Amen!

Related: Learning how to pray, for beginners

3. Preach with Boldness

“But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them…” – Acts 2:14

Father, just as Peter the Apostle preached his first sermon to the church with boldness, may we rise up in these last days and not hesitate to do the same. There have always been hungry people, hurting people and lost people. Help us to not be afraid or ashamed to proclaim the Gospel; it was a commandment for us to follow, not a suggestion just if we felt like it. The Bible says that You added to The Church daily “such as should be saved” but You never meant for us to not do our part. May we continue in our prayers for church growth. We know someone prayed for us; burden our hearts for the lost around us. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

4. CommUNITY

“All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals…They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need….And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.” – Acts 2:42-47 ESV

Jesus, You have shown us in Your Word that unity isn’t just a good thing, it is a necessary thing! Without unity, we have no CommUNITY! Those around us need You, even if they do not realize it yet. We must first of all love those who love You and that love will spill over to those around us. When we are filled with Your spirit and Your love, we are instant beacons of light to our community. Help us today, Lord, to be sensitive to what You are trying to do with us and through us so that we may grow Your kingdom. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Related: How to leave a legacy of hospitality

5. Testimony

“But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.” – Acts 4:19-20

Lord, we know that there are few tools more powerful than our own personal testimony when we try to share the Gospel. People will listen more intently and find us more believable if we tell them what happened to us. I pray today that we would be bold in our sharing but yet compassionate and gentle in our presentation. Help us to realize that others want to hear what God has done in our lives and it is our duty to tell them so that they might come to know You too. There is no better way to grow The Church than person to person, heart to heart. Open the hearts of those around us and allow us the opportunity to be able to let them know that You are still God, You are still on the throne and You desire to save them and change their lives completely. Thank You for every open door. Amen.

6. Support Your Pastor

“Therefore, brethren, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” – Acts 6:3-5 ESV

Dear Jesus, we are seeking You for an increase of souls to be born again! Help us, as The Body of Christ, to make the work of our pastor a little easier. If we see something that needs to be done, help us to just do it instead of waiting to be asked. May we lift the man of God up to You in prayer every single day that he would be strengthened and encouraged by Your Word and Your presence. Remind us to personally thank him for the work he is doing, to tell him and show him we appreciate the sacrifice that he and his family make for the Kingdom to progress. It is our duty to lighten his duties so that he may devote himself to prayer and the studying of the Word of God. Thank you for sending us a pastor that will tell us the truth and preach without fear or favor. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

7. Bible Study

“So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’ And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?’ And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.” – Acts 8:30 ESV

Lord God, we see we can’t have revival or church growth without one-on-one contact! The Early Church taught others the Scriptures and they believed the Word and were saved. It works the same today. Many do not understand what they are reading, as the eunuch said to Philip after he asked him if he understood, he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” We learn The Word, hide it in our hearts for times just like that: when a friend, coworker or family member asks us a question, help us to be ready and willing to share what we know. Give us a burden to teach Your Word, knowing the power that is hidden in plain sight. You will give us the right words and help us to call to our memory what we have studied right when we need it. Help us to be students of our Bibles to be able to share it with those we come in contact with. Amen.

8. We Preach; God Saves

“Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.” – Acts 10:34 ESV

Jesus, please soften our judgmental hearts. Help us to realize that You had mercy on us and that same mercy is available to whomsoever will. It is not our place to think we know who would be saved and who would not; it is our responsibility to share the Gospel; we preach, we share and You save! Forgive us for anytime we may have overlooked someone because they were maybe too wealthy or too poor, thinking they didn’t want God or “wouldn’t stick with it”. Only You know the hearts of men, help us to be merciful and compassionate and share what You have so freely given us. Help us to literally BE the Church as we pray for church growth. In Your Wonderful Name, Amen. 

9. Fasting

“And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.” – Acts 13:3

Lord, Your Church will grow when we humble ourselves with fasting and prayer! The Early Church fasted and prayed before they even sent ministers out to preach The Word. We must also fast, denying ourselves things that we love, so that we may see a tremendous outpouring of Your Spirit! We pray for our churches to burst forth with power and that comes from time spent in Your Word, on our knees and away from the table. Gluttony is not always just overeating, it is indulging in things that waste our time and pull us away from You. Compel us to fast and pray and help us to follow through on the things that matter most in this world. Thank You, Jesus. Amen.

Related: Types of Fasting in the Bible

1o. Don’t Make it Difficult

“And so my judgment is that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God.” – Acts 15:19 NLT

God, when the church begins to grow, we will hopefully see people of all walks of life come into our assemblies. That is what we pray for and hope for. When it does happen, help us to not heap upon them rules and laws that they cannot possibly uphold, understand or even need. What they do need is You and Your Spirit and for The Body to love them, pray for them and support them in their new walk that they may develop that ever-important relationship with Almighty God. As they grow and mature, You will deal with their hearts if there is anything important that they might overlook; our job is to love them and pray for them. Help us, God, we desire to be more like You so that others may be desirous to have what we have and your church would grow. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

11. Perseverance

“And Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and received all that came in unto him, Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him.” – Acts 28:30-31

Thank You, Jesus, for those that paved the way before us, who endured severe hardships to make sure the Gospel was preached. They never gave up and many gave their lives. We pray today, Lord God, that You would help us to be persistent, unwavering and committed to doing everything we possibly can to be Truth and Light to a very dark world. Jesus, we believe You have us here for that specific purpose and we pray You would strengthen us and empower us to do the work that is before us. 

May we never give up, and may we stay focused lest we become distracted from our eternal purpose. May we remain ever prayerful, interceding for the lost and listening for Your voice, being sensitive to where You would have us to go and those that You would have us to reach out to. We realize Your return is imminent, we must be about Your business. We desire to be full of Your Spirit and wisdom for the task that is before us, trusting and knowing that You are with us always, even unto the end. We give You all the praise, and we pray these prayers for church growth so that all would come to know you! In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

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