Prayers for Church and Home
Prayers you can actually say out loud: a grace for a family table, an opening prayer for a service, a few lines a child can manage, and honest words for a hard season.
By occasion
How these prayers are written
Most of the prayers here are our own, written in plain words so they sound like a person talking to God, not a document being read. Each one says who it is for (a pastor, a family, a child) and roughly how long it takes to say, and most come with a Bible verse in the King James Version that you can read before you pray. When we include an older prayer, such as the General Thanksgiving from the Book of Common Prayer, we use only texts in the public domain and name the source.
Praying aloud with others
If you are asked to pray in front of a group, read the prayer through once beforehand, out loud, so the words are familiar. Keep it short, speak a little slower than feels natural, and let the last line be clear so everyone knows when to say amen. Printed prayers are not a crutch: churches have prayed written prayers together for thousands of years, starting with the Psalms.
Using our prayers in your church
You are welcome to print, project and read these prayers in your church, school or home. Please don’t republish them on another website.