How to Pray

Prayer Guide

Simple prompts to help you pray with focus and intention — for the people around you and the world.

A note before you begin

Use this as a simple guide. You do not need to follow it perfectly. Let the Holy Spirit lead you.

As you pray, try to pray for specific people whenever you can — someone you know by name: a parent, child, spouse, friend, coworker, neighbor, pastor, client, or someone from church. Ask God to bring specific people to mind. When He does, pause and pray for them.

30-Minute Guide

Ten prompts, three minutes each

Each prompt below is a category. Within it, pray for specific people God brings to mind.

1

Begin with God

3 minutes
  • Praise God for who He is.
  • Thank Him for specific blessings in your life.
  • Ask Him to help you pray with humility, faith, and love.
  • Ask Him to bring specific people to mind as you pray.
  • Ask Him to lead your thoughts, words, and heart during this time.
2

Pray for your own heart

3 minutes
  • Ask God to draw you closer to Him.
  • Ask Him to clarify your purpose.
  • Ask Him to strengthen your faith.
  • Ask Him to light up your heart with love for Him.
  • Ask Him to open your eyes to people who need prayer or encouragement.
3

Pray for your family

3 minutes
  • Pray for a specific parent, child, sibling, or spouse.
  • Pray for someone carrying a burden quietly.
  • Pray for someone who needs healing, wisdom, or peace.
  • Pray for someone who feels distant from God.
  • Ask God to bring greater love and unity into your family.
4

Pray for your friends

3 minutes
  • Pray for a specific friend who is struggling.
  • Pray for a friend who is lonely or grieving.
  • Pray for a friend who needs wisdom or direction.
  • Pray for a friend who knows Jesus but is having a hard time trusting Him.
  • Pray for a friend who needs to experience God's nearness and love.
5

Pray for people far from faith

3 minutes
  • Pray for someone you know who does not yet know Jesus.
  • Pray for someone who has left the faith.
  • Pray for someone who is searching for truth.
  • Pray for someone who feels hurt by the church.
  • Ask God to reveal His love, mercy, and truth to them.
6

Pray for your work

3 minutes
  • Pray for your boss by name.
  • Pray for the people who report to you.
  • Pray for coworkers and peers who are under pressure.
  • Pray for someone at work who is difficult to love.
  • Ask God to help your work honor Him and bless others.
7

Pray for your church

3 minutes
  • Pray for your pastor or church leaders by name.
  • Pray for someone in your church who is hurting or unseen.
  • Pray for children, teenagers, and new believers.
  • Pray for unity, humility, and love in the body.
  • Ask God to make your church a place where people encounter Him.
8

Pray for your community

3 minutes
  • Pray for a specific neighbor.
  • Pray for someone you passed recently whose name you don't know.
  • Pray for the homeless man or woman you saw this week.
  • Pray for teachers, first responders, and local leaders.
  • Ask God to bring peace, safety, compassion, and hope to your community.
9

Pray for the vulnerable

3 minutes
  • Pray for someone who is sick.
  • Pray for someone who is poor or financially afraid.
  • Pray for someone who is addicted or grieving.
  • Pray for someone who feels isolated, hopeless, or unsupported.
  • Ask God to show you how to love and serve people in need.
10

Pray for God's will

3 minutes
  • Pray that God's will would be done in your life and family.
  • Pray that God's will would be done in your church and city.
  • Ask God to make you willing, obedient, and available.
  • Ask Him to use your prayers and relationships for His purposes.
  • End by surrendering yourself again to Him.
Additional 30 Minutes

For those praying a full hour

Ten more prompts to continue your prayer — going deeper into the world, the vulnerable, and the future God is building.

11

Pray for your enemies

  • Pray for someone who has hurt or opposed you.
  • Pray for someone you are tempted to resent.
  • Ask God to help you forgive.
  • Ask Him to bless, heal, and change their heart.
  • Ask Him to change your heart toward them.
12

Pray for marriages and homes

  • Pray for a specific marriage that needs strength, healing, or joy.
  • Pray for a family that is under stress.
  • Pray for a single parent who needs support.
  • Pray for a child who feels unsafe, unseen, or unloved.
  • Ask God to make homes places of peace and grace.
13

Pray for children and young people

  • Pray for a child in your family or church.
  • Pray for a teenager or young adult by name.
  • Pray for a young person who is confused, anxious, or lonely.
  • Pray for protection, courage, wisdom, and faith.
  • Pray that they would know they are deeply loved by God.
14

Pray for the elderly and isolated

  • Pray for an elderly family member or neighbor.
  • Pray for someone in a nursing home or hospital.
  • Pray for someone who feels forgotten or dependent.
  • Pray for someone near the end of life.
  • Ask God to comfort them and make His nearness known.
15

Pray for leaders

  • Pray for a local leader by name.
  • Pray for a national or global leader.
  • Pray for leaders you agree with and leaders you disagree with.
  • Pray for wisdom, humility, justice, and courage.
  • Ask God to turn leaders' hearts toward what is good, true, and merciful.
16

Pray for peace and justice

  • Pray for a person or place affected by violence.
  • Pray for someone living under hatred, oppression, or fear.
  • Pray for communities divided by politics, race, or resentment.
  • Ask God to bring reconciliation where there is division.
  • Ask Him to make you a person of peace.
17

Pray for healing

  • Pray for someone who needs physical, emotional, or spiritual healing.
  • Pray for someone healing from trauma, grief, addiction, or fear.
  • Ask God to bring comfort, strength, and restoration.
  • Ask Him to help you be present to those who are suffering.
18

Pray for generosity and service

  • Ask God to make you more generous.
  • Pray for someone who needs practical help.
  • Pray for someone who needs encouragement, money, food, time, or friendship.
  • Ask God to make you available to serve.
  • Ask Him to help you love people in practical ways.
19

Pray for revival

  • Pray that your own heart would be awakened to God.
  • Pray that your church and all churches would be renewed.
  • Pray for someone whose heart seems hard toward God.
  • Ask God to bring repentance, humility, and hunger for Him.
  • Pray that many people would experience the love, mercy, and truth of Jesus.
20

End by surrendering to God

  • Offer your life to God again — your words, work, and relationships.
  • Offer Him your plans.
  • Ask Him to use you for His purposes.
  • Ask Him to keep your heart close to His.
  • End by thanking Him for hearing your prayers.

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