Ministry leaders need prayer. The good news is God’s Word is full of Bible verses that we can pray for church leaders.
The body of Christ can support their leaders by carrying them in prayer.
Each verse below is a specific prayer that you can pray over your spiritual leaders. Pay careful attention to the content of each verse, and then pray it over your church leadership in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
It's usually one of four things — and each one needs a completely different strategy to break through. This 2-minute assessment tells you exactly which pattern is blocking you.
5 Verses from God’s Word to speak blessings over spiritual leaders in prayer
There is great power in speaking a blessing over someone. The Word of the Lord is full of examples that indicate the power of prayer.
Romans 15:5-6
“May our dependably steady and warmly personal God develop maturity in you so that you get along with each other as well as Jesus gets along with us all. Then we’ll be a choir—not our voices only, but our very lives singing in harmony in a stunning anthem to the God and Father of our Master Jesus!”
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“God bless you and keep you, God smile on you and gift you, God look you full in the face and make you prosper.”
2 Thessalonians 3:16
“May the Master of Peace himself give you the gift of getting along with each other at all times, in all ways. May the Master be truly among you!”
Proverbs 10:6
“Blessings accrue on a good and honest life, but the mouth of the wicked is a dark cave of abuse.”
Philemon 1:3
“God’s best to you! Christ’s blessings on you!”
5 Bible verses asking God to grant divinewisdom to those in high positions in prayer
It is the will of God that leaders do not teach from their own understanding, but that the word of truth can fill their hearts through the Holy Spirit. One of the practical ways you can pray for church leaders is to pray that their wisdom increases.
James 1:5-7
“If you don’t know what you’re doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You’ll get his help, and won’t be condescended to when you ask for it. Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought”
Matthew 5:3
“You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.”
Proverbs 3:13-18
“You’re blessed when you meet Lady Wisdom, when you make friends with Madame Insight. She’s worth far more than money in the bank; her friendship is better than a big salary. Her value exceeds all the trappings of wealth; nothing you could wish for holds a candle to her. With one hand she gives long life, with the other she confers recognition. Her manner is beautiful, her life wonderfully complete. She’s the very Tree of Life to those who embrace her. Hold her tight—and be blessed!”
“Pray for us. Pray that the Master’s Word will simply take off and race through the country to a groundswell of response, just as it did among you. And pray that we’ll be rescued from these troublemakers who are trying to do us in.”
James 3:17-18
“Real wisdom, God’s wisdom, begins with a holy life and is characterized by getting along with others. It is gentle and reasonable, overflowing with mercy and blessings, not hot one day and cold the next, not two-faced. You can develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoy its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and honor.”
Photo by Joel Muniz on Unsplash
5 Bible verses from the word of God to pray for finances for church leadership
The apostle Paul makes it clear that the Heavenly Father provides in the financial needs of a church leader through the church body. Pray for your pastor today that heavy burdens they carry about financial worry will be lifted.
“You Philippians well know, and you can be sure I’ll never forget it, that when I first left Macedonia province, venturing out with the Message, not one church helped out in the give-and-take of this work except you. You were the only one. Even while I was in Thessalonica, you helped out—and not only once, but twice. Not that I’m looking for handouts, but I do want you to experience the blessing that issues from generosity.”
1 Timothy 5:17-18
“Give a bonus to leaders who do a good job, especially the ones who work hard at preaching and teaching. Scripture tells us, “Don’t muzzle a working ox” and “A worker deserves his pay.””
1 Timothy 6:17-19
“Tell those rich in this world’s wealth to quit being so full of themselves and so obsessed with money, which is here today and gone tomorrow. Tell them to go after God, who piles on all the riches we could ever manage—to do good, to be rich in helping others, to be extravagantly generous. If they do that, they’ll build a treasury that will last, gaining life that is truly life.”
Philippians 4:12-13
“I’ve learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances. I’m just as happy with little as with much, with much as with little. I’ve found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty. Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am.”
Ecclesiastes 5:10
“The one who loves money is never satisfied with money”
5 Bible verses to speak identity over those who do Biblical teaching in prayer
Even spiritual leaders can be imperfect men and women who forget their God-given identity sometimes. Pray that God will finish the good work he started in them and speak identity over them with these verses.
Matthew 16:17-18
“Jesus came back, “God bless you, Simon, son of Jonah! You didn’t get that answer out of books or from teachers. My Father in heaven, God himself, let you in on this secret of who I really am. And now I’m going to tell you who you are, really are. You are Peter, a rock. This is the rock on which I will put together my church, a church so expansive with energy that not even the gates of hell will be able to keep it out.”
2 Timothy 4:3-5
“You’re going to find that there will be times when people will have no stomach for solid teaching, but will fill up on spiritual junk food—catchy opinions that tickle their fancy. They’ll turn their backs on truth and chase mirages. But you—keep your eye on what you’re doing; accept the hard times along with the good; keep the Message alive; do a thorough job as God’s servant.”
“God created human beings; he created them godlike, Reflecting God’s nature.”
Titus 1:6-9
“As you select them, ask, “Is this man well-thought-of? Is he committed to his wife? Are his children believers? Do they respect him and stay out of trouble?” It’s important that a church leader, responsible for the affairs in God’s house, be looked up to—not pushy, not short-tempered, not a drunk, not a bully, not money-hungry. He must welcome people, be helpful, wise, fair, reverent, have a good grip on himself, and have a good grip on the Message, knowing how to use the truth to either spur people on in knowledge or stop them in their tracks if they oppose it.”
1 Timothy 3:3-7
“A leader must be well-thought-of, committed to his wife, cool and collected, accessible, and hospitable. He must know what he’s talking about, not be overfond of wine, not pushy but gentle, not thin-skinned, not money-hungry. He must handle his own affairs well, attentive to his own children and having their respect. For if someone is unable to handle his own affairs, how can he take care of God’s church? He must not be a new believer, lest the position go to his head and the Devil trip him up. Outsiders must think well of him, or else the Devil will figure out a way to lure him into his trap.”
5 Bible verses to pray for the infilling of the Holy Spirit for those who lead the flock of God
The power of the Holy Spirit equips pastors for the work of ministry. Pray for your ministry leaders to have clear spiritual guidance and for the active practice of the spiritual gifts that God has blessed them with. The following verses highlight a love of the Spirit and can be prayed over them.
Acts 20:28
“Now it’s up to you. Be on your toes—both for yourselves and your congregation of sheep. The Holy Spirit has put you in charge of these people—God’s people they are—to guard and protect them. God himself thought they were worth dying for.”
Acts 1:8
“And when the Holy Spirit comes on you, you will be able to be my witnesses in Jerusalem, all over Judea and Samaria, even to the ends of the world.”
John 14:26
“The Friend, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send at my request, will make everything plain to you. He will remind you of all the things I have told you.”
Romans 15:13
“May the God of green hope fill you up with joy, fill you up with peace, so that your believing lives, filled with the life-giving energy of the Holy Spirit, will brim over with hope!”
Luke 3:22
“As he was praying, the sky opened up and the Holy Spirit, like a dove descending, came down on him. And along with the Spirit, a voice: “You are my Son, chosen and marked by my love, pride of my life.”
5 Bible verses to pray for godly leadership among church ministry leaders.
Good spiritual leaders know that they can only do the work of the Lord with God’s help. Pray for your pastor today, that they might echo the King’s heart and be good leaders by God’s mercy and His empowerment.
1 Peter 3:8-9
“Summing up: Be agreeable, be sympathetic, be loving, be compassionate, be humble. That goes for all of you, no exceptions. No retaliation. No sharp-tongued sarcasm. Instead, bless —-that’s your job, to bless. You’ll be a blessing and also get a blessing.”
John 13:14-17
“So if I, the Master and Teacher, washed your feet, you must now wash each other’s feet. I’ve laid down a pattern for you. What I’ve done, you do. I’m only pointing out the obvious. A servant is not ranked above his master; an employee doesn’t give orders to the employer. If you understand what I’m telling you, act like it—and live a blessed life.”
Proverbs 11:14
“Without good direction, people lose their way; the more wise counsel you follow, the better your chances.”
Luke 12:48
“Great gifts mean great responsibilities; greater gifts, greater responsibilities!”
James 3:1
“Don’t be in any rush to become a teacher, my friends. Teaching is highly responsible work. Teachers are held to the strictest standards.”
Photo by Priscilla Du Preez 🇨🇦 on Unsplash
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Resources:
– All Scriptures were obtained from biblegateway.com and is given in the Message Translation
Eljoh Hartzer is combining theology and art to nurture faith journeys across generations. She is a Masters-level Practical Theologian with the University of Stellenbosch. She is also a writer and editor in the niche of Christianity and children's content and she illustrates children's books. Eljoh resides in the Swartland area in the Western Cape province of South Africa.
You can follow Eljoh on LinkedIn or Instagram.
