22 Short Opening Prayers for Worship Service

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Opening prayers are an essential part of any worship service. They set the tone, focus our minds, and invite God’s presence into our gathering. Whether you are leading a church service or simply seeking inspiration for your personal prayer time, here are 22 short opening prayers that you can use to begin your worship service.

Praying at the beginning of a worship service is a great way to remind ourselves that God is with us, that He is at the center of everything we do, and that the reason we are alive is to love and worship Him. This post brings together more than one opening prayer for worship service that can be used to start service, meetings, and Christian events such as church services, weddings, and Bible studies.

An Opening Prayer for a Meeting

Father, thank you for every seat that has been filled here today. For every mind and heart that fills the presence of this room, we thank you. Only you truly know what we set out to accomplish today. We have an idea, a vision, advice, and daily instructions. We have talents, skills and time to work. However, only you can see in perfect detail the end of every beginning. Every project, every season, every life. Nothing is in vain as even mistakes and missteps are used forever.

Your justice transcends all our efforts and understanding. Forgive us for our pride. The pride that inflates us and the pride that threatens to disqualify us. Strengthen our trust in who you have made us to be. Free us from comparison to work together efficiently.

Bless this meeting today, all present, as well as the lives of those we will meet later. Prepare us so that every moment counts. In the name of Jesus, amen.

Prayer to start a Christian service

Here you will find powerful opening prayers to help focus our efforts on the fight for peace that transcends all understanding. Use them to start asking God to bless and guide you!

  • Loving Heavenly Father, we come to you asking for your blessing and help as we gather together. We pray for guidance in the matters at hand and ask that you show us clearly how we go about our work in a spirit of joy and enthusiasm.
    Give us the desire to find ways to excel in our work. Help us to work together and encourage
    each other to excellence. We ask that we challenge each other to reach higher and further to be the best we can be. We ask this in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen
  • Dear Father, we thank you for all who are gathered here now. Thank you because you made us walk with you. We say that we depend on you and that our trust is completely in you.
    As we surrender in adoration, we ask that You come by Your Holy Spirit and inspire our hearts today. Come fill our lives with your love, fill our conversations with your grace and truth, and fill this gathering with your presence. We ask this for your glory and praise. Amen.

  • Eternal God, you are our rock, you are the firm foundation of everything we build. You give gifts to your people for the good of the church. You equip and train your people to carry out the good works that you have prepared for us in advance.
    As we gather today, we ask you to provide wisdom, guidance, and direction. Remind us that you are our loving ally, you are our fortress, you are our tower of strength, and you are our saviour. Everything we need is found in you. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.

 

A Prayer of Gratitude

Dear God,  Thank you for your amazing power and work in our lives, thank you for your goodness and for your blessings over us. Thank you that you are Able to bring hope through even the toughest of times, strengthening us for your purposes. Thank you for your great love and care. Thank you for your mercy and grace. Thank you that you are always with us and will never leave us. Thank you for your incredible sacrifice so that we might have freedom and life.

Forgive us for when we don’t thank you enough, for who you are, for all that you do, for all that you’ve given. Help us to set our eyes and our hearts on you afresh. Renew our spirits, fill us with your peace and joy. We love you and we need you, this day and every day. We give you praise and thanks, for You alone are worthy!

In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

A Prayer to Open an Event

A Prayer to Open an Event

Father, Praise You for this event, and Your purpose for it. We know that when we gather together, You always have a divine agenda. We love You for that, Father. That even when we have done what You have asked, the results are so much greater than we ever could have imagined. Even in failed attempts, You blow us away with Your faithfulness to provide what we need.

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Our prayer today is that Your will be done through this event. Take what we have prepared and multiply our efforts as only You can. Steer our intentions to align with Your righteous will. Remind us of Your faithful provision when our efforts fail us or fall short. May all glory go up to You when we reach the finish line and climb over benchmarks. Blanket us with Your peace today, Father. Keep us physically safe and guard our hearts and minds against pride and selfishness. Keep love at the forefront of our minds today, and the guiding light for all we set out to accomplish and celebrate. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

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For the Spirit to Work

Dear Lord, as we rise to meet each new day, please let us be filled with Your spirit. Wherever we go, let us spread love, joy, peace, goodness, and faithfulness. Let us desire to become more like you and to worship you in all we do. Help us desire these things so much more than the sin that entices us. Thank you for always going before us. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

An Opening Prayer for Group Humility and Peace

Father, As we gather together, we praise You for this day and Your purpose for it. Reset our agendas, as we sit in Your presence. For You assure us that where two or more gather in Your name You are here. Recalibrate our intentions and refocus our hearts. Your will for our lives does not always reflect our plans. Change them to reflect Your will. Help us to understand that we don’t need full clarity to walk into the unique purpose You’ve inlaid in our lives.

Lift our eyes to seek You first today, and always, surrendering our need to achieve, understand, and be known. Shift our perspective to seek Your peace above all else. In every situation we ponder in our daily lives, let the Holy Spirit translate Your commands. Give us renewed strength and godly courage to obey You without questioning.
Forgive us for striving beyond our means, worrying, and forcing results.

Only You know what lies ahead. You are our good Father, just and righteous. Though our circumstances will be unfair from time to time in this life, You are always our unwavering protector and shield (Psalm 3:3). Keep the words of King David fresh in our minds, and renew our hearts to the tune of Your truth.“I lie down and sleep; I wake again because the Lord sustains me.” Psalm 3:5 NIV Let Your peace rain down on us today, as we seek You more than anything else. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

 

Against Evil and Temptation

Father God, we praise you for your love and faithfulness towards your children. We praise you for being a perfect, holy, trustworthy God that is bigger than all the evil we experience here on earth. We ask that you give us eyes to see when evil is before us, hearts to hate evil and the desire to flee from its presence. We ask that you would not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil and draw us closer to yourself. We ask for the long-expected Jesus to come quickly and make all things new. We ask these things His precious name. Amen.

prayer opening peace

A Prayer for Group Peace and Understanding

Father, As the events of the day continue to unfold, we seek Your clarity and Your peace. We know You are with us and for us as we gather together to seek Your counsel. Scripture reminds us the more we seek You the more we will find You. Lead our surrendered hearts to the path of Your peace today.

Come fully into our situation, both as a group and individually. And sort out the muddled feelings and distorted thoughts that plague us. Cover us with a blanket of honesty and patience that is not of this world.

Holy Spirit, translate our desires and pleadings, and may we understand the faithful response of our great Father. Jesus walked the earth to explain so much to us, and to save us from eternal suffering. Yet, on this earth, He promised us that we would encounter much pain.

Struggling for solutions amidst differing personalities can seem impossible. Thankfully, we are not expected to be perfect. Thankfully, we’re told in the Bible that we will all fall short. So, as we sit here today, let us release the bind of blame in exchange for an accord. Help us to endure disagreement and strife with godly courage and love. Grant us peace in knowing we are pursuing Your purpose for our lives. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

 

A Prayer of Blessing

Dear God,

Thank you for your great love and blessing over our lives. Thank you that your favour has no end, but it lasts for our entire lifetime. Forgive us for sometimes forgetting that you are intimately acquainted with all of our ways, that you know what concerns us, and that you cover us, as with a shield. We ask for your guidance so that we might walk fully in your blessing and goodness today. We ask that your face would shine on us. That you would open the right doors for our lives and for our loved ones, that you would close the wrong doors and protect us from those we need to walk away from.

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Establish the work of our hands and bring to fulfilment all that you have given us to do in these days. We pray that you would make our way purposeful and our footsteps firm out of your goodness and love. Give us a heart of wisdom to hear your voice, and make us strong by your huge favour and grace. In Jesus name, Amen.

To Stand Firm 

To Stand Firm

Dear God, We thank you that you hold the victory over sin and death in this world. We thank you for the redemptive work you’ve done in our lives.  We thank you for the freedom and the hope you bring.

Your word says to “stand our ground,” and that’s what we will do, in the power of your Name. The enemy has no control over us, and we bring your word of Truth as a weapon against his schemes. We know that we do not fight alone, for you are constantly at work on behalf of your children, shielding, protecting, strengthening, exposing deeds of darkness, bringing to light what needs to be known, and covering us from the cruel attacks we face even when we’re unaware.

We ask that you would give us wisdom and discernment to recognize the schemes of the enemy in our lives and to stand strong against his work. We ask that you would remind us to pray, constantly, for all believers. We ask that you would help us to stay alert in a dark world that tries hard to make things look “not so bad.” We ask that you would equip us to be salt and light, that we would be loving and gracious, yet unyielding to sin.

We ask that you help us to remember to put on your armour daily, for you give us all that we need to stand firm in this day. We thank you that though you remind us in your word that the whole world lies under the power of the evil one, you are still far greater and we have overcome because you have set us free.

We thank you for your truth, “no weapon formed that is formed against you will prosper,” and that you tell us this is our “heritage” in you, our inherited blessing, place of possession, and gift straight from your hand. We love you, Lord. We need you.  We stand together in your great and powerful Name. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

bible study group praying and holding hands together

To Renew Our Minds

Lord, help us to study and apply your Word to our lives each day. Help us make this a discipline of the mind and heart, empowered by Your Spirit, transforming us each day more and more into your likeness. Help us have self-awareness of when we’re falling into temptation and turn quickly back to you. Thank you for your tender mercy and love, ever leading us onward. In Jesus’ Name, I pray, Amen!

A Prayer to Prepare

Father in Heaven, Abba, Yahweh, who delights in His children. Jesus, Messiah, who calls us friends. Holy Spirit, a gift from above and constant companion. Glory be to the One True, Triune, God! You know when we are lost, Lord. You found us, heaped in our own motivations and confused by worldly principles. You rescued us, defeating death on the cross and rising to sit at the right hand of the Father in heaven. Your reach into our everyday lives, our messy circumstances, forever changes us.

Not one day of our lives is more or less important. No one person more or less loved. In Your perfect way, You hold the world in balance and our souls in tune. You hear every voice, every prayer, every cry, and every shout of praise, simultaneously and always! Your ways are not our ways, but oh, God… please lead us in Your purpose for our lives.

Let Your glory, Light, and Living Water flow from our lives. May all who know us feel the love You have for all …and the care in which You save the lost. Jesus, in Your Powerful Name we pray, Amen.

black and white friends smiling

To Embrace and Enjoy Life

Father, Help us to embrace and enjoy the life you’ve given us to live. We are not accidentally here on earth! Each day we awake to breathe, you faithfully meet us with purpose. Holy Spirit, faithfully nudge and reminds us that we are children of God, freed from the chains of sin by Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, and resurrection and assertion to heaven where He is seated by the Father. Bless our minds to remember and embrace the freedom, hope, joy and peace we have in Christ. In Jesus name, Amen.

An Opening Prayer of Confession

Gracious Lord, give us the courage to seek forgiveness. Remind us that confession is never a mistake; it frees us from the chains of the enemy. We know we cannot hide our hearts from you. Help us to let go of our bitterness and fear, and purify us with the knowledge that you have taken away every sin. In your name, Amen.

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An Opening Prayer for Atonement

Heavenly Father,  We are all your children, and you love us in a way we can hardly fathom. Help us to see past the issues that divide us, and see one another with eyes free of hate. We have sinned. We have struck at our brothers and sisters with malice in our hearts. We have made enemies of others while claiming to be your disciples. Help us to atone for these sins, and remember to love our neighbours and we love ourselves.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

 

To Aim Hearts Toward God

Dear Lord, Thank you that the teachings in Scripture are still relevant to our lives today. Your Word is “alive and active.” We ask that the Holy Spirit please open our eyes so we may see anything that is hindering our relationship with you.

Reveal things, people, or attitudes of our hearts that no longer nurture or nourish our walk with you. Please forgive us for the idols we place above you. Forgive us for not honouring you with our whole hearts.

Forgive our half-hearted devotion and misplaced affections. Continue to guide us and teach us the truth of your Word. May we not harden our hearts when we hear your voice, but rather circumcise those things of our heart that you’re asking us to remove.

May we become more righteous in your eyes. Thank you for your power and strength of the Holy Spirit to begin opening the eyes of our hearts so our devotion can be solely on you. We love you and praise you and your majesty. In Jesus’ Name, Amenoly

To Be Unshakeable

God, help us. Where we are weak, make us strong. Where we are wavering, help us lay our anchor down. May we find strength through knowing you hold us. We no longer need to be held down by the world’s claws. May we believe you are so believable we see your hand in our everything. May we so fall into your arms of grace, so we never feel the pangs of condemnation rip us apart. That is not you. And, truly, we want nothing that is not associated with you – it will only leave us empty. God, you are one that leaves us on full. Not once, but all the time. God, give us you. Increase our faith; make us into fighters who don’t back down. May we know, strongly, you are what we need to run after. You are the answer to everything. You are the only way. Tie down our heart into you. Amen.

To Find Fulfillment in God

Heavenly Father, please help us find fulfillment in your presence. Help us to live in such a way that our actions serve as a reflection of your own grace and mercy. Teach us to seek first your Kingdom, in a life that brings glory to your name. Amen.

woman in black and white long sleeve shirt raising her hands
Photo by Javy Luzania on Unsplash

A Prayer to Glorify God after Group Success

Father, We are here today to celebrate great success! In a world full of chaos and calamity, we are embracing a moment of triumph in Your name and for Your glory. Once again, we have experienced the miracle of Your sustenance, as King David so appropriately penned in Psalm 4:7: “You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound.”

Father, our hearts, the very center of our humanity and our souls, are filled by You. In extreme emotion, this indescribable feeling is even more pronounced. We are aware that we could not see this great success come to fruition without the individual purpose You have put in each person here today. Thank You for bringing us together to accomplish this great feat for Your glory, though the odds were stacked against us as they often are.

Guard our hearts against pride and selfish gain as we celebrate today. Let it fuel our faith in You as our provider and our sustainer. Filler of our hearts. May all glory for our achievements go up to You today and always. In Jesus’ Name, Amen

For God’s Design

Father, I thank You for our sameness. I thank You that we are brothers and sisters by Your design. May that truth shape how we view others, but first, may it shape how we view ourselves. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Opening Prayer for Invitation

Dear Lord and Father: Thank you for promising us that where two or three meet, you are there in the middle. Lord, we welcome you among us today and we celebrate the gift of life that you have lavished on each one of us. We ask you to open our ears so that we can hear your voice.

Open our minds so that we can receive your eternal wisdom. Open our spirits so that we can know your direction and guidance. And open our hearts so that we can receive your wonderful love. We ask all this in the glorious name of Jesus. Amen.