Closing Prayers for Church Services: 20 Ways to End Well
A closing prayer gathers up what happened in a service and sends the congregation into the week with it.
Where it goes in the service
After the sermon and final song, before or instead of the benediction. Usually under 90 seconds.
What is a closing prayer?
The closing prayer comes at or near the end of a service. Unlike a benediction — which is spoken to the people on God's behalf — a closing prayer is spoken to God on the people's behalf. Many services include both, in that order.
Its most useful job is consolidation. A congregation has just heard a sermon, and within ninety seconds of walking out most of it will be gone. A closing prayer that names the one thing the sermon asked for gives the message a second chance to land.
It is also a natural place to pray about the week ahead specifically — Monday morning, the difficult conversation, the thing someone has been avoiding.
5 closing prayers for church services you can use this Sunday
Free to copy, print, and project. Scripture is quoted from public-domain translations, so no permission is required.
A Simple Closing Prayer
All-purposeLord, we have heard more this morning than we will remember by Tuesday. So take one thing and keep it in front of us. Go with us into this week — into the work, the house, the conversation we are dreading. And let someone be better off because we were in this room today. Amen.
— Original
Closing Prayer That Applies the Sermon
ApplicationFather, you asked us this morning to [specific application from the sermon]. That is not going to happen by accident. So bring it to mind this week at the exact moment we would rather forget it. Give us the nerve to actually do it. And forgive us for how often we have heard something true and simply moved on. Amen.
— Original
Closing Prayer for a Sending
SendingGod, this room is not where the work happens. The work happens in the places we are about to go back to, where nobody is singing and it is much harder to believe any of this. Go with us there. Be as real on Wednesday as you have been this hour. Amen.
— Original
Closing Prayer for a Difficult Sunday
GriefLord, some of us are leaving here with the same weight we walked in with. We are not going to pretend that an hour fixed it. But we are not carrying it alone now, and you have not gone anywhere. Be near this week — especially at night. Amen.
— Original
Closing Prayer Before a Benediction
ShortLord, receive our worship — what we sang, what we gave, what we confessed, and what we could not say out loud. Send us out now as your people. And hear us as we go. Amen.
— Original
How to write your own
- 1Name one thing from the sermon. Not three. The closing prayer is the last rehearsal of the message before it has to survive on its own.
- 2Pray about the week ahead in concrete terms — Monday, the workplace, the family, the specific hard thing.
- 3Keep it short. The service is over; people know it, and a long closing prayer is heard as a delay.
- 4Do not add new content. Anything worth introducing belonged in the sermon.
- 5If a benediction follows, make the closing prayer shorter still — two prayers back to back is one too many unless both are lean.
How different traditions handle it
Liturgical traditions typically use a prayer after communion followed by the benediction, in that fixed order. Baptist and non-denominational services frequently use a closing prayer alone, without a distinct benediction — which is one reason the two terms get used interchangeably. If your church uses both, printing both names in the order of service helps everyone understand the difference.
Frequently asked questions
Is a closing prayer the same as a benediction?
No. A closing prayer is addressed to God on behalf of the people; a benediction is addressed to the people on behalf of God. Many services use both, closing prayer first.
How long should a closing prayer be?
Under 90 seconds, and shorter still if a benediction follows it.
What should a closing prayer include?
A word of thanks for the service, one specific application from the sermon, a request for the week ahead, and a close in the name of Jesus.
Keep a record of what was actually said
The closing prayer you wrote is in your notes. The sermon that went with it usually isn't. Transcribe every service and build a searchable archive your congregation can go back to — the Church Plan is $19/month for as many sermons as you preach.
Related parts of the service
Benedictions
A benediction is the spoken blessing that sends a congregation out at the end of worship — not a closing prayer, but a pronouncement of God's favor over his people.
Pastoral Prayers
A pastoral prayer is the long prayer of the service, in which one voice carries the whole congregation's thanksgiving, grief, and intercession to God.
Opening Prayers for Church Services
An opening prayer sets the tone of a service in under a minute — gathering a distracted room and turning its attention toward God.
Invocation Prayers
An invocation is a short opening prayer asking God to be present and at work in the gathering that is about to begin.
Everything else in the service
Planning the rest of the service
- Sermon resources for all 66 books — themes, famous chapters, and preaching notes to pair with the readings.
- Sermon length calculator — check the service fits the time you actually have.
- Sermon outline generator — turn a text and a big idea into a preaching outline.
- Sermon series ideas — plan a season, then build the liturgy around it.