Opening Prayers for Church Services: 22 Ways to Begin

Lord, we brought a lot in here with us this morning, and not much of it is about you. Quiet what does not matter for the next hour. Give us back our attention. And meet us — not the version of us we would rather present. Amen.

— Original

Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hidden. Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you and worthily magnify your holy name. Amen.

— Original, in the classic Collect for Purity form

God, it has been a week. Some of us are here because we always come. Some of us almost did not. We are not going to pretend to be further along than we are. Be God to us anyway, and start where we actually are. Amen.

— Original

Father, there are people in this room this morning who have never been in a room like this, and people who have been in one every Sunday for sixty years. Speak to both. Make this a place where nobody has to perform. And let the person who came in unsure be glad they did. Amen.

— Original

God, you are not boring and you are not far away, and a lot of us have been told otherwise. Show up in a way we cannot explain away. Give us the nerve to be honest with you. And let this hour matter on Monday. Amen.

— Original

Lord Jesus, you set a table and you invited people who would let you down before the week was out. We are those people. Prepare us to come to your table — not because we are ready, but because you asked us. Amen.

— Original

O God, who art the author of peace and lover of concord, in knowledge of whom standeth our eternal life, whose service is perfect freedom: Defend us thy humble servants in all assaults of our enemies; that we, surely trusting in thy defence, may not fear the power of any adversaries; through the might of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

— The Book of Common Prayer, 1662 (public domain)

O Lord, our heavenly Father, Almighty and everlasting God, who hast safely brought us to the beginning of this day: Defend us in the same with thy mighty power; and grant that this day we fall into no sin, neither run into any kind of danger; but that all our doings may be ordered by thy governance, to do always that is righteous in thy sight; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

— The Book of Common Prayer, 1662 (public domain)

Lord, we are here and you are here. Speak, and we will listen. Amen.

— Original

God of the long wait, we have come in early dark with candles and a promise. Slow us down. We are in a season that wants us frantic, and you have asked us to keep watch. Meet us in the waiting, and do not be late. Amen.

— Original

God who came near, the story is old and most of us know how it ends, and still it is the strangest thing anyone has ever said about you. Make it new tonight. For the children who cannot sit still, and for the adults who are here for the first time in years, be born again in this room. Amen.

— Original

God of the star, you led foreigners across a desert to a child, and you did it with a light and a rumor. Lead us this morning. And make us the kind of church that strangers can find in the dark. Amen.

— Original

Almighty God, we have come tonight to be told the truth about ourselves and to hear it as good news. We are dust. You have loved dust from the beginning. Begin these forty days in us. Amen.

— Original

Lord Jesus, we are waving branches for a king who is riding toward his own execution. We would rather skip to next Sunday. Keep us in this week. Walk us through it, and do not let us cheer today and disappear by Friday. Amen.

— Original

Lord, we have come to a service with no good ending, and we are not going to hurry it. Hold us here at the cross long enough to understand what it cost you, and long enough to be quiet about it. Amen.

— Original

Risen Christ, we have said the words so often that they have gone smooth. Make them sharp again this morning. You were dead. You are not dead. Let that land on us like news, and let nobody leave here unchanged. Amen.

— Original

Holy Spirit, we have planned this hour carefully, and we are asking you to interrupt it. Come with wind, come with fire, come however you like. Only come. Amen.

— Original

Generous God, we have come here to say thank you out loud, which is harder than it sounds for people who are used to earning things. Open our hands. And let our gratitude be specific this morning, not general. Amen.

— Original

Lord of all our days, we stand at the front of a year we cannot see. We are not asking to see it. We are asking you to be in it, as you were in the one that just closed, even where we did not notice. Amen.

— Original

God who made all of this, we are worshipping in your other building this morning. Thank you for wind and grass and whatever is about to fly through the middle of the sermon. Quiet us anyway. And let creation preach the half of it we always forget. Amen.

— Original

Faithful God, there is water at the front of this room and a promise attached to it. Be here. Speak to the ones stepping in, and say it again to the rest of us who need reminding whose we are. Amen.

— Original

Lord, it is Wednesday and we are tired, and coming here tonight was a decision. Meet the people who made it. This is a smaller room than Sunday, and you have never minded small rooms. Amen.

— Original

What is a good short opening prayer for church?

Four moves in under a minute: name God, acknowledge how people arrived, ask for attention and openness, and close in the name of Jesus. Anything longer is doing the pastoral prayer's job.

Is the opening prayer the same as the invocation?

In most churches, functionally yes. In Lutheran practice the Invocation specifically names the Trinity and is a distinct element from the opening prayer.

Who usually prays the opening prayer?

The worship leader or the presiding pastor. It is also a common place to involve elders, deacons, or youth leaders.