Prayer is foundational to the Christian life. Across the Christian landscape, believers sincerely acknowledge the necessity of prayer, and rightly so. In Ghana in particular, we see this lived out beautifully—prayer is woven into the fabric of our public life. At presidential inaugurations, national ceremonies, and community gatherings, we pause to pray. In churches, conferences, and public spaces, much time and energy are devoted to intercession—a beautiful testament to our dependence on God and our conviction that prayer shapes nations and transforms hearts.
This communal practice resonates deeply with the Protestant theological tradition. In the writings of the Puritans, we find our contemporary practice rooted in centuries of careful reflection on how God shapes His people through prayer.
The Puritan theologian Richard Rogers noted that “God’s children are especially refreshed through public prayers” and that “we learn to pray gospel-centred, God-glorifying prayers by listening to experienced saints.” Rogers wrote these words as part of his practical guide to the Christian life (the Seven Treatises), focusing on what he called “the means§ whereby a godly life is helped and continued”—what we now know as the Spiritual Disciplines: the preaching of the Word, the sacraments, and prayer¶.
Rogers emphasises the importance of hearing other believers pray, particularly in the gathered assembly. As we listen and consent together in the same requests, we grow in grace. In essence, we learn to pray gospel-centred, God-glorifying, Christ-exalting prayers by listening to experienced saints. What better teachers could we have than the Apostles whose doctrine and teaching laid the foundation of the Church (Ephesians 2:20).
As the author of nearly one-third of the New Testament, Paul shaped early Christian theology and practice through his letters, his proclamation, and his intercession. His prayers, woven throughout his epistles, reveal a man whose heart was consumed with gospel concerns and whose petitions were saturated with Scripture. In Paul’s prayers, we glimpse what Spirit-empowered, gospel-centred intercession truly looks like. This is why God has graciously preserved the prayers of the apostles: so that we may learn from them and pray along with them.
In the resource that follows, we have collated the prayers of Paul, organised by theme, to serve as a guide for your meditation and spiritual growth. Read through them. Pray them for yourself and others. Meditate on them. Let them shape your understanding of what faithful intercession looks like. As you do, may you find yourself conformed to the apostolic pattern of prayer—may you discover afresh what it means to pray with biblical conviction and Spirit-empowered urgency. And may you experience the transformative grace that comes when our prayer life aligns with the Word and mirrors the example of the saints.
- PRAYERS OF THANKSGIVING
For Churches
“First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world.” (Romans 1:8)
“I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge—even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you.” (1 Corinthians 1:4–6)
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” (2 Corinthians 1:3–4)
“But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere.” (2 Corinthians 2:14)
“For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God… Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!” (2 Corinthians 9:12, 15)
“I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.” (Philippians 1:3–5)
“We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints.” (Colossians 1:3–4)
“We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thessalonians 1:2–3)
“And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.” (1 Thessalonians 2:13)
“We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing.” (2 Thessalonians 1:3)
For Individuals
“I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service.” (1 Timothy 1:12)
“I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day.” (2 Timothy 1:3)
“I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers, because I hear of your love and of the faith that you have toward the Lord Jesus and for all the saints… for I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you.” (Philemon 4–5, 7)
- PRAYERS FOR SPIRITUAL WISDOM, KNOWLEDGE & REVELATION
“…that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe.” (Ephesians 1:17–19a)
“And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent.” (Philippians 1:9–10)
“And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding.” (Colossians 1:9)
“…and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ.” (Philemon 6)
- PRAYERS FOR SPIRITUAL STRENGTH, MATURITY & GROWTH
Inner Strength & Fullness
“…that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” (Ephesians 3:16–19)
Maturity & Sanctification
“For we are glad when we are weak and you are strong. Your restoration is what we pray for.” (2 Corinthians 13:9)
“…so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy.” (Colossians 1:10–11)
“…so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.” (1 Thessalonians 3:13)
“Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thessalonians 5:23)
“To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power.” (2 Thessalonians 1:11)
“And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ… so that you may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.” (Philippians 1:6, 10–11)
- PRAYERS FOR LOVE, UNITY & HARMONY
“May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together with one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 15:5–6)
“And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more.” (Philippians 1:9)
“…and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all.” (1 Thessalonians 3:12)
- PRAYERS FOR JOY, PEACE, HOPE & ENCOURAGEMENT
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” (Romans 15:13)
“May the God of peace be with you all. Amen.” (Romans 15:33)
“Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way.” (2 Thessalonians 3:16)
“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” (2 Corinthians 13:14)
“Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.” (2 Thessalonians 2:16–17)
- PRAYERS FOR GUIDANCE & DIRECTION
“…asking that somehow by God’s will I may now at last succeed in coming to you.” (Romans 1:10)
“May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.” (2 Thessalonians 3:5)
- PRAYERS FOR MINISTRY EFFECTIVENESS
“I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf, that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints.” (Romans 15:30–31)
“…and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.” (Ephesians 6:19–20)
“At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison—that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.” (Colossians 4:3–4)
“To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Thessalonians 1:11–12)
- PRAYERS FOR SALVATION & DELIVERANCE
“Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved.” (Romans 10:1)
“…that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea.” (Romans 15:31)
- PRAYERS FOR INDIVIDUALS
For Timothy
“I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. As I remember your tears, I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy… for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” (2 Timothy 1:3–4, 7)
For Onesiphorus
“May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains… may the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord on that day!” (2 Timothy 1:16, 18)
Notes
- Holy Helps for a Godly Life, Richard Rogers, Edited by Brian G. Hedges, Reformation Heritage Books, Grand Rapids, Michigan, pp. 26-27.
- Systematic Theology, Charles Hodge, Oak Harbor, Wash: Logos Research Systems, 1997; 3:446.
- Charles Hodge writes, “By means of grace…the phrase is intended to indicate those institutions which God has ordained to be the ordinary channels of grace, i.e., of the supernatural influences of the Holy Spirit, to the souls of men.”
¶For a full treatment of the Spiritual Disciplines, see Donald S. Whitney’s ‘Spiritual Disciplines’, or Richard J. Foster’s ‘Celebrations of Discipline.’
