It's Easter week. If there was ever a week to double-down on praying for your church, it's this one!

I get tired of praying the same things over and over again for my church, so this week I accessed a prayer expert for his help on what to pray.

Here are seven prayers that Paul prayed for the churches he knew.

Together, they'll give you a week's worth of biblical prayers you can pray over your church.

Then, at the bottom of this post, I've linked to the most helpful written prayer I've ever prayed. It's a Warfare Prayer by Victor Matthews. This prayer was my shield during the first two years of planting New Song. I prayed it almost daily and still come back to it when I'm feeling oppressed.

Ready to pray?

7 Prayers for Your Church

1. A prayer for love: Philippians 1:9-11– And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all discernment, that you may approve things that are excellent so that you may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, being filled with the fruit of righteousness, which comes through Jesus Christ, for the glory and praise of God.

2. A prayer for wisdom: Ephesians 1:15-19a – Therefore I also, after hearing of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, do not cease giving thanks for you, mentioning you in my prayers, so that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, that the eyes of your understanding may be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of His calling and what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance among the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.

3. A prayer for strength: Ephesians 3:14-21 – For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would give you, according to the riches of His glory, power to be strengthened by His Spirit in the inner man, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth and length and depth and height, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly beyond all that we ask or imagine, according to the power that works in us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

4. A prayer for fruit: Colossians 1:9-12 – For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, pleasing to all, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God, strengthened with all might according to His glorious power, enduring everything with perseverance and patience joyfully, giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled us to be partakers in the inheritance of the saints in light.

5. A prayer for righteousness: 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 – Therefore we always pray for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling and with power fulfill all your good desires and works done by faith, so that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

6. A prayer for salvations, and for strengthening: 2 Thessalonians 3:1-5 – Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may quickly spread and be glorified, even as it did with you.

And pray that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men, for not all men have faith. But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one. We have confidence in the Lord concerning you, that you are doing and will do the things which we command you.

May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.

7. A Prayer for You: Ephesians 6:19 – Pray for me, that the power to speak may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel.

The Warfare Prayer

During the first few weeks after planting New Song, I started to feel a weight on my soul. There was a heaviness that lifted only when I went out of town and returned when I came home. It was demonic opposition, wanting to hinder the work of the gospel and drive me off by discouragement.

At that time, someone gave me Victor Matthews' prayer. I prayed it out loud and felt the weight lifting. For over two years, I felt the need to pray this prayer four or five days a week. Dr. Victor Matthews was a professor of theology at the Grand Rapids Baptist Bible College and Seminary. He's with the Lord today, but his prayer continues to be an encouragement to me. I hope it will encourage you too.

Now What?

Put these prayers above your desk or in your Bible and use them as guides as you pray.

"How to Pray Like Paul for Your Church"

Click over to the Cru site to get the Warfare Prayer (and the Daily Affirmation of Faith) and pray it any time you feel discouraged, depressed or spiritually opposed.

"The Spiritual Warfare Prayer"

Hal Seed is the founding and Lead Pastor of New Song Community Church in Oceanside, California. Hal mentors pastors to lead healthy, growing churches. He offers resources to help church leaders at pastormentor.com.

For the original article, visit pastormentor.com.

Get Spirit-filled content delivered right to your inbox! Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.

Dr. Mark Rutland's

National Institute of Christian Leadership (NICL)

The NICL is one of the top leadership training programs in the U.S. taught by Dr. Mark Rutland. If you're the type of leader that likes to have total control over every aspect of your ministry and your future success, the NICL is right for you!

FREE NICL MINI-COURSE - Enroll for 3-hours of training from Dr. Rutland's full leadership course. Experience the NICL and decide if this training is right for you and your team.

The NICL Online is an option for any leader with time or schedule constraints. It's also for leaders who want to expedite their training to receive advanced standing for Master Level credit hours. Work through Dr. Rutland's full training from the comfort of your home or ministry at your pace. Learn more about NICL Online. Learn more about NICL Online.