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Prayer prompts are suggested themes or topics to guide and inspire Christians in prayer. Prayer is how we communicate with God—our conversations with Him. Prayer allows us to draw close to Jesus and deepen our relationship with the Father. Using prayer prompts can enhance our prayer life by providing a starting point, imparting structure, and stimulating new ideas and areas to explore in prayer.
Prayer prompts can be especially helpful to new believers. Prayer may be awkward at first, like learning to speak a new language. Many struggle to know how or what to pray. As we grow spiritually, we discover that prayer is more than just asking God for things. It involves praising and thanking God for who He is and all He does, not only in our lives but in our families, churches, nation, and world.
Even seasoned Christians sometimes get lost, bored, or stuck in a rut of repetitious prayers. That is why prayer prompts can be especially beneficial to anyone struggling to develop a consistent and meaningful prayer life. A common prayer prompt or guided prayer method is to follow a prewritten prayer as a sort of road map in our spiritual reflections.
The Bible contains many examples to use as guided prayer prompts. We can follow along with the apostle Paul’s prayers for spiritual insight (Ephesians 1:15–19) and spiritual growth (Colossians 1:9–14). Jesus gave us a beautiful pattern to follow in the Lord’s Prayer (see Luke 11:1–4; Matthew 6:9–15), beginning with worship and praise directed to the Father and recognizing His holiness. Jesus’ model prayer reminds us to pray for God’s will to be done, not our own. It teaches us to bring our cares to God and trust Him to meet our needs. It prompts us to confess our sins and forgive those who offend us. Finally, we are urged to seek the Lord’s help in our daily battle to overcome temptation and sin.
Many devotionals incorporate composed, guided prayers and bulleted prompts to lead individuals to pray for specific situations and integrate prayer into their daily lives. A useful prayer prompt often taught to children is the ACTS formula of Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication. Another is the five-finger prayer:
• The thumb reminds us to pray for those closest to us.
• The pointer or index finger prompts us to pray for schoolteachers, church leaders, and Sunday school teachers who point the way.
• The middle finger encourages us to pray for those standing tall, such as the military, police, and government leaders.
• The ring finger leads us to pray for the sick, weak, or people in need.
• The pinky, the smallest and last finger, reminds us to stay humble when we pray for our own needs.
One method of using prayer prompts includes reflecting on Bible verses and praying as the Scriptures inspire us. For example, we may read the passages of Christ’s crucifixion and imagine ourselves in the account. Then, we might ask God to help us forgive those who persecute or harm us and pray like Jesus did: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).• The pointer or index finger prompts us to pray for schoolteachers, church leaders, and Sunday school teachers who point the way.
• The middle finger encourages us to pray for those standing tall, such as the military, police, and government leaders.
• The ring finger leads us to pray for the sick, weak, or people in need.
• The pinky, the smallest and last finger, reminds us to stay humble when we pray for our own needs.
Many of the psalms offer excellent prayer prompts. Using Psalm 25, we might begin like David, expressing our confidence in God: “In you, Lord my God, I put my trust” (verse 1). Then, after reading David’s petitions for guidance (verses 4–5) and forgiveness (verses 6–7), we could pause to include our own requests for guidance and forgiveness: “Lord, show me how to live for you in my workplace. Forgive me for hiding my faith and not shining your light with my coworkers.”
Prayer prompts come in various forms. Many churches provide prayer lists on specific topics to pray throughout the week or for other designated prayer purposes, such as prayer walks and vigils. Books, prayer collections, devotionals, and one’s own prayer journals are excellent sources for finding inspiration in prayer. We can jot down a list of personal prayer requests and include specific items, such as missionaries, pastors, churches, schools, leaders, family, friends, and neighbors.
While prayer prompts can help encourage individual prayer and intercession, believers must remember that effective prayer is linked to the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Instead of relying solely on prayer prompts, we should also seek the Holy Spirit’s urging, guidance, and motivation in our communications with God (Romans 15:30–32; Ephesians 6:18–20; Jude 1:20). The Holy Spirit inspires us to worship and praise God (Acts 10:44–46; John 4:23–24; Philippians 3:3) and to seek Him in supplication and prayer (Zechariah 12:10; Romans 8:26–27).
