Pray for your city or town

‘…seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.’

Jeremiah 29:7 

Pray for your local community; seek God’s kingdom, intercede for the people, and invite God’s presence with these four steps…  

1. Get Informed 

Learn more about the place you live in. This may take time, but the more informed you are, the more specific your prayers can be. Investigate: 

• Who lives in your area? What benefits and challenges do they face? 
• What ethnicities and social classes live and work in which neighbourhoods? 
• Where are the power centres: the political offices, police departments and media outlets, the centres of business, finance, education, and the arts? 
• What temples, churches, mosques and other sacred spaces or monuments are present? 

2. Get Active

Take to the streets and prayer walk your community keeping your eyes open and your ears attuned to God’s direction. As you walk: 

• Observe: the streets, the buildings, and the people. What do you notice? 
• Listen: ask God to tell you what He sees, what He cares about and where He’s already at work. 
• Interact: talk with the people you pass. Ask what they think the neighbourhood needs, listen to their stories, and ask questions.  

Find out more about prayer walking. 

3. Get Together

Now you have a good understanding of your area and the people within it, you can pray alone, or you can share what you’ve learned with others.  

Jesus said, ‘When two of you get together on anything at all on earth and make a prayer of it, my Father in heaven goes into action.’ (Matthew 18:19 MSG) 

Make time to pray with friends, as a church or as churches united across your village, town or city.  

When you pray: 

• Give thanks for the good you’ve seen (Ps. 100:4) 
• Bless the people and places doing important work (schools, food banks, councils, etc.) (Jer. 29:7) 
• Listen to God together – what direction does He give you for prayer? Are there Bible passages, promises, pictures or words that help direct your intercession? (Jam. 1:5) 
• Ask God to give wisdom to the different kinds of leaders in your area (1 Tim. 2:1-2) 
• Pray for God’s Kingdom to come and His will to be done where there is deprivation or difficulty (Matt. 6:10) 
• Cry out for God’s Spirit to move, for the Church to be equipped for mission and for people to hear and respond the good news of Jesus. (Acts 2:1-41) 

You may want to arrange special prayer meetings to pray for your city throughout the year interceding for different areas and needs each time.  

For ideas on how to plan and lead these meetings read Ideas for Prayer Meetings. 

4. Get Going

Become an answer to prayer for your village, town or city. As you pray, God may draw your attention to a specific need or social challenge in your area.  Ask God to increase your compassion and to show you how your church can be part of His solution for that situation, practically as well as prayerfully. 

Are there other churches or organisations working within that area or people group who would benefit from your time, skill or generosity?  

Is God asking you to begin something new? 

Or maybe God is prompting you to make more time to be present in your neighbourhood, investing in friendships and actively looking for ways to be kind and generous. 

Explore more ideas for prayer and mission