For the past five years, I have been leading twice-a-week prayer times at The Berdhouse, a residential Christian discipleship community that Trudi and I lead for college students. We normally spend the first 15 minutes of each prayer time reading through a passage from the Bible and responding to that passage with dozens of short prayers. Our times responding prayerfully to God’s Word have frequently been spiritually rich — and since they have been directed by Scripture, often spiritually deep as well.

It has taken quite a few years to identify Scripture passages that work well for such times of prayer. The aim of this post is to share with you my list of Scriptures that have worked well when I have led group prayer. During our prayer times at The Berdhouse, we have prayed through many more biblical passages than those found on the list below, but all of the following passages have been successful in framing our prayers. Some of these passages are somber, others quite convicting, some joyful and celebratory, others doctrinally thick. I share this list with you in case you are looking for helpful scriptural passages to employ as you pray with others.

  • Genesis 1:1-2:3[1]

  • Exodus 19:10-25 with Hebrews 12:18-29[2]

  • 1 Chronicles 16:8-36

  • Psalms 1-2

  • Psalm 19

  • Psalm 27[3]

  • Psalm 34

  • Psalm 40

  • Psalms 42-43[4]

  • Psalm 46

  • Psalm 57

  • Psalms 62-63

  • Psalm 71

  • Psalm 86[5]

  • Psalm 90

  • Psalm 96

  • Psalms 99-100

  • Psalm 103

  • Psalm 119:1-32

  • Psalm 145

  • Proverbs 3:1-12

  • Ecclesiastes 1:12-2:23

  • Isaiah 25:1-26:9

  • Isaiah 40:18-31

  • Isaiah 43:1-13

  • Isaiah 52:13-53:12[6]

  • Isaiah 55

  • Lamentations 3:19-39[7]

  • Daniel 9:1-19[8]

  • Joel 2:12-32

  • Matthew 5:1-16

  • Matthew 6:19-34[9]

  • Mark 10:13-45

  • Mark 13

  • Luke 1:46-55, 68-79[10]

  • John 10:1-30

  • John 14:1-31

  • John 15:1-16

  • John 16:1-24

  • John 17

  • Acts 13:14-43

  • Romans 8:1-17

  • Romans 8:18-39

  • Romans 12

  • 2 Corinthians 4

  • 2 Corinthians 5

  • 2 Corinthians 6:1-10[11]

  • Galatians 5:13-26

  • Ephesians 1:3-14

  • Ephesians 1:15-2:10

  • Ephesians 3:14-21

  • Ephesians 4:1-16

  • Ephesians 5:1-21

  • Philippians 2:1-18

  • Philippians 3:7-21

  • Philippians 4:1-9

  • Colossians 1:9-23

  • Colossians 3:1-17

  • 1 Thessalonians 5

  • 1 Timothy 4:1-5:2

  • 2 Timothy 1:1-17

  • Titus 2:11-3:11

  • Hebrews 13

  • James 1

  • James 4

  • 1 Peter 1:3-25

  • 1 Peter 2:1-17

  • 2 Peter 1:1-11

  • 1 John 4:7-5:5

  • Revelation 21:1-9, 22-27; 22:1-5

Whenever you plan to lead a prayer time, select one of the above passages. Don’t work through passages in the order listed above; instead, select a passage that seems appropriate to the moment. You could, of course, use these passages during personal times of prayer as well. But today I am particularly hoping that this list will help those of you who lead prayer meetings to direct spiritually rich times of corporate prayer grounded in the Word of God.

[1] Focus: thanking God for all he has made.

[2] Focus: the awesomeness of God.

[3] Focus: dealing with fear.

[4] Focus: lament.

[5] Focus: lament and/or times of conflict.

[6] Focus: Passion Week.

[7] Focus: lament during sorrow or tragedy.

[8] Focus: corporate confession.

[9] Focus: worry.

[10] Focus: Christmas season.

[11] Focus: suffering.