There are all sorts of reasons people can stop coming to church, but here’s a prayer to bring them back into fellowship with you again.
Quick Prayer
Please pray aloud: Heavenly Father, today, I come to you now to intercede for those who used to gather with us but have stopped coming. By your Holy Spirit, compel the wayward to return. Help them remember the hope they felt when they went to the house of God “with shouts of joy and praise among the festive throng.”
In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Full Prayer
Please pray aloud: Heavenly Father, today, I come to you now to intercede for those who no longer gather with us in worship.
Your heart breaks for those who have wandered away, God. Your Son tells stories of the prodigal child and the eager father, or stories of the wandering sheep and the seeking shepherd. Prophet after prophet calls out with the refrain, “return to the Lord.”
Specifically, God, I bring to you… [Take a moment to say the names of the people whom you haven’t seen in church in a while.]
For those we love and miss, God, stir in their hearts with the same longing you have for them. By your Holy Spirit, compel the wayward to return. Even now, wherever they are, help them remember the hope they felt when they went to the house of God “with shouts of joy and praise among the festive throng.” Remind them that you wait with the blessings and joy and forgiveness they so desperately need.
Your heart breaks for those who have wandered away, God.
—Pray for Your Church
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If they left because of sin, bring confession and absolution.
If they left because of hurt, Lord, bring reconciliation and healing.
If they left because of offense to your Word, bring humility to their heart.
If they left because life got busy, remind them to keep you first above all things.
If they left because of a consumer mindset towards church, give them the mindset of a disciple.
If they left because they’ve failed to plan, remind them to make a plan to join us in worship this Sunday.
If they left because we were unwelcoming, unenthused, or too preoccupied to notice them, give them grace towards us.
But do not let the wound, the offense, the distraction, or the guilt keep them from your house one day longer, Lord. Warm the cold heart. Enliven the dead heart. Soften the calloused heart. Break the hard heart. Remind them of your Word’s urging to “not give up meeting together” but all the more as the day of your return approaches.
In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Some of the Scripture used in today’s prayer: Luke 15:11-32, Luke 15:3-7, Matthew 18:12-14, Joel 2:12-13, Hosea 14:1, Hosea 6:1, Isaiah 55:7, Jeremiah 3:12, Zechariah 1:3, Malachi 3:7, Psalm 42:4, Matthew 6:33, Ezekiel 36:26, Ezekiel 11:19, Hebrews 10:25
