In the first sermon of 2026, I asked everyone to write “20 Prayers for 2026” in these categories:
- 5 prayers for yourself
- 5 prayers for your family
- 5 prayers for your church
- 5 prayers for your neighborhood
That’s a lot of prayers, especially if you aren’t used to writing prayers. Consider writing one a day (yes, it’s ok if you miss a day or two).
Remember, the “20 Prayers” are not:
- A Productivity Hack. Don’t pray that you become super productive and able to do twice as much as you currently do.
- A Wish List… don’t just list things you want God to give you.
- A Spiritual Maturity Test. Don’t view this a way to prove you are super spiritual OR, that if you miss a day or a few, that you’re spiritually immature.
Why would you write “20 Prayers” for 2026 and pray them during the year?
First, praying is a great way to become more like Jesus and have the type of unity that Jesus prays for Christians to experience and demonstrate in his great prayer in John 17.
Second, praying the “20 Prayers” is a great way to expand your prayer life. Sometimes, even if we’ve been praying for a long time, we’re not sure what to pray or we offer the same prayer repeatedly. Writing “20 Prayers” is a way to expand your prayer life. Expanding your prayer life is important because that expands your time with God.
Third, as you pray in specific ways and see God respond, you will be moved to keep praying and share about what God is doing. Responses to prayer will invigorate your prayer life and relationship with God.
Fourth, using the “20 Prayers” is a great way to live out our church values. Our values are:
- biblically-rooted living,
- nurturing Spirit-filled relationships,
- intimacy with Jesus,
- intentional stewardship of God’s gifts, and
- sharing the Father’s grace with lost people.
We strive to live by those values. Our prayers can include seeking God’s help in living those values. Praying itself is a demonstration of several of those values.
Last, but perhaps most importantly, our prayers can remind us of how much God loves us. Yes, prayer is obedience to God’s command to pray. Prayer also follows the model Jesus provide. But why, because God loves us and wants to be in relationship with us. The “20 Prayers” are a good tool to help experience the breadth God’s love in many different facets of life.
Download the “20 Prayers” sheet. There is space to write “20 Prayers” on one side along with prayer prompts and verses including prayer and teaching about prayer on the other side of the sheet.
Consider working on these prayers with your family or a friend or in your Growth Group.
Once you’ve written the prayers, then what? Here’s a suggested weekly rhythm:
- Pick one day a week
- Re-read your list slowly
- Circle a prayer from each category
- Pray those four prayers out loud
Over time, you can discern changes you’ve seen in yourself or in the people and situations about which you have prayed. I will be glad to join you in praying any of the prayers you want to share. So would Pastor Frank or any elder. Please share some of your prayers with us, especially your “5 Prayers for Your Church”. This can be a great way to grow in unity with each other and see God move among us.
May God bless us and our community through our prayers,
Pastor Andy DeKorte