Opening Prayer for Bible Study {How-To Guide With 7 Prayers}

In this article, we will cover opening prayer for Bible study and how we can overcome fear and learn how to pray in our group.

Do you ever feel like you don’t know what to pray for? When leading a Bible study, it can be hard to open up in prayer. Or perhaps the leader has asked you to open in prayer. This can send a shock of different emotions.

You may feel that your prayers are not as good or meaningful as they should be. Which to be very blunt is NOT true. Your prayers are just as powerful as any other ministers. Or perhaps it’s a fear thing. You feel like you get words mixed up or say something wrong. all these feelings are normal and many face them. I know I faced them when I was to lead the offering time in front of 500 people.

So, please don’t beat yourself up about it. What I want to encourage you to do is overcome this and rock opening prayer at your next Bible study!

Now, opening prayer is an important aspect of any Bible study. This is a beautiful time to invite God to come and bring revelation to your group. So, to make it a little easier I have some simple steps that will help you overcome your fear of praying when opening up the bible study and I even have some examples as well.

How Do You Start an Opening Prayer?

Sometimes the hardest part of opening in prayer is the start. You don’t know what direction to go or how to lead it. Here are four simple ways you can start out your opening prayer for Bible study group!

Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. – Psalm 100:4

• Start With Praise
  Spending a moment in adoration and praise is a great way to start your prayer time. Take a moment to exalt Him and tell Him how wonderful and good He truly is!
  
• Start With Thanksgiving
  This can piggyback on praise or can be its own stand alone thing. Start out with giving Thanks to the Lord. It can be as simple as thanking Him for the Bible study group or bringing up other areas you are thankful for.
  
• Start With A Scripture
  Opening prayer with a Bible verse is a great way for everyone to get focused on the same page and then continue in prayer. It’s also a great way to help direct your prayer. For example if you feel like the Lord is highlighting a verse on wisdom. Read the verse out loud then pray about the verse to the Lord. “Lord, we thank You for Your Word. It says that if anyone lacks wisdom that we can come to You. So, today Lord I ask that you would give each one us wisdom that goes beyond our natural ability…“
  
• Start With A Prayer Request
  If there is a prayer request within the group or something going on locally in the church, city, nation, or even world. You can use this request to open your prayer time.

4 Tips To Help You Pray at a Bible Study

Prayer is an important aspect of any Bible study. Opening prayer can be hard for some people, but we are here to help you overcome your fear and feel confident in praying at a Bible study! 

• It’s NOT about You – Something that always helps me when I have to lead prayer is to remember that it’s not about me. Opening prayer is a time to connect with God and we are here as church family to do that together. 
  
• Just be you – You don’t need eloquent or poetic speech to pray out loud. Lead from your heart. 
  
• It’s ok if it’s short – Opening prayer doesn’t have to be long or filled with lots of detail. Remember that opening prayer is a time for God to hear from us before we dive into His Word! Pray short and sweet! Unless the Holy Spirit leads you differently. Prayer should never be placed in a box.
  
• Spend time with God – Before Bible study get alone with God and pray. Ask Him for peace as you are going to open prayer and ask Him if there is anything specific you should pray during that time. Be sensitive to His voice and see if there is a verse or something He places on your heart. Having an idea of what to pray before you start is helpful.

Prayer Points or Topics For Bible Study Group

After this sections I have prayers you can use but if you can I would encourage you to free-style your prayer and let it all come from your heart. These prayer points are a guide to help you have directions on what to pray. You can choose just one or multiple ones to pray during your opening prayer. Just be sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s leading.

Ask For Unity

How good and pleasant it is
    when God’s people live together in unity!
It is like precious oil poured on the head,
    running down on the beard,
running down on Aaron’s beard,
    down on the collar of his robe. – Psalm 133:1-2

Praying for your Bible study group to have unity is important. That is because unity is a powerful force! According to scripture we see that oil (God’s anointing) flows when we living in unity. If you feel led you can even pray for unity for the church as well.

KEY THINGS YOU CAN PRAY

• For peace and love to be found for one another.
• Any form of discord and disunity would bow to the name of Jesus.
• Deeper Godly connections with one another.

Ask For Understanding and Clarity

Trust in the Lord with all your heart
    and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,
    and he will make your paths straight. -Proverbs 3:5-6

When learning spiritual truths it can be sometimes hard to wrap our heads around. Especially when it goes against with how we were raised or told our whole lives. This is why it’s important to pray for understanding and clarity.

KEY THINGS YOU CAN PRAY

• That our hearts would be filled with understanding when studying God’s Word.
• That their would be no spirit of confusion
• That as we study we would have such clarity that it would build up our faith

Ask For Wisdom

If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. – James 1:5

Similar to understanding, wisdom is key to understanding the Bible. But I am not talking about just earthly wisdom. But a wisdom that comes from Him that can help us in all areas of our lives.

KEY THINGS YOU CAN PRAY

• That God would give us a Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation. (Ephesians 1:17)
• That as we study God’s Word that we would grow in wisdom. That this wisdom would help guide us and others.

Ask For Hunger

As the deer pants for streams of water,
    so my soul pants for you, my God.
 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
    When can I go and meet with God? – Psalm 42:1-2

Without passion or hunger….you probably wouldn’t be needing to open in prayer at you study group. Passion for the Lord drives us to dig deep into His word and draw closer to Him.

KEY THINGS YOU CAN PRAY

• Pray for God to stir up everyone hunger and passion for Him
• Pray for a deeper love and devotion for God.
• Ask that the desires of this world would fade and that our desires would be for Him.

Ask for Transformation

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. – Romans 12:2

As we study God’s Word we don’t want to just study to gain information. We want that information to do deep inside and bring transformation. This is why it’s really important that we pray for transformation to take place in your Bible study group.

KEY THINGS YOU CAN PRAY

• Pray for soft hearts that the see of God’s Word would take root and transform.
• Ask God to bring transformation to everyone in the Bible study group. That they would all walk away from this study different.
• Pray for God’s Word to bring transformation to every area of your lives
• Ask God to renew Your minds and not to conform to the patter of this world.

Opening Prayers for Bible Study Groups

Below are 7 different prayers you can pray during a Bible Study. I highly encourage you to let these prayers inspire you and NOT to use them as some kind of speech to God during your Bible study. God longs for our prayers to be from the heart. So, please look at this as a way to guide you on what to say.

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Heavenly Father, as we start this Bible study I ask that you bless our time as we dig deep into Your Word. Let our eyes and our hearts be open to Your truth. Let it transform the way we think and the way we live. We want to be more like You, Jesus! Thank You for this time together. We pray this in the mighty name of Jesus, amen!

Heavenly Father, I ask that you would speak to us today as we study Your Word. May every word, verse, and chapter cause our hearts to worship You more fully! Let this be a joyous time of study and fellowship in the Holy Spirit. In the name of Jesus, amen. 

Lord, we thank you for the opportunity to come together and study Your word. We ask that You would teach us through these verses today and help our minds stay focused on what matters most; knowing Jesus Christ in a deeper way! May every verse cause our hearts to lift up praises of thanksgiving towards God. In His name, we pray, amen! 

Lord, I pray that You would open our hearts and minds to Your word today. May we be filled with a fresh sense of wonder at your glory as we study the Bible We want to know you more deeply, Jesus! In the name of our Savior, amen.

Father, thank you for this opportunity to study Your Word. May we come closer together in our relationship with You and each other today! I pray that as we read these verses, that the Holy Spirit would open up a new understanding of what it means and how it applies to us in our lives. We want nothing more than to know You better today. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Holy Spirit, I thank You for this Bible study group. It has been a blessing to come together and learn Your word. I ask that tonight we would be filled with Your presence as we open up the Bible together. May our minds and hearts be filled with a new understanding and a greater love for You. In Jesus’ name, amen.

God, we come before you during this time of studying your Holy Word. I ask that You would give us a spirit of wisdom and revelation as we dig deep into our Word. May we have a greater understanding of Your truth and what it means for our lives today! In Jesus’ name, amen.

The Bible is the greatest of all books; to study it is the noblest of all pursuits; to understand it, the highest of all goals.

Charles C. Ryrie

Need a Closing Prayer for Bible Study??

Well, there you have it! We have gone over different tools, tips, and prayers to open a Bible study! I hope you have found this very helpful. Now, if you are looking for a way to close in prayer… please visit this page: Closing Prayer for Bible Study {How-To Guide with 5 Prayers}

If you would like to leave me a comment I would love to hear from my readers. Please let me know what God is doing in your life.