Closing Prayers
How do you close a meeting or church service in prayer?
When we say a closing prayer, we can thank God for the way that He has been with us during our time together and ask Him to continue to inspire and protect us as we leave. This practise of ending in prayer is also rooted in scripture – the Apostle Paul frequently ends his letters with closing blessings. For example, in his second letter to the church in Corinth, he finishes with these words:“May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”(1 Cor 13:14, NIV)
This has become the basis of the much loved “grace prayer” popular in the Methodist tradition of churches. If you are looking for a short way of concluding your time of fellowship or bible study, you may wish to consider a Celtic blessing or the traditional “Glory Be” (which is often used as a way of ending a closing prayer). We have also included two contemporary prayers specific to these types of gatherings, a prayer for a bible study group and one suitable for using in an online meeting.
prayers on this page
Closing prayer for Sunday worship service
Short closing prayer for meeting
A Celtic closing blessing
Bible study closing prayer
Fellowship prayer
End of service commissioning prayer
Prayer for finishing an online meeting
Short closing prayer for meeting
A Celtic closing blessing
Bible study closing prayer
Fellowship prayer
End of service commissioning prayer
Prayer for finishing an online meeting
Closing Prayer for Sunday Worship Service
Lord of all, thank you for the blessing of church family, for the ministry of love and hope that has been shared between us.
Thank you for your everlasting promises, for pouring your truth and light into every aspect of our lives.
Help us to take this light out into the darkness and shine with your grace and peace.
Thank you for the water of life you have poured over us and the endless flow of your goodness and wisdom into our lives.
May we be filled to overflowing with this power as we reach out to those around us this week.
Thank you for the gift of grace that you bestow upon us through Christ’s death and resurrection and your Holy Spirit that lives within us guiding our decisions.
Help us to remember this unconditional love and divine protection deep in our hearts as we journey onwards.
In Jesus’ name. Amen.
(Prayer by Julie Palmer)
Short Closing Prayer for Meeting
Father, thank you that you have revealed Your love to us today.
We invite You to send us out from here in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Fan into flame the gifts that you have given us,
Come reveal Your grace and truth to us each day.
For Yours is the Kingdom, the power and the glory,
Forever and ever.
Amen.
(a sample closing prayer for a meeting from www.lords-prayer-words.com)
Celtic Closing Blessing
A prayer suitable as a closing blessing for a church meeting, bible study or worship gathering:-
May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face;
the rains fall soft upon your fields
and until we meet again,
may God hold you in the palm of His hand.
(an ancient Irish prayer)
Closing Prayer for Bible Study
Lord, your word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path.
Thank you that we can live in Your light and walk in Your truth.
May the things that you have revealed and thoughts that we have shared
dwell in our hearts and stir us to action.
We ask all this in the precious name of Jesus.
Amen.
(a short prayer for closing a bible study, based on Psalm 119:105, from www.lords-prayer-words.com)
May The Lord Bless You
A ancient Jewish blessing for closing a meeting:-
Closing Prayer for Fellowship
Abba Father, as we leave this precious time of fellowship, thank you that we have been renewed and inspired to bring your kingdom here on earth, as it is in Heaven.
May each of us feel the unity of the Holy Spirit deep within us and flowing between us.
May we continue to hold each other in prayer, serve each other in grace and encourage one another in our faith.
May the love of the Father enfold and impact our families and friends, our neighbours, and our workplaces.
May we know that we are never alone, that we can both rest in you and run with you, we can shelter in you when we feel sad or overwhelmed and rejoice with you when we are happy.
For you are Lord of our lives, the Lord of our minds, the Lord of our hearts, and you reign amongst us always. Amen.
(Prayer by Julie Palmer)
End of Service Commissioning Prayer
Lord, thank you that we are a family in Christ. Help us to share his love and legacy with everyone that we encounter this week. May we lavish Christ’s abounding goodness upon our families, friends and colleagues. Holy Spirit, come and equip us in our workplace, guide us in our school life, and inspire us in our neighbourhood. May we be your hands and feet to the needy, your words of affirmation to the oppressed and your arms of comfort to the lonely.
Thank you for choosing to use us to bring your kingdom here on earth.
Amen.
(prayer by Julie Palmer © 2018 www.lords-prayer-words.com)
Prayer for finishing an online meeting
Everlasting Father, thank you for our time together today. Although we are physically apart may each of us be blessed by the unity we have shared in this online meeting. Please dwell within us as we go from here, come comfort our hearts with your goodness, cover our minds with your truth and inspire our faith as we engage with the world. As we leave, may you lead us deeper into your love and wonderful ways, and may your hand of grace be upon us all.
Amen.
(an online prayer from www.lords-prayer-words.com)
The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet.
Fredrick Buechner
The "Glory Be"
A Catholic prayer suitable for closing a worship service or meeting:-
Traditional closing prayers
After Worship
Grant, we beseech thee, Almighty God, that the words which we have heard this day with our outward ears, may, through thy grace, be so grafted inwardly in our hearts, that they may bring forth in us the fruit of good living, to the honor and praise of thy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
The Grace Prayer
May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and the love of God,
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit
be with us all,
now and evermore.
Amen.
Grant, we beseech thee, Almighty God, that the words which we have heard this day with our outward ears, may, through thy grace, be so grafted inwardly in our hearts, that they may bring forth in us the fruit of good living, to the honor and praise of thy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
(Source: 1979 Book of Common Prayer, Protestant Episcopal Church in the USA)
The Grace Prayer
May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and the love of God,
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit
be with us all,
now and evermore.
Amen.
(a prayer widely used in the Methodist church for closing a church service or meeting. More info. about the practice of this prayer here - the grace prayer.)
The "Day by Day" Prayer
An inspiring reading of this famous prayer by St Richard, with breathtaking images of sun down over a beautiful landscape:-
A Celtic Blessing
Christ with me,Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right,
Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down,
Christ when I sit down,
Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.
(taken from the prayer of St. Patrick's Breastplate)
Take a moment to hear from God...
here are links to some wonderfully inspired prayers to aid your journey