Free printable prayer list template
If a blank page feels like too much, start with ours. Print it, fill in the names in pencil and stick it somewhere you'll see it tomorrow morning.
Free printable · PDF
The PrayerBoard Prayer List
Four pages for keeping your people in prayer: a week at a glance, family cards for the fridge, a request tracker and a list for your wallet.
US Letter size. Printing on A4? Get the A4 version.
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Preview all 4 pages
Each day on the weekly list has a "Prayed" circle, and every line on the request tracker has a "Texted them" tick. A two-word text after you pray is the part your friends will notice. The rest of our free downloads, including a 12-page prayer journal, are on the printables page.
What to put on a prayer list (ideas)
A good prayer list is mostly people, not topics. "Healing" is hard to pray for. "[Name], knee surgery on the 14th" is easy. Most lists draw from the same six places.
- Your household. Spouse, kids, roommates, whoever eats at your table.
- Wider family. Parents, siblings, in-laws, grandparents, the cousin you've lost touch with.
- Close friends. The handful who'd call you at 2 a.m., and the ones who've drifted.
- Church and small group. Your pastor and their family, the people who share requests on Sunday, missionaries you know by name.
- Work, school and neighbors. A coworker going through a divorce, your kid's teacher, the widower two doors down.
- Leaders and the world. Your mayor, your country's leaders, a place in the news. Paul asked Timothy to pray "for all men" and, in the next breath, for kings and everyone in authority.
I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.
Put yourself on the list too. A line like "Me: patience with Dad's memory loss" is honest, and you're more likely to pray it when it's written down.
For each person, write one specific request and the date. If you don't know what they need, write their name and a question mark, then ask them. Our page of prayer request examples has wording for health, family, work and grief.
How to make a prayer list, step by step
This takes about twenty minutes the first time, and five minutes a week after that.
- 1
Brain-dump every name
Set a timer for five minutes and write every person who comes to mind. Don't sort yet. Scroll your recent texts if you get stuck.
- 2
Circle the ones you've promised
Anyone you've said "I'll pray for you" to goes on first. Those are commitments, and they're the easiest to forget.
- 3
Add one request and a date to each
Keep it to one line. "[Name]: chemo round 3, Tuesday (Oct 20)." If the person is a regular, write what they're facing this month.
- 4
Choose how you'll split it
You can pray through fewer than ten names every day. If you have more, divide them by day or by circle (see how to organize a prayer list).
- 5
Put it where your eyes already go
Inside your Bible, on the bathroom mirror, as your phone's lock screen, on the fridge. A list in a drawer is a list you'll find in March.
- 6
Pray through it today
Don't wait for a perfect copy. Pray through what you've got, then tidy it up on Sunday.
How to organize a prayer list
Three layouts work for most people. Use one, or mix them.
By day of the week
Give each day its own group, so the whole list gets prayed for once a week in a few minutes a day. A common split: Monday household, Tuesday wider family, Wednesday friends, Thursday church, Friday work and neighbors, Saturday the world and leaders, Sunday thanks and answers. The weekly page of the printable suggests one person a day instead: someone in your home, a friend carrying a lot, your church or small group, someone at work or school, a neighbor, someone hard to love and, on Sunday, you.
By circle
Draw three rings, or use three columns. The inner circle (five or six people) gets prayed for every day. The middle circle gets prayed for weekly. The outer circle, like the friend of a friend or the church member you barely know, gets prayed for when their need comes up. This keeps your closest people from getting lost in a long list.
By request (a prayer request tracker)
Some people keep a running request list instead of a people list: one line per need, with columns for the date, the update and whether it's been answered. That's what the tracker page is for. It works well for small group leaders who collect requests every week.
Keep two lists if you need to
A list on the fridge is public. Keep sensitive requests (a marriage in trouble, a diagnosis someone hasn't shared yet) on a private list in your Bible or your phone, and keep the fridge version to first names and general needs.
A 7-day family prayer list
A family prayer list works best when it's simple enough for a seven-year-old to read aloud at breakfast. One day, one focus, one minute.
Page 2 of the printable is a set of small cards with a day-by-day rhythm: your spouse or closest person on Monday, children on Tuesday, parents on Wednesday, siblings and in-laws on Thursday, the family member who's struggling on Friday, extended and chosen family on Saturday and everyone together on Sunday. Each card has a short prayer, Psalm 91:11 and a prompt to text someone once a week. It prints four to a page, so you can give copies to grandparents or tape one inside a kitchen cabinet.
To make it work in a real house:
- Let a different child read the day's name each morning. Kids remember the day they're on the card.
- Swap names to fit your family. A single parent might give Monday to close friends; a blended family might add the other household.
- Write birthdays, exams and appointments in pencil on the right day, and erase them after.
- On Sunday, say one thing God did this week before anyone asks for anything.
The full rhythm, with what to pray for on each day, is in our guide to praying for your family.
Prayer list examples
Three real-life lists, so you can see how short each line can be. Change the details to fit your people.
A personal weekly list
- Mon (home): [Name]: new manager, long hours. Kids: [Name]'s reading, [Name]'s friendships.
- Tue (family): Mom's hip. [Name] and [Name], new jobs in the same month.
- Wed (friends): [Name], moving to Denver in May. [Name], sober 90 days.
- Thu (church): Pastor [Name] on sabbatical. The youth trip.
- Fri (work): [Name] in accounts, her son in the hospital. Our team through layoffs.
- Sat (world): Our city council. The families after the hurricane.
- Sun: Thanks, and copy any answers onto the tracker.
A student's pocket list
- Roommate: homesick, hasn't been to class in a week.
- Dad: job interview Thursday.
- Me: midterms, and to stop comparing myself to everyone.
- [Name]: just found out her parents are splitting up.
- Campus: the student who died last month, and his friends.
A small group request list
- Oct 6, [Name]: mother's dementia getting worse; deciding on care. Update Oct 13: found a place nearby.
- Oct 6, [Name]: wisdom about going back to school.
- Oct 13, [Name] and [Name]: their landlord is selling; need a new place by December.
- Oct 13, [Name]: unspoken. Just pray. Answered Oct 20: "Thank you. I'll tell you soon."
If a request involves someone's safety
Pray, and also make sure they have real help. If someone on your list is thinking about suicide, call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline). For abuse at home, the National Domestic Violence Hotline is 1-800-799-7233. For addiction, SAMHSA is 1-800-662-4357.
How to keep a prayer list from going stale
Every prayer list has the same problem: after a month, you're reading names you no longer think about. Most of the fix is a few minutes of upkeep each week.
- Date every line. When you see "(Aug 3)" in November, you know it's time to ask for an update.
- Ask, then update. Text the person: "You're still on my prayer list. How's it going with your mom?" Then cross out the old request and write the new one.
- Rewrite it once a month. Copying the list by hand forces you to decide what stays. It takes ten minutes and works better than any app reminder.
- Move answers, don't erase them. Put answered requests on a separate page with the date. Include the "not yet" and the "no" answers along with the ones that turned out differently. On a hard day, that page is worth more than the list.
- Retire with a prayer. Some requests just end: the move happened, the exam is over. Thank God for the person and take them off. You can always add them back.
- Pray the same request in new words. If "[Name]'s health" has sat there for a year, pray for one new detail each week: her sleep, her husband, her hope, the next appointment. A verse can give you fresh words too; our free printable scripture cards pair each verse with a way to pray it for someone.
- Let people know. A short "prayed for you this morning" text keeps you connected to the person behind the line.
Moreover as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you.
If your list has outgrown one sheet, try a prayer journal with a people page, or pin it up as part of a prayer board where you'll see it every day. And if most of your list is friends who live far away, a shared prayer request app lets them add and update their own requests.
Prayers for praying through your list
For the first time you sit down with it, ordinary days and the days the list feels too long.
Before you pray through your list
Lord, these are the names I said I'd carry. Some of them are easy to love and some of them I wrote down out of duty. You know every one better than I do, and You've loved them longer.
Keep me from rushing. Let each name be a person to me, not a line to tick off. Show me who needs a call as well as a prayer. And when I get to the end, remind me that You don't put the list down when I do. Amen.
When the list is too long
Holy Spirit, I can't hold all these people today. My eyes are skipping lines. Point me to the two or three You want me to stay with, and carry the rest for me until tomorrow. Amen.
For someone you've prayed for a long time
Father, [Name] has been on this list since [last spring]. Nothing seems to have moved. I'm still here and I'm still asking. Give [him, her] what I don't know how to ask for, and keep me faithful in the waiting. Amen.
When you cross something off
Jesus, I'm moving [Name]'s request to the answered page today. Thank You. I don't want to rush past this. Let me remember it the next time I'm sure nothing will change. Amen.
One-line prayers for the margin
- God, You know what [Name] needs today. Amen.
- Lord, put one of these names on my heart for a visit this week. Amen.
- Holy Spirit, pray for the names I couldn't get to. Amen.
- Jesus, thank You for every answer, including the ones I didn't want. Amen.
Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
PrayerBoard for iPhone and Android
A prayer list your friends can add to
PrayerBoard is a private circle for the few people you pray with. Everyone adds their own requests, sees who prayed and marks answers together.
Now in beta on iPhone and Android. Free, with no ads and no tracking.
Questions people ask
How do I make a prayer request list?
Write the date, the person's name and one specific need on each line, and leave space for an update. Ask people what they'd like prayer for instead of guessing, and keep anything private off lists that others can see.
What should be on my prayer list?
Your family, close friends, your church, people going through something hard right now, your leaders and a few needs of your own. Add one or two people you find difficult. Start with ten to fifteen lines.
How long should a prayer list be?
Short enough that you'll pray through it. If a list takes more than ten minutes, split it across the days of the week so each person still gets prayed for weekly.
Is it biblical to keep a prayer list?
The Bible doesn't mention lists, but Paul often tells churches he remembers them in his prayers, and Samuel calls it a sin to stop praying for his people (1 Samuel 12:23). A list is a tool for keeping that kind of promise.
Should I keep my prayer list on paper or my phone?
Use the one you'll actually open. Paper on the fridge or in your Bible is easy to see; a phone list goes everywhere with you. Many people keep a paper list and send a quick text to say they prayed.
