A Prayer for Canada: Words to Pray for Our Nation Today
By Daniel Ziedins · · 3 min read
Sometimes the hardest part of praying for a nation is knowing what to say. This post is simply a prayer for Canada you can pray out loud today — alone, with your family, or with a gathering — followed by shorter prayers for specific needs and a few ways to use them. Pray them as written, or let them start you off in your own words.
A prayer for Canada
Father, we come to You on behalf of this land, from sea to sea. You gave us a country so wide that its own motto is a line of Scripture: “He shall have dominion also from sea to sea.” We ask that it would be true — that Jesus would reign over every coast, every city and every home in this nation.
We begin with ourselves. Before we speak about the country, we humble ourselves before You. We confess that Your Church in this land has often been comfortable, divided and quiet. Forgive us. Search our hearts and show us what to turn from, and give us the courage to actually turn.
We pray for those in authority — our Prime Minister, our premiers, our mayors, our judges and our police — whether we agree with them or not. Give them wisdom, integrity and courage. Expose what is corrupt, and raise up leaders who fear You.
We pray for the families of this nation. Heal marriages under strain. Turn the hearts of fathers to their children. Bring the prodigals home, and let faith that skipped a generation be restored.
We pray for the young people of Canada — the anxious, the lonely, the addicted, the searching. Meet the hunger that is rising in this generation. Let them find not religion, but You.
We pray for reconciliation in this land, between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples, for truth told honestly and wounds that generations have carried. Where Your Church has done harm, we ask Your mercy, and we ask for real restoration.
Lord of the harvest, the fields are ready. Send out workers — and send us. Give us words for our neighbours, boldness for our workplaces, and love that opens doors. Let every province and territory have a story to tell of what You have done.
You have moved on this land before. Do it again. Hear from heaven, forgive our sin, and heal our land. In the name of Jesus, amen.
Short prayers for specific needs
- For the Church: Lord, unite Your Church across every denomination in this country, and make us holy enough that the Gospel is believable again.
- For leaders: Give our leaders wisdom beyond their own, and protect them from pride, corruption and fear.
- For your city: Father, I pray for my city by name. Bless its streets, its schools and its businesses, and draw its people to Yourself.
- For the next generation: Pour out Your Spirit on our sons and daughters, as You promised in Joel 2:28.
- For the lost: I lift up these five people by name who do not yet know You. Open their hearts, and open my mouth.
- For revival: Lord, I have heard of Your fame. Repeat Your deeds in our day, in our time make them known (Habakkuk 3:2).
How to use this prayer
- Pray it on Canada Day, at a family meal, or at the start of a church service.
- Use one paragraph a day for a week, the same way the seven-day guide on this site works.
- Read it aloud at a prayer gathering, then let people pray in their own words for their province.
- Share it. Send the link to someone who has told you they do not know how to pray for the country.
- Post your own prayer for Canada on the Prayer Wall, so believers across the nation can agree with you.
“He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth.”
— Psalm 72:8
From sea to sea: let it be true.