“This is my body, given for you, do this in remembrance of me,” Jesus said, handing His disciples something ordinary, bread and wine, and asking them to keep doing it, over and over, so they’d never forget what it actually meant.
These thirty verses are for that same remembrance, prayed before or during communion, whether in a church service or at home. If you’re taking communion outside a church setting, a prayer for communion at home is built specifically for that.
Pray these slowly, letting the ordinary elements point back to what they actually represent.
Prayer for Communion
1. 1 Corinthians 11:23-24 (KJV)
“For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.”
Prayer: This is Your body, given for me. Let me remember this, not just repeat it.
Let remembrance be real, not routine.
2. 1 Corinthians 11:25 (KJV)
“After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.”
Prayer: This cup is the new covenant in Your blood. Let me take it with real understanding of its cost.
Let this covenant feel as costly to me as it actually was.
3. 1 Corinthians 11:26 (KJV)
“For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come.”
Prayer: Every time I eat this bread and drink this cup, let me proclaim Your death until You come.
Let this be proclamation, not just personal ritual.
4. Luke 22:19-20 (KJV)
“And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.”
Prayer: This is Your body given for me. Let me do this in remembrance of You, as You asked.
Let obedience to this simple instruction matter to me.
5. Matthew 26:26-28 (KJV)
“And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.”
Prayer: Let me take and eat, take and drink, receiving what was poured out for the forgiveness of sins.
Let forgiveness feel as real as the bread and cup themselves.
6. Mark 14:22-24 (KJV)
“And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it, and gave to them, and said, Take, eat: this is my body. And he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them: and they all drank of it. And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many.”
Prayer: You took bread, gave thanks, and broke it. Let me approach this table with that same thanksgiving.
Let gratitude, not habit, be what I bring to this table.
7. John 6:53-56 (KJV)
“Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.”
Prayer: Let me remain in You, and You in me, through this communion.
Let this be a real connection, not just symbolism.
8. John 6:35 (KJV)
“And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.”
Prayer: You are the bread of life. Let me hunger for You, not just for the ritual.
Let this hunger be for You Yourself, not just the practice.
9. 1 Corinthians 10:16-17 (KJV)
“The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread.”
Prayer: Let this cup be a participation in Your blood, this bread a participation in Your body.
Let this unite me with You, and with everyone else at this table.
10. 1 Corinthians 11:27-29 (KJV)
“Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.”
Prayer: Let me examine myself first, and take this in a worthy manner.
Let this be approached with real reverence, not carelessness.
11. Psalms 34:8 (KJV)
“O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.”
Prayer: Let me taste and see that You are good, right here at this table.
Let this be a real tasting, not just a ritual motion.
12. Exodus 12:14 (KJV)
“And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever.”
Prayer: Let this be a day to remember, a lasting ordinance, the way Passover was for Israel.
Let this remembrance shape my whole life, not just this moment.
13. Exodus 24:8 (KJV)
“And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the LORD hath made with you concerning all these words.”
Prayer: This is the blood of the covenant You made with me.
Let this covenant feel as binding and real as it truly is.
14. Jeremiah 31:31-34 (KJV)
“Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
Prayer: Write this new covenant on my heart, and let me know You fully.
Let this covenant reach deeper than just outward observance.
15. Hebrews 9:14 (KJV)
“How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”
Prayer: Let Your blood cleanse my conscience, so I can serve You genuinely.
Let this cleansing be real, not just symbolic relief.
16. Hebrews 10:19-22 (KJV)
“Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; And having an high priest over the house of God; Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.”
Prayer: Let me draw near with a sincere heart and full assurance of faith at this table.
Let confidence, not hesitation, mark how I approach You here.
17. Isaiah 53:5 (KJV)
“But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.”
Prayer: You were pierced for my transgressions, and by Your wounds I am healed.
Let this truth sit with me at this table, not just in theory.
18. 1 Peter 2:24 (KJV)
“Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.”
Prayer: You bore my sins in Your body on the cross, so I might live for righteousness.
Let this remembrance change how I live after I leave this table.
19. Colossians 1:20 (KJV)
“And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.”
Prayer: You reconciled all things through Your blood, shed on the cross.
Let reconciliation be what this table actually represents to me.
20. Ephesians 1:7 (KJV)
“In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;”
Prayer: In You I have redemption through Your blood, the forgiveness of sins.
Let forgiveness be received fully, not just acknowledged.
21. Romans 5:8 (KJV)
“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
Prayer: While I was still a sinner, Christ died for me. Let that truth humble me at this table.
Let humility, not routine, be what I bring here.
22. John 15:5 (KJV)
“I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.”
Prayer: You are the vine, I am a branch. Let me remain in You through this communion.
Let this remaining be an ongoing reality, not just a moment at this table.
23. John 13:1 (KJV)
“Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end.”
Prayer: You loved Your own to the very end. Let me remember that love here.
Let this love feel personal, not just theological.
24. Psalms 23:5 (KJV)
“Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.”
Prayer: You prepare a table before me. Let this be that table.
Let me receive this as coming from Your own hand.
25. 1 Corinthians 5:7 (KJV)
“Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:”
Prayer: Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Let this truth be central at this table.
Let this sacrifice never become background noise to me.
26. Revelation 3:20 (KJV)
“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.”
Prayer: You stand and knock, and if I open the door, You will come in and eat with me.
Let this table be one more place I open the door to You.
27. Luke 24:30-31 (KJV)
“And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them. And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight.”
Prayer: Like the disciples at Emmaus, let me recognize You in the breaking of bread.
Let this ordinary act become a moment of real recognition.
28. Psalms 116:12-13 (KJV)
“What shall I render unto the LORD for all his benefits toward me? I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the LORD.”
Prayer: What can I offer You for all Your goodness? I will lift up the cup of salvation.
Let this cup be a genuine response, not just an obligation.
29. John 6:57 (KJV)
“As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.”
Prayer: Just as You live because of the Father, let me live because of You.
Let this dependence be real, not just words spoken at a table.
30. Numbers 6:24-26 (KJV)
“The LORD bless thee, and keep thee: The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.”
Prayer: Bless me and keep me, make Your face shine on me, and give me peace at this table.
Let this old blessing rest over this moment of remembrance.
Conclusion
Jesus didn’t leave His disciples with a complicated ritual to memorize. He left them bread and wine, ordinary things, and one simple instruction, do this in remembrance of me. It was meant to be repeated precisely because it’s easy to forget.
Take a moment before your next communion to actually sit with what you’re about to do, rather than moving through it automatically.
For a child’s first time taking communion, a prayer for first communion is worth reading too.