The Prayers of the People

Dennis Bratcher

Most evangelical traditions practice extemporaneous prayers, and have held written prayers in disdain as somehow less spiritual, too "cold and formal" for authentic worship (we sometimes forget that a large portion of the Old Testament, the Psalms, is a communal prayer book!). However, in many cases extemporaneous prayers are not quite as spontaneous and unscripted as we might hope. Most anything that people repeat on a regular basis begins to take on some form and structure (see Patterns for Life). That is no less true for public prayers. It is easy to slip into familiar phrases and trite expressions that fill time but really do not say much. Also, extemporaneous public prayers often exclude a significant percentage of the congregation who are too intimidated themselves to pray in public, or who simply do not pay much attention while someone else prays.

The result is often a style of public prayer that depends on the performance of a leader or an elite group of pray-ers, or that is rather hit-and-miss in terms of content. Too often it is an exercise in individualism before a group rather than a genuine communal encounter with God. Yet, in worship, more than most any other aspect of Christian life, the emphasis should be on community, on shared experience before God rather than a collection of individual and personal experiences. Prayer in public worship, as so much of the Bible tells us, is a shared activity.

The "Prayers of the People" is a liturgical structure for public prayer in worship. It moves in a well defined sequence and covers specific content. The Prayers of the People are set within the context of the proclaimed Word in the reading of Scripture and the sermon and the acted Word in the celebration of Eucharist (see A Theology of Word and Table). It is this Word which God has spoken in Christ (Heb 1:1-2) that is celebrated in worship and that provides the framework within which petition, thanksgiving, and confession are offered.

There are three major movements of the Prayers of the People: Petition and Thanksgiving, Confession, and Affirmation of Community in "Passing the Peace." The movement of the Prayers of the People is from the world and the universal Church, to local churches and community, to individual and personal needs. While there is a wide variety in actual use, traditionally the elements of the petitions and thanksgiving are:

The Church Universal, its members, and its mission

The welfare of the world (including current events)

The Nation and leaders in authority

The concerns of the local community

Those who suffer, are in any trouble, or have immediate need

The departed Fathers and Mothers of the Faith

This is followed by both communal and personal confession that acknowledges the need for God’s grace. In Reformed and other Protestant traditions, the confessional prayer included a prayer for forgiveness that "we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone." For most Wesleyans, this does not fit well with the idea of "perfection in love" and "love excluding sin." As a result, most Wesleyans are hesitant to pray any prayer of confession.

However, this is far more a reactionary distortion in the opposite direction, a form of functional "perfectionism," than it is sound theology. More than once in Scripture we are called to humble ourselves before God and acknowledge that no matter how sincere and committed to God we might be, or how pure our intentions, we do not always perform perfectly (Lev 4, Matt 23:12; Luke 18:10-14; 1 John 1:8-10, etc.). So, while the traditional "word, thought, and deed" confession may be too strong for many Wesleyans, the idea of a prayer of confession, even for God’s people, is thoroughly biblical and an important part of any service of worship.

Traditionally, the Lord's Prayer is used as part of the Great Thanksgiving Eucharistic liturgy. However, for many evangelicals, it seems more appropriate to place it here as the conclusion to the Prayers of the People. The communal dimension of the Lord's Prayer, shared by Christians across the centuries, is an appropriate transition to Passing of the Peace.

The conclusion of the Prayers of the People is the Passing of the Peace, which places the prayers in the context of a community of Faith. In reaching out to each other in the sharing of Peace we acknowledge the communal nature of our Faith and the importance of sharing the journey of Faith with others who are on the same journey. It is this conclusion that affirms that our desires, longings, needs, victories, and celebrations of life are, indeed, part of a larger community that shares those things with us as we share the same things with others.

The Prayers of the People should not be rushed. The intervals of silence, while not needing to be long, should be clearly defined. In this approach to prayer, it is assumed that people will actually pray themselves in these moments of silence. The prayers should be read slowly so people can easily follow the words as genuine prayers and not just as an activity to fill time.

What follows is an example of what Prayers of the People might look like. The Prayers can be adapted to the various seasons of the Church Year or to the needs of local congregations. The important aspects are the communal nature of the prayers with involvement of the congregation, the flow of the prayers moving from general concerns to local to personal, the movement toward confession and affirmation within the context of community, and the setting of the Prayers within the context of a service of worship that includes both Word and Table.

The Prayers of the People

[Congregants may be invited to come to the altar to offer personal prayers of petition or thanksgiving. They should bring their worship folders and in the moments of silence may offer their prayers either silently or aloud.]

Prayers

Minister: Let us pray for the church and for the world. Jesus, you are the light of the world. Bring the light of your gospel to the ends of the earth. Use us with our President and the leaders of all nations to be instruments of your freedom, justice, and peace. [Silence] Lord, have mercy on us . . .