Writing Prayers

Liturgics IPMM-130

Prayer of the Church

• Custom was to use the General Prayer• More recent practice has been to divide prayer

into petitions with congregation responses• Rubric in LSB Altar Book:

– Petitions may be included for:• The right use of Word and Sacrament• The blessings associated with the appropriate season of

the church year• The Church and the proclamation of the Gospel• Good government• Special needs

Prayer of the ChurchMethod One

• Each petition concludes with the response:P …. Lord, in Your mercy,

C hear our prayer.

• The petitions can be formed simply by using the traditional collect form, replacing the termination with the response given above.

Traditional Collect Form

Address names the person of the Trinity to whom the collect is addressed

Rationale names an attribute or work of God that serves as the basis for the prayer

Petition the request

Benefit describes the desired outcome (often answering the question “why”), usually beginning with the word “that”

Termination the conclusion, which can be simple or a fuller, trinitarian termination

Prayer of the ChurchMethod One

Address Almighty God,

Rationale Your rule and govern all things.

Petition Grant wisdom to the leaders of the nations

Benefit so that we may live in peace and quietness;

Termination through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Prayer of the ChurchMethod One

Address Almighty God,

Rationale Your rule and govern all things.

Petition Grant wisdom to the leaders of the nations

Benefit so that we may live in peace and quietness;

Termination

Prayer of the ChurchMethod One

Address Almighty God,

Rationale Your rule and govern all things.

Petition Grant wisdom to the leaders of the nations

Benefit so that we may live in peace and quietness;

Termination Lord, in Your mercy,Lord, in Your mercy,hear our prayer.hear our prayer.

Prayer of the ChurchMethod One

Address O God,

Rationale by Your Spirit You have called Your Church into being.

Petition Bless the preaching of Your Word

Benefit that many may come to faith.

Termination Lord, in Your mercy,hear our prayer.

Prayer of the ChurchMethod One

• When there are a large number of petitions, it is not necessary to include the rationale in each one.

• Or, a rationale can be included in a couple of the petitions where they fit most naturally.

• Another way to keep the prayers concise is to include an address only in the first petition and then omit it for the rest.

Prayer of the ChurchMethod One

O God, by Your Spirit You have called Your Church into being. Bless the preaching of Your holy Word that many may come to faith. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.

Bless the work of our seminaries, that those who teach and those who learn may be guided by Your Spirit into all truth. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.

Prayer of the ChurchMethod Two

• A more ancient form of prayer with congregational responses is the Ektene form– This was the deacon’s litany in which the people

respond to each prayer bid with “Lord, have mercy.”

• In this method, it is the congregation that is actually speaking the prayer. The pastor simply announces what we are praying for.– A strength of this method is that a considerable

number of bids can be included in a short period of time.

Prayer of the ChurchMethod Two

P Let us pray to the Lord for police and firefighters and all whose work is difficult and dangerous:

C Lord, have mercy.

• So that the congregation knows when to respond, the invitation “Let us pray to the Lord” is transposed to the end:

P For police and firefighters and all whose work is difficult and dangerous, let us pray to the Lord:

C Lord, have mercy.

Prayer of the ChurchMethod Two

• The difference between this and Method One is that the bids in Method Two are spoken in the third person instead of second person (direct address).

Prayer of the ChurchMethod Two

Method OneLord God, protect all those whose work is difficult and dangerous, especially our police and firefighters, that no harm may befall them. Lord in Your mercy,

Method TwoFor police and firefighters and all whose work is difficult and dangerous, that God would guard and keep them from all harm, let us pray to the Lord:

Prayer of the ChurchMethod Two

Method OneGracious God, Your Son is the great Physician of body and soul. Grant healing to all those who are ill, especially Your servant, Daniel, that they may be restored to health. Lord in Your mercy,

Method TwoFor all those who are ill, especially Daniel, that God would give them healing and strength, let us pray to the Lord:

Prayer of the ChurchMethod Two

• While this method allows for a large number of bids to be prayed, its weakness is that the prayer bids are not very detailed.

• The bids can be expanded by adding a benefit at the end.– Care must be taken not to make these too wordy, or

especially to have two “that” clauses, which can happen rather easily.

Prayer of the ChurchMethod Two

• A simple prayer bid:

P For police and firefighters and all whose work is difficult and dangerous, let us pray to the Lord:

• A prayer bid with an added benefit:

P For police and firefighters and all whose work is difficult and dangerous, that God would protect them in all their that God would protect them in all their waysways, let us pray to the Lord.

Prayer of the ChurchMethod Two

• Watch out for the double “that”:

P For the elderly in our congregation, thatthat God would God would grant them strength and patiencegrant them strength and patience so that they may live out remaining days in service to him, let us pray to the Lord:

• It can be reworked like this:

P For the elderly in our congregation, that God would that God would grant them strength and patiencegrant them strength and patience, enabling them to live out their remaining days in service to him, let us pray to the Lord:

Prayer of the ChurchMethod Two

• Finally, another way to vary Method Two is by starting with the benefit:

P That God would grant strength and patience to the elderly in our congregation, let us pray to the Lord:

P That God would grant protection to all police and firefighters as they carry out their vocations to protect the common good, let us pray to the Lord:

• Care should be taken not to mix this style with the common one that begins with “For the…”– use one or the other but not both in alternation

Ordering the Petitions

• While there is no set order of the petitions, they generally proceed from:– the sacred to the mundane– the general to the more specific

Ordering the Petitions

• A typical ordering might be:– the Church and her mission– our Synod, its leaders and congregations– the local congregation– church groups (Ladies Aid, youth, etc.)– the nation, state, local community– institutions (schools, hospitals, etc.)– those in need (the sick, dying, and mourning)– occasions for rejoicing (birth, marriage,

anniversaries, etc.)

Languages Issues

• Relative pronoun/clause– “Lord God, who are all knowing, defend us…”

• Use of baptized name, not last

• Use active verbs– bless, defend, protect, give, strengthen– avoid using too many filler words like “we

ask,” “we pray,” “we implore”

Languages Issues

• The Prayer of the Church is intended to be “heard,” not “read”– watch out for repetition of words and phrases

in individual petitions and between neighboring petitions

– strive for clarity and simplicity lest you wear out the people’s ears

– always read the prayers out loud as you compose them

Introduction & Conclusion

• Use the standard formulas to begin and conclude the prayers:– Let us pray for the whole Church of God in Christ

Jesus and for all people according to their needs– Into Your hands, O Lord, we commend all for whom

we pray, trusting in Your mercy, through Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.

LetUsPray

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