PRAYERS FOR CORPORATE WORSHIP
I grew up in one of the streams of Christianity that didn’t utilize “liturgy.” The theological family in which I was raised used that word to refer to anything that was associated with churches that read written prayers out loud, said creeds, or used a lectionary. That doesn’t mean that they didn’t have their own liturgy, it just meant they didn’t do things the way those “other” churches did.
It wasn’t explicitly said, but the prevailing opinion of the churches I grew up in was that the way we did it was more authentic and free and therefore better. Anything that felt like it was a “dead ritual” was frowned upon. I didn’t have much experience with prayer books, creeds, and other historical expressions of worship.
However, both in my personal life and in my experience as a worship pastor for over 20 years I have come to appreciate the accumulated wisdom and beauty of utilizing these expressions of worship.
REASONS TO USE WRITTEN CORPORATE PRAYER
Here are just a couple reasons why:
Fatigue: When I wake in the morning, or after a long day my heart may want to pray, but my mind isn’t terribly helpful in finding words. In the past I have felt a sense of failure about prayer because I couldn’t come up what what I wanted to say. Using written prayers gives my mind the ability to both rest AND engage. I don’t have to feel like I’m expending energy to come up with something to say to God, while at the same time my mind is able to engage with the words that have been thoughtfully written down by another follower of Jesus to help me talk to God.
Range of topics: Donald Whitney, in his book Praying the Bible, says that one of the tendencies in prayer is to “say the same old things the same old way.” I have found that in “free and spontaneous” prayer, we have a tendency to pray about the same topics and use the same verbal phrases over and over again. Written corporate prayers have been composed and compiled in a way to help God’s people to express the full range of human emotions on a broad range of topics. It guides us to pray for things that we wouldn’t normally pray for but should and gives us words to do so.
Sticky: It’s amazing how many lyrics from 90’s songs, movie quotes, and memes my brain is capable of storing. Even if I haven’t heard the song or watched the movie in years, when the music starts or someone mentions the movie my brain pulls up the lyrics or dialogue . It’s because we watched those movies and listened to those songs over and over again for a period of time and the repetition made them stick. That’s what written corporate prayers do for us. The Spirit will use the repetition of words and concepts to spring into our minds when situations arise where we need words to express our desires to God in prayer.
There are a lot of other reasons why written, historical, corporate prayers are beneficial in worship, but for the sake of helping those who plan worship, let’s move on and cover some great examples. I’m categorizing these prayers using the biblical expressions of worship we talked about in designing conversational worship. Additionally I’m including prayers for certain parts of the service, like the beginning.
EXAMPLES OF WRITTEN PRAYERS FOR CORPORATE WORSHIP
NOTE: SOME OF THE PRAYRS HAVE BEEN SMOOTHED OUT TO REMOVE LANGUAGE THAT FEELS FORIEGN LIKE “THEES/THOUS” AND ADDING “EST” FROM THE KING JAMES STYLE
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BEFORE WORSHIP:
Almighty God, who pours out on all who desire it, the Spirit of grace and supplication: Deliver us, when we draw near to You, from coldness of heart and wanderings of mind, that with steadfast thoughts and kindled affections we may worship You in spirit and truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer)
Almighty God, we pray for your blessing on the church in this place. Here may the faithful find salvation, and the careless be awakened. Here may the doubting find faith, and the anxious be encouraged. Here may the tempted find help, and the sorrowful find comfort. Here may the weary find rest, and the strong be renewed. Here may the aged find consolation and the young be inspired; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. (The Worship Sourcebook)
Lord God, we have come to worship you as sinners in need of your forgiveness. We come tired from our work, in need of refreshment and re-creation. We come with worries, in need of your guidance. But first, please lift us out of our preoccupation with our own needs. Allow us to see you with the eyes of faith, and to hear with the ears of understanding what you say to us. Make us thankful for all the good we have received from you. Awaken in us a longing to do what is right. And make us aware of the great company, past, present, and to come, with whom we join to worship you. Amen. (The Worship Sourcebook)
ADORATION:
We praise you, God almighty, for the power you have shown in creating the world. We thank you for your love in redeeming us from sin and in creating us anew in Christ. Grant us strength in this life to honor you, Lord God, both in worship and in witness, for Jesus Christ’s sake. Amen. (The Worship Sourcebook)
God of majesty and light, you hold the whole world in your hand. So we give you our great praise that in Jesus Christ all people may see your glory. We thank you for revealing Jesus to be your Son and for claiming our lives in baptism to be his glad disciples. By your Spirit, may peace descend upon us, that we may follow him with grateful hearts. Take us and all we have to be useful in your service, God of all nations, in the gracious name of Jesus Christ, your Son, by the power of your Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen. (The Worship Sourcebook)
CONFESSION:
Merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart and mind and strength. We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. In your mercy forgive what we have been, help us amend what we are, and direct what we shall be, so that we may delight in your will and walk in your ways, to the glory of your holy name. Through Christ, our Lord. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer)
Merciful God, in baptism you grafted us into the body of Christ, promising us forgiveness of sin and newness of life. But we fail to live as forgiven people. We keep destructive habits and hold grudges. We allow our past to hold us hostage and are reluctant to welcome newness. In your loving-kindness have mercy on us and free us from sin. Remind us of the promises you have made to us in baptism so that we may live as your people, claimed in the waters of promise. Amen. (The Worship Sourcebook)
ASSURANCE:
In the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, we are assured that there is no sin so terrible that God cannot forgive, no hurt so terrible that God cannot heal. God accepts, God forgives, and God sets free. Receive the forgiving love of God. Thanks be to God. (The Worship Sourcebook)
May the God of mercy, who forgives you all your sins, strengthen you in all goodness, and, by the power of the Holy Spirit, keep you in eternal life. Amen. (The Worship Sourcebook)
THANKSGIVING:
Almighty God, Father of all mercies, we your unworthy servants give you humble thanks for all your goodness and lovingkindness to us and to all whom you have made. We bless you for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all for your immeasurable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory. And, we pray, give us such an awareness of your mercies, that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth your praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up our selves to your service, and by walking before you in holiness and righteousness all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory throughout all ages. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer)
Loving God, we give you thanks for sending Your Son Jesus Christ to us; for the communication of his Holy Spirit; for the light and liberty of the glorious gospel, and the rich and heavenly Blessings revealed in it; our Election, Vocation (calling), Adoption, Justification, Sanctification, and hope of Glory. (Based on Westminster Directory of Public Worship)
INSTRUCTION:
Guide us, O God, by your Word and Spirit, that in your light we may see light, in your truth find wisdom, and in your will discover your peace, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (The Worship Sourcebook)
Living God, help us so to hear your holy Word that we may truly understand; that, understanding, we may believe and believing, we may follow in all faithfulness and obedience, seeking your honor and glory in all that we do; through Christ our Lord. Amen. (The Worship Sourcebook)
Gracious God, we do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from your mouth. Make us hungry for this heavenly food, that it may nourish us today in ways of eternal life; through Jesus Christ, the bread of heaven. Amen. (The Worship Sourcebook)
COMMUNION:
Be present, O Jesus, our great High priest, as you were present with your disciples, and be known to us in the breaking of bread; who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer)
Loving God, we thank you that you have fed us in (this act of worship), united us with Christ, and given us a foretaste of the heavenly banquet in your eternal kingdom. Send us out in the power of your Spirit to live and work to your praise and glory for the sake of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. (The Worship Sourcebook)
PETITION/INTERCESSION:
O God, you have made of one blood all the peoples of the earth, and sent your blessed Son to preach peace to those who are far off and to those who are near: Grant that people everywhere may seek after you and find you; bring the nations into your fold; pour out your Spirit upon all flesh; and hasten the coming of your kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
“Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, / and perform your vows to the Most High, / and call upon me in the day of trou- ble; / I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me” (Ps. 50:14–15). In the confidence of this precious promise, Father, we bring to you our many needs. For some this is truly a day of trouble, and so we call on your name and ask you to deliver us. We pray for our pastoral and ministry staff, for our church officers and leaders. Give them wisdom to serve wisely and well in this time of disruption of normal activities. Ministry is a great privilege and joy, but there are weights and burdens as well. O Lord, deliver us and empower these ministries by your Spirit. We pray for those who are physically weak or sick. Our bodies are often frail, sickness abounds, and we depend on you for every breath. O Lord, deliver us and restore to health those who are ill. We pray for those who struggle with anxiety or depression, loneliness or grief. There are ten thousand heartaches in this life, and they press many down with a heavy weight. O Lord, deliver us and bring tender mercies and renewing grace to those weighed down. We pray for those who deal with unwanted singleness, painful marriages, childlessness, hurting or wayward children. O Lord, deliver us and bring comfort and confidence of your good purposes to those whose longings are unfulfilled. We pray for ourselves—for single-mindedness and undivided hearts. We pray for holy affections and righteous lives. We con- fess that we are often weak before our enemies of the world, the flesh, and the devil. We stumble and fall through unbelief, pride, and wayward hearts. O Lord, deliver us and cause us to walk in a way that is pleasing to you. We pray for our country during this election year. Politics is so often contentious and contemptuous. O Lord, deliver us and give us leaders better than we deserve who will seek your wisdom to govern well. We pray for individuals, universities, cities, and nations af- fected by the coronavirus. This has caused great disruption and fear for many. We look to you, our heavenly Father, always reign- ing in wisdom, power, and love. We pray for clear minds and steady hearts for those who govern, for those who seek a cure, and for each one of us. We pray for wisdom to take proper pre- cautions and faith to reach out to the lost and needy. This is a painful but merciful reminder that we are not in control of our lives and that you can call any of us at any time into your holy presence. Give us wisdom to number our days and to make the best use of our time, for the days are evil. O Lord, deliver us, bring many people to Christ through this, and then please bring a quick end to this pandemic. We pray finally for fruitful gospel ministry throughout the world. We pray for our own missionaries and all who bring good news to the world. Again, those who witness in the name of Christ will face many hardships. O Lord, deliver us and work powerfully through your word to save your elect. All these things we pray with gratitude and confidence in Jesus’s name. Amen. (From Praying in Public by Pat Quinn)
CHARGE BLESSING:
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; Where there is injury, pardon; Where there is doubt, faith; Where there is despair, hope; Where there is darkness, light; And where there is sadness, joy, O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood, as to understand; to be loved, as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen. (Prayer attributed to St. Francis)
Lord Jesus, you stretched out your arms of love upon the hard wood of the cross that everyone might come within the reach of your saving embrace: So clothe us in your Spirit that we, reaching forth our hands in love, may bring those who do not know you to the knowledge and love of you; for the honor of your name. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer)
You will notice that many of these prayers are pulled from either the Cook of Common Prayer or from the Worship Sourcebook. I highly recommend the Worship Sourcebook, especially in the digital format, because you can search from various themes like adoration, confession. Additionally you can search it by words or phrases to find a prayer that works well for the service you are planning.
