January 28, 2015
Really, Prayers Of The People
It happens just often enough to remind me of the power of prayer, that moment when in the course of a Sunday liturgy someone or even a few people give voice to real, heartfelt, genuine prayer. Just the other week, in fact, the husband of a woman who has been going through a rough patch spoke up, told the congregation what was on his heart, and offered his words to the God of mercy. It was a wonderful, simple, beautiful, indeed, holy moment.
But it doesn’t happen regularly, I’m afraid. I’m even more ashamed to admit that, on too many occasions, on too many Sunday mornings, that moment in the liturgy called “Prayers of the People” feels a bit like slogging through a shopping list. And that’s how I experience it. It’s no small leap to suggest, grimly, how those gathered must also feel!
This isn’t so much a post with an answer but, rather, a search and a question. When I was a curate, now ten years ago, my rector gave me the task of trying to find a way to make the Prayers of the People much more prayerful, interactive, holy, and real. We tried a few things, some of which worked decently, some of which completely flopped, but ever since I’ve been in search of an answer, a method, a way to really pray, and pray corporately.
It seems that that was the hope of the 1979 Book of Common Prayer, at least in Rite II. In the introductory text (BCP, p.383) as well as the unmistakable fact that they gave six forms for prayers, the understanding seems to be that the People of God would, at that point in worship, really coalesce as a praying community, offering intercession and thanksgiving to God, not merely following rote language and rites.
To do so, and do it well, obviously involves raising up the right people with the right kind of spirit. In my own experience, when I’ve attended to relationships and worked to develop the human capacity to practice honest-to-God prayer, corporately, those have been the moments when real prayer really emerges. Here in Valley Lee, Maryland, I’ve been thinking that it’s time to put out a call for people in our community who have a heart for prayer, and who practice daily prayer, to come forward and begin to work with me on cultivating this spiritual practice more intentionally. That is to say, it’s time to stop thinking about this as a matter of course – like organizing a schedule – and start thinking about it as a spiritual charism.
And yet an important theological reminder and, frankly, hesitancy is that these are also intended to be the church’s prayers, not just the made-up prayers of one individual. They are the Prayers of the People, the saying goes, not the prayers of the lector, or the prayers of the rector.
We’ll need to consider whether and how much text we want or need, whether to print it all or leave it free form, not to mention whether and how much of all that God really cares about! There are a lot of good resources out there, including the newly published Praying the Scriptures, by the Rev’d Jeremiah Williamson (Church Publishing, 2014), a collection of prayer forms which nicely echo the theological and liturgical themes for each Sunday of the liturgical year. Fortress Press’ Revised Common Lectionary Prayers, prepared by the Consultation on Common Texts (2002) is a helpful companion volume, as are the contributions of Ruth Duck (Flames of the Spirit, 1985; Bread for the Journey, 1981). As well, Episcopal deacon Ormonde Plater’s Intercession (Cowley, 1995) offers sound theology and plenty of good, practical resources.
This is where it gets kind of fun, too. At least asking the questions and opening the conversation is a good start. Whenever we’ve tried various techniques and strategies, or when we’ve introduced new language, or when we’ve removed all language except for a common call-and-response – getting people’s eyes off the printed word and in the moment – there inevitably emerges some good responses and, yes, some honest pushback, all of which can grow into really rich theological conversations around really big topics. (For instance: Do we need to know who this person is and why we’re praying for him/her in order for that prayer to be effective?)
And this is where the church can become the place St. Benedict envisioned for his monastery, a “school for the service of the Lord,” the community where we learn basic habits and practical ways of being Christian, no less what it means and how one goes about praying, really and truly praying.
Don't miss a blog post! Subscribe via email or RSS, using the grey box on the upper right.