Dear brothers and sisters in Christ —
What a blessing it is that we can gather together each week for worship, for the Divine Service, where God comes to us, to offer to us His precious gifts of grace and mercy and peace. During the Divine Service, either before or after the offering and offertory, we join together for prayer, specifically the Prayer of the Church. Notice this is called the prayer not the prayers. This is because during this time of worship we offer one prayer as one body of Christ. One prayer with several petitions. To some, this can seem like it is just a long time of the pastor talking, but there is a specific reason for why we pray for everything and everyone that we pray for in this prayer.
God commands in 1 Timothy 2:1-2, “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.” And this is indeed what we do in the Prayer of the Church. We offer prayers for all of these people.
As you listen to these prayers, pay attention to what we are praying. We pray on behalf of our congregation and the church at large. We pray for pastors and that God would raise up new pastors. We pray for the government (regardless of whether or not we like those who are in office). We pray on behalf of the sick and injured. We give thanks for those who have departed in the faith and pray for peace to their families. All of these prayers are not just the pastor talking, but indeed the pastor offering up all of your prayers collectively together to God.
And this leads to your response to the prayers. There are five general forms of liturgical prayers that are used in the Divine Service.
The first, which was used in The Lutheran Hymnal, was one continuous prayer that the pastor prays and to which the congregation adds their Amen at the end.
The second, known as the Responsive form, has the pastor offering up to God a petition of the prayer, ending it with “Lord in your mercy” to which the congregation responds, “Hear our prayer”. This is the format that his been used the most over the last fourteen years that I have been here at Our Redeemer.
The third, known as the Ektene (pronounce ek-teen) format, has the pastor offering saying what we will be praying (“That the Lord would grant healing”, “For all those who have departed”, etc.) ending with “Let us pray to the Lord” and the true prayer part is the congregations responds “Lord, Have Mercy.” This is the format we have chosen to use for this academic year as we focus on our theme of “Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief!”
The fourth, which we rarely use, is the Bidding Prayer, which combines the Ektene and the Responsive form. In this format, an assistant offers up a bid in the Ektene format “That…”, to which the pastor then puts in the full petition, and then the congregation responds with “Hear our prayer.”
The fifth, which we use primarily on Ash Wednesday, is the Litany. Litanies are prayers to our Lord consisting of a series of petitions and responses. The word “litany” itself comes from the Greek word “lite,” as the responsive prayer consists of short pithy phrases. In public worship, one person recites the first part of the prayer, which is followed by a response from the congregation (such as “pray for us,” “have mercy,” or “We implore You to hear us, good Lord”).
So as you listen to Prayer of the Church, I encourage to not only listen for the key words that prompts your response but listen to the entire prayer. Afterall, it is your prayer that is being prayed.
Blessings,
Pastor Hartwig