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Introduction

The structure of this book

These prayers are designed for use with the Revised Common Lectionary which has been adopted by the Church of England, the Scottish Episcopal Church, the Church in Wales and a number of other Churches in the Anglican Communion. It is close to the lectionary currently used by the Roman Catholic Church and is likely to be the preferred lectionary of many other Churches. This is a three-year cycle, drawing on a wide range through the Old and New Testaments and offering more variety than the orders that have generally been used in the past.

The intercessions offered here are based on the Sunday readings for the Principal Service in each year, and on those for other festivals and special occasions. The new lectionary is not so rigidly thematic as the one designed for the Alternative Service Book. Preachers and intercessors will be able to draw their themes from the readings themselves, rather than being theme-directed on every Sunday. The scriptural passages in each case form connections which will suggest a relevant approach, and these connections have been picked up in the words of the intercessions. Since the lectionary is spread over three years, it allows for more continuous readings which follow a book of the Bible over several weeks, and this is especially notable in the Gospels.

Subjects have been drawn mainly from the New Testament readings, with reference to the Old Testament passage when there is only one on offer. Intercessions for major Festivals such as Christmas and Easter which have the same reading in each year, or which clearly create their own themes, are not repeated; otherwise there is something for every Sunday in each of the three years.

As well as the Sunday cycle, there is the cycle of holy days recurring through each year. Most often these will fall on a weekday when there is less likely to be a call for full intercessions, but it is increasingly common to celebrate the most important, especially in the case of a patronal festival, on a proximate Sunday. Intercessions are produced for the main categories – Apostles, Evangelists and so on – and for more general use.

There are also readings and associated intercessions for special occasions. For example, the provision for a service with intention for the Guidance of the Holy Spirit would be appropriate for a Parochial Church Council or similar executive body, and the Unity section for an ecumenical service.

The fivefold division of subjects, which is widely used and has proved valuable in directing attention, is here adopted:

The Church As intercessions are usually offered within an act of public worship, and always on behalf of all Christians, we pray first for the Church as the Body of Christ on earth and for Christ’s people in their lives of service.

The world This is the world which God created and Christ came to save. We pray for all human needs and that the lives of people and nations may fulfil the divine purpose.

The community Next we move to the concerns that are most near to us: families, friends, neighbours, those with whom we work. Prayers for the wider world are often necessarily general, but here we can make our requests known more specifically. We pray too for all who live in the area that forms our local community, large or small.

The suffering The compassion of God reaches out to all but is too often blocked by human sin and indifference. Those who suffer are particularly dear to him, and we offer our own sympathy and desire to help those, known or unknown to us, who are afflicted.

The Communion of Saints Prayers for the dead have been part of Christian liturgy from the earliest years. Our remembrance of them draws us into the prayers of the whole Church, seen and unseen, in heaven as well as on earth. We recall our own mortality and affirm our faith in the resurrection to eternal life, and in the fellowship of all Christians, living and departed.

The intercessions can be offered in these sections, within a liturgical structure which invites congregational response, or as a continuous prayer. The breaks between sentences in each section give space for particular desires and concerns to be included, but the prayers can at any point be said without a break. The intercessor will usually wish to mention some specific needs. Clearly, these are suggested words to help intercession and will often benefit from paraphrase or addition. For one example, the word ‘community’ is often used in the third section and it may be more appropriate to say ‘village’, ‘city’, ‘school’ and so on.

If the custom of the church is to use the second person singular thou forms in addressing God, the words can readily be amended. Some care is needed in adapting the verbal forms to correspond. This happens to be the preference of the author of this book, and of many others, but both styles are now current.

Although the collection is envisaged largely for use in an act of public worship, it is hoped that it may be helpful also, for smaller and more informal prayer groups. Further, it is suggested for individual use, to help intercession in personal prayers. Careful reading of the appointed passages of scripture may be followed by meditation and then intercession, not limited by what is here written but perhaps aided by it.

Intercessory prayer

Intercession is only a part of prayer, but it is an important one, and the practice of intercession at the Eucharist is a universal Christian tradition. The Eucharist is principally a service of praise and thanksgiving, culminating in the reception of the sacramental elements of bread and wine. The liturgy also includes instruction, penitence and intercession. Wherever people are moved to pray, it is a basic instinct to ask for blessing and strength in areas of concern. Christians know that in such prayers we are not trying to change the will of God for our own immediate benefit, or to soften the heart of a remote and implacable tyrant.

It is enough to know that it is both our duty and our privilege to bring the needs of individuals and communities before God in prayer. We have the command and example of Christ, and the practice of the Church, to assure us that this is a proper response of faith. It is one of the many ways in which our natural desires are accepted and sanctified. To lift people up in prayer is a token both of our care for them and of our belief in the love of God for all his creatures. In so doing, we are also offering ourselves to be used in the furtherance of what we ask: this is a vital element in intercession, whether individual or on behalf of the whole congregation. As we focus our concerns and make them articulate, we come to realise how much they really mean to us. True intercession is an offering of help as well as a plea for help. It is a recognition that, although God needs nothing from us, he graciously invites and accepts our share in his loving purposes.

The author hopes and prays that this book may indeed be useful to those who are charged with leading intercessions and also to those who wish to widen the intercessory element in their own prayers.