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Introduction

The kind reception given to the previous volume Leading Intercessions has encouraged me to follow a similar pattern in this new collection of intercessory prayers. They are again designed for use with the Revised Common Lectionary.

These prayers are, however, composed on a different basis. Instead of finding a theme across all the readings for the day, I have drawn entirely on the Gospel passages. The accounts of the life and teaching of our Lord provide a pattern for all that we have in life and death. Whether we are concerned with worship, with global and local needs, with sickness and affliction or with the life to come, there is comfort and guidance in relating them to the written foundation record of our faith.

One of the strengths of the RCL is that a single Gospel is followed through each of the three years, with occasional readings from the Fourth Gospel. We become accustomed to the style and approach of each of the Evangelists, and this gives variety to the intercessions based on them. If only two of the other Sunday readings are used, and whichever Track is followed during Ordinary Time, the Gospel will always be read and will be the same in all churches. In the few instances where the Church of England has made different provision from the rest of the RCL, I have followed this reading, I hope without offence to the ecumenical intention of the whole book.

These prayers use images and phrases from the Gospel which will have been heard by the congregation a few minutes before the period of intercession. All present will be able to relate them to the petitions offered in prayer. It is the place in the Eucharist when the Ministry of the Word draws to its close before the Offertory leads into the consecration of the gifts and the communion of the people. What has been proclaimed is brought into the life of the present and gathered towards the sacramental mystery.

If we base our intercessions on the Gospel, we are reminded of one of the most wonderful truths of the Christian faith. God knows our human condition and its needs not only through divine omniscience but by the direct experience of taking our nature in its sufferings and limitations. This is a deep mystery which makes us bold to relate our concerns closely to the life of Christ on earth.

The intercessions offered here are based on the Sunday readings for the Principal Service. Major Festivals like Christmas and Easter which have the same reading in each year are not repeated; otherwise there is something for every Sunday in each of the three years.

As well as the Sunday cycle, there are other days which are commonly observed during the year, and prayers are provided for these. There are also intercessions for special occasions, which can have wider application. For example, the order 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 prayers for the Sovereign could be used for any national celebration.

The structure of the intercessions

The fivefold division of subjects, which is widely used and has proved valuable in focussing attention, has been followed:

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. Our cares for the Church and for the world should never be formally separated, but we need to recognize the material preoccupations of secular society and to pray lovingly and without condescension.

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. It is at this point that worshippers will also want to bring their personal lives before God and relate them to their social dimension.

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 and 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. These are suggested words to help intercession and will often benefit from paraphrase or addition. For 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.

For each occasion there is a brief invitation to prayer, based on the Gospel for the day, and a sentence to conclude the intercessions, gathering the petitions together and offering them through Jesus Christ whose words and deeds have just been recalled. These introductions and conclusions may suitably be said either by the celebrant or presiding minister or by the person leading the intercessions.

If the custom of the church is to use the second person singular thou form towards God, the words can readily be amended. Some care is needed in adapting the verbal forms to correspond. This is the preference of the author of this book, and indeed 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 Gospel passages may be followed by meditation and then intercession, not limited by what is here written but perhaps aided by it.

Intercessory prayer

Intercession at the Eucharist is a universal Christian tradition and has been observed since the earliest liturgies. 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. The prayers of intercession lead towards the supreme moment of Christian worship and are united with the very words of Christ at the Last Supper. They claim the mercy of his Passion and atoning death and the power of his Resurrection.

Intercession is only a part of prayer, but it is an important one. The theology of intercessory prayer may be complex, but the practice is an instinctive response of faith and should be so addressed. Wherever people are moved to pray, it is natural and right 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 realize 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.

I am grateful for many appreciative responses to the previous book and for helpful suggestions. I particularly thank Christine Smith of the Canterbury Press for her foresight, advice and practical support.