You are always more ready to hear than we are to pray,Īnd to give more than we desire or deserve. 46:1) Prayer of Invocation-1īy the gracious power of Your Holy Spirit, Our help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. May be said responsively, with the minister saying the first line and the congregation saying the second.Ĭongregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, from where does your help come? Opening Invocation / Declaration of Dependence Prayers and Meditations for Personal and Family Use.To that end, they are arranged in four major sections (after the Lord’s Prayer): These prayers are offered as aids and examples for those who are called to lead in public prayer, as well as for the direction and edification of our people in their daily lives. While our Church Order requires the use of liturgical forms and their prayers for certain moments in congregational life (e.g., baptism, Lord’s Supper), nowhere are prescribed forms of public prayer in weekly worship imposed. These prayers are not obligatory, but are for voluntary use. We believe this will enhance the prayer life of our people at home and of those who lead in prayer in public worship. What follows uses the older versions as a baseline while updating the language, shortening when appropriate, adding more prayers from the best of the broader Reformed tradition (England, Geneva, Heidelberg, Strasbourg, as well as Martin Luther), and considering the liturgical and personal needs of our people. Some of the reasons offered are that they are antiquated and verbose. Experience has shown that our prayers are an overlooked part of our liturgical life. These prayers were first translated into English and included in the Christian Reformed Church’s Psalter Hymnal in 1934 and were included in the 19 editions. In our particular tradition, the Psalter and service book of Petrus Dathenus (1556) also contained a series of prayers. The Church of Geneva, for example, had The Form of Church Prayers and Hymns first published in 1542, and the Church of England had the Book of Common Prayer first published in 1549. The churches of the Reformation have historically included forms of prayer alongside their songs and liturgies in their service books.
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