The Church, Intercession, and Prayer Lists

Could you list all the people you know who are living? That would take a while. You would fill several pages. Thinking you were finished, days later you would remember people you left off. Our awareness is partial at any given time, and our deeper tools of memory hold many things we must dig to recall.

One of the beautiful realities of Christ’s Body, The Church, is that we are called to pray for others and one another. We call this intercession. In the Ancient Church, Sunday worship was the gathering of the Faithful and the Catechumens, i.e., the Baptized, and those studying to be baptized. All were gathered, and all would hear the introductory prayers, the reading of scripture, the proclamation of the Gospel, and the preacher’s elucidation of the scriptures. Then the students preparing for baptism, “catechumens,” would leave for instruction. Those who remained for the sacrament of the Lord’s Table began praying for the world, the church, the sick and suffering, and many others. This was called the Prayers of the Faithful or the Prayers of the People.

Intercessory prayer is the privilege of the Baptized. The forms that we use as Prayers of the People are among those forms available in The Book of Common Prayer. They were carefully crafted to pray generally for many categories. Examine them for yourself on pages 383-396 of the prayer book. They are designed to let us intercede on behalf of every creature on earth, for our many conditions and circumstances. The forms invite inserting some inclusion of specifics, but their real beauty is the way they help us pray inclusively and universally in an efficient manner. If we wanted the ultimate, exhaustive prayer list, we could never ensure it was complete; that is not our charge.

We truly cannot name specifically all matters that deserve and would benefit from prayer. We do however pray generally for all, and we have faith that they all benefit from the Prayers of the Faithful gathered for sacramental grace. We do some specific mentioning of this or that group, but by necessity, our praying for most goes on without them being named. Acknowledging this, we emphasize trusting in the meaningful way we intercede generally and universally in our prayers. This indeed is our calling.

I love how the Collect coming up on Sunday, elevates our understanding of the high nature of the Church, the family of faith built on a sure foundation:

Almighty God, you have built your Church upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone: Grant us so to be joined together in unity of spirit by their teaching, that we may be made a holy temple acceptable to you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

In our prayers, in our proclamation of the Gospel and in our internalizing of the Word made flesh on Sundays, let us fulfill our calling with all our hearts.