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“What do I pray before worship?”
Have you ever arrived at church early and noticed others kneeling and praying before service begins? Often, we have many people and problems on our minds in which we can easily kneel and pray about. Sometimes, we may not have the words to pray, or our minds are racing so fast that it seems impossible to slow down and pray before worship.
Within the “Prayers and Thanksgivings” section in the back of the Book of Common Prayer (BCP), we find several prayers that are perfect for before worship. There are three I would like to mention in this Daily Word: Before Worship (BCP, p. 833), For the Answering of Prayer (BCP, p.834) and Before Receiving Communion (BCP, p. 834). You can find them online at bcponline.org or within your own Book of Common Prayer.
Often, when I lead the prayers with those serving on Sunday before the service begins, I will pray one of those prayers with the group. Particularly, the prayer for before worship reminds us and asks God to help us with the “wanderings of mind.” I know that you are always focused during sermons and the Prayers of the People, yet sometimes my own mind wanders as I see how beautiful the stained-glass windows are or begin to think more about the hymn that was just sung. These can be moments where God inspires me and leads me to insights or where I get distracted and need refocusing – I remember this prayer.
So, my invitation to you, whether you worship with us online, at 8 a.m., at Family Table or on Wednesdays is that you open yourself to the possibility of saying one or more of these prayers as you prepare yourself for worship. You could make it part of your ritual when you arrive in your pew, silencing your phone, kneeling and praying wherever you find yourself worshiping God that day.
A Prayer before Worship
O Almighty God, who pourest out on all who desire it the spirit of grace and of supplication: Deliver us, when we draw near to thee, from coldness of heart and wanderings of mind, that with steadfast thoughts and kindled affections we may worship thee in spirit and in truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (BCP p. 833)
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