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Week after week many Anglicans and Roman Catholics now pray the most tepid of prayers as a form of Universal Prayer, the Prayer of the Faithful, or the Prayer of the People of God. Many times these prayers are so brief and anemic as to be an embarrassment before the throne of God. Surely there must be something better to offer up to so generous a God especially when we are in such need of His grace and intervention in our lives.
Below please find two excellent prayers from the 1996 Liturgy of the Anglican Communion's Church in Nigeria. They are best prayed aloud in my opinion:
Be mindful, O Lord, of Your people present here before You, and of those who are absent through age, sickness or infirmity. Care for the infants, guide the young, support the aged, encourage the faint-hearted, gather the scattered, and bring back the wandering to Your fold. Travel with the voyagers, defend the widows, shield the orphans, deliver the captives, heal the sick. Succour all who are in tribulation, necessity or distress. Remember for good all those that love us, and those that hate us; and those that have desired us, unworthy as we are, to pray for them. And those whom we have forgotten, please O Lord, remember. For You are the Helper of the helpless, the Saviour of the lost, the Refuge of the wanderer, the Healer of the sick. You who know each person’s need, and hear prayers, grant to each person according to Your merciful loving-kindness and Your eternal love; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Almighty and everlasting God, we praise You for all that You have done for us as a nation. Deepen the root of our national life in Your everlasting righteousness, let not Your blessings be withdrawn from us. Make us equal to our high trusts, reverent in the use of freedom, just in the exercise of power, and generous in the protection of the weak. Inspire the people who direct this local government, this state and this country, that they may guide us wisely and well; give insight and faithfulness to our legislators and judges both at the state and federal levels; and may our deepest trust ever be in You, the Lord of nations and the King of Kings; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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