Dear people of Grace,

I hope, over the past few weeks that I have convinced you that prayer is a relational activity. This may have left you wondering, though: when we do pray with words, is there a place for form prayers, or is it all just a loose, extemporaneous “conversation with God?”

First, let’s back up and unpack what each of these types of prayer mean.

Form prayers are those which have been prepared in advance. They often adhere to a standard format such as the “collect,” a prayer which gathers together or ‘collects’ the prayers of the gathered people in worship and, in its most basic form, consist of: an invocation (to call upon or appeal to God), a petition (specific request or purpose of the prayer), and a conclusion (asking through the mediating power of Jesus).

Some form prayers are ancient, dating back to the early Church Fathers. We say them because they are still relevant and hold true. When Thomas Cranmer compiled the first Book of Common Prayer in 1549, he translated and incorporated many of the traditional Christian prayers which we still enjoy today, albeit in modernized English. Form prayers work because their content is timeless.

Extemporaneous comes from the Latin ex tempore, literally “out of time” or sometimes rendered “in the moment.” In extemporaneous prayers we speak whatever our heart tells us, we say the words we feel led to utter. These prayers are sometimes participatory, making space for multiple people to interject their own petitions into the basic shape of the prayer. If that sounds uncomfortable to you, you are not alone! Even at seminary, when asked for a volunteer to pray, a roomful of future-priests would often become fixated on their shoes! For good or bad, in this denomination we tend to trust our reasonable minds more than our emotional hearts. We would rather think a prayer, than feel a prayer.

Whatever misgivings Episcopalians may have about extemporaneous prayer, many traditions consider this to be the truest form, that it allows the Holy Spirit to communicate through us, in the moment. However, I’ve got to say that I find this to be a narrow interpretation. If we say that the Holy Spirit is most present ‘in the moment’ then we are suggesting that God is confined in time. This is to ignore the truer definition which places prayer out of time. Since God is not constrained by temporal things, who is to say that the preparation of a prayer yesterday, or a thousand years ago, will not be infused with the Holy Spirit for delivery today?

I think the beauty of extemporaneous prayer comes from how personal it can become. When I was a hospital chaplain I would carry my Book of Common Prayer to every patient visit. And yet, when I heard an individual’s story, when I asked them for what they would like me to pray, there was never a form prayer that could encompass it all. It was always extemporaneous prayer that I went with. There were certainly times when I would copy a prayer for someone who might need to pray the same prayer repeatedly – the prayer of St. Francis, the Serenity Prayer, the Lord’s Prayer. One of my favorites was this one, from the Ministration to the Sick:

This is another day, O Lord.  I know not what it will bring
forth, but make me ready, Lord, for whatever it may be.  If I
am to stand up, help me to stand bravely.  If I am to sit still,
help me to sit quietly.  If I am to lie low, help me to do it
patiently.  And if I am to do nothing, let me do it gallantly. 
Make these words more than words, and give me the Spirit
of Jesus.  Amen. (BCP, p.461)

I would also turn to the BCP whenever I needed something sacramental or more formal, such as anointing of the sick or ministration at time of death. I found that patients and family members were comforted by the ritual and thoughtful prayer. Which is another point of form prayer: there are times when it is too difficult to find the right words. It is in these times that we turn to the inherited wisdom of our tradition and the great prayers of the saints who have gone before.

I am quite proud that my 5-year old Ellie knows the following prayer which she says before bed most nights:

Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or
weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who
sleep. Tend the sick, Lord Christ; give rest to the weary, bless
the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, shield the
joyous; and all for your love’s sake. Amen. (BCP, p.134)

This prayer is attributed to St Augustine of Hippo. So, my daughter prays a prayer which is over fifteen hundred years old, and yet it still perfectly captures where our thoughts lie at the end of a busy day.

So which type of prayer should we use: form prayer or extemporaneous prayer?  As Episcopalians, we should, of course, be familiar with both. We should be familiar with the prayers contained within the Book of Common Prayer and their various locations, such as prayers for the sick (p.458-461), general prayers and thanksgivings (p.810-841), and the collects (p.211-261).

We should also be capable of praying extemporaneously. We should never be intimidated by prayer. If we are concerned that our extemporaneous prayers are not hitting all the necessary elements, then we are turning it into a form prayer – keep it simple, speak from the heart. If we are embarrassed, we are concentrating on the wrong audience; if we are worried we won’t find the right words, we are relying too much on ourselves, and not on the Spirit.

Persevere in prayer. God hears them all.

Blessings and peace,
Deacon Nick