Samuel Wells, Crafting Prayers for Public Worship: The Art of Intercession (Canterbury, 2013), 123pp
Getting intercessory prayers right is not always easy. Learning how to get them right is not always obvious. So this new short little book from Sam Wells is welcome to all whose task it is to lead prayers during worship. Too often prayers of intercession can be an after thought (most often) to the sermon, but Wells suggests these prayers may be the important part of any worship service.
The book is divided into four chapters on how to craft good prayers and then three chapters of examples of prayers Wells wrote and used whilst Dean of Duke Chapel. Wells presents what intercessory prayer is and how it relates to the rest of worship (and so what it should and should not try to do, e.g. it is not an alternative sermon!) and then offers ways to structure these prayers using the form the collect and shaped in response to scripture, with imperative verbs and following the pattern of resurrection, transfiguration or incarnation. Wells encourages those who pray to pay attention to language, especially the use of 'our' and its easy ability to be exclusive. A final chapter, 'Fine Tuning' offers some reflections on the use of repetition, responses, silence and extempore prayer.
There is so much to take from these chapters that the danger may be that the intercessor may feel overwhelmed with everything to include. I take Well's suggestions not primarily as a checklist, but instead providing something of the 'craft' and 'art' of public prayer, which takes time to learn - we become more experienced as we see prayer as a craft with a tradition and a shape (for Wells this is rooted in the collect). The book itself is easy to read and while it may overwhelm, Wells demonstrates clearly how prayers can be put together that do what they need to do.
The book ends with a selection of Wells own prayers that are shaped around seasons, ordinary time and particular occasions demonstration the art of good prayers - rich in theology and strong in expectation.
For my own Baptist tradition, I would encourage every minister to read the book and then share it with those others who lead the intercessions. I certainly plan to get a church copy and use it as a means of teaching people (myself included) how to pray to God for the people. As I read Crafting Prayers, it struck me that complements and builds on Chris Ellis' (a Baptist!) guide to leading worship Approaching God (Canterbury, 2009).
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