Hear Our Prayer; Prayers of the People for the Revised Common Lectionary

I am probably not the intended audience of Hear Our Prayer; Prayers of the People for the Revised Common Lectionary by Jon White and Lisa Graves. I’m not someone who leads corporate worship. I’m not someone who gets called into rooms pregnant with conflict and in need of pastoral leadership. I’m not the one who needs to help round out the order of worship each week. That didn’t stop me from snatching this gem of a book when it arrived from the publisher, diving in, and instantly hedgehogging it (marking it up with sticky notes so I can find what I want when I want it). If I, as a children’s and family ministry practitioner and as a parent have found this book to be invaluable to my work in ministry and parenting, you that are part of the intended audience will do so, too.

Hear Our Prayer: Prayers of the People for the Revised Common Lectionary is a small volume of prayers for each Sunday of the three year RCL cycle. The language is beautiful, yet succinct. The phrases used are inclusive of all of God’s children. The flow of the prayers is organic, allowing for adaptation both prior to and while in the middle of worship. Each prayer follows the traditional prayers of the people organization through ‘prayer categories’, which allows you the flexibility to pull out pieces to help focus meetings, breathe the Spirit into emotionally charged settings, and comfort those in the midst of challenges. 

Hear Our Prayer is a resource that you will find you turn to time and again. My clergy friends: Will you want a copy of this book if you lead a congregation through the RCL in corporate worship? Definitely. Will you want this to help you round out the language of worship and make it more inclusive of all of God’s children? Absolutely. Do you need this resource to help center your gathered congregation’s prayers and keep God at the center of your corporate prayer? Yup. My parenting companions: Will you want this to help you in your personal devotional time? Yes. Will you find yourself pulling pieces out to write onto sticky notes that you put on your bathroom mirror and car dashboard to help guide your family in prayer? You betcha. Would these prayers help you in a weekly family meeting where you discuss the upcoming week’s events, who needs lunch money, who needs a ride to soccer, and who needs specific prayers? Indeed. My fellow children’s ministry practitioners: Will this volume help you in your personal devotional time? Absolutely. Will you use this resource to pull out prayers to use in opening and closing sessions with the children? I guarantee it. Will you want to share these prayers with your fellow teachers and the parents? Yes. My friends who fit none of the above categories: believe me, this little volume has flex and you will find that you, too, will turn to this resource numerous times. Snag a copy.