Bidding prayer

We use this a lot during our Wednesday night prayer service. Most of the men go to the altar and when one stops praying, another will start. The preacher ends it with his own prayer and an amen.

 

I'm glad you explained what you meant by the term "bidding prayer", because here, it is used to refer to a form of set prayer in the Church of England, which comes just before the sermon, and includes prayers for the Queen, the poor, those in danger, and so on, and before the Reformation would have included prayers for the dead! If youy were among the many millions of people around the world who listened to the Service of Nine Lessons and Carols from Kings College, Cambridge, you will have heard that sort of "Bidding Prayer" (without prayers for the dead, thankfully). Here it is:

BIDDING PRAYER¶ Then, all standing, this bidding prayer is said.
The DeanBELOVED IN CHRIST, be it this Christmas Eve our care
and delight to prepare ourselves to hear again the message
of the angels: in heart and mind to go even unto Bethlehem
and see this thing which is come to pass, and the Babe lying
in a manger.
Let us read and mark in Holy Scripture the tale of the loving
purposes of God from the first days of our disobedience unto
the glorious Redemption brought us by this Holy Child; and
let us make this chapel, dedicated to Mary, his most blessed
Mother, glad with our carols of praise:
But first let us pray for the needs of his whole world; for
peace and goodwill over all the earth; for unity and brotherhood
within the Church he came to build, and especially
in the dominions of our sovereign lady Queen Elizabeth,
within this University and City of Cambridge, and in the
two royal and religious Foundations of King Henry VI here
and at Eton:
And because this of all things would rejoice his heart, let us
at this time remember in his name the poor and the helpless,
the cold, the hungry and the oppressed; the sick in body
and in mind and them that mourn; the lonely and the
unloved; the aged and the little children; and all who know
not the Lord Jesus.
Lastly let us remember before God all those who rejoice with
us, but upon another shore and in a greater light, that multitude
which no man can number, whose hope was in the
Word made flesh, and with whom, in this Lord Jesus, we for
evermore are one.
These prayers and praises let us humbly offer up to the
throne of heaven, in the words which Christ himself hath
taught us: Our Father …​

Every blessing for the New Year,

 

In the Church of England, the bidding prayer is primarily offered up by the vicar. The people pray silently..then following the bidding prayer there is a procedural prayer with vicar's lines and the people's responses. Most commonly, the bidding prayer is followed by the Lord's Prayer. IN the Prayer Book it comes under the category of Acts of Praise.

In all my ministry in Baptist Churches, we never had a bidding prayer. The pastoral prayer sometimes included specific prayer needs, but it was generally a time of praising God. We left specific prayer needs to the Wednesday night prayer and Bible study. There we broke up into smaller groups for prayer...the men in their groups and the ladies in theirs.

Evening services included testimonials. I may have called on a deacon to open the services in prayer, but other than that there was no response on the part of the congregation....that's the way it was back then, folks...I might do things differently to-day. Having come from the Church of England, I guess I like good order in services.

Cheers,

Jim

 

Is bidding prayer when the church gets to state special needs just prior to the prayer being prayed? I'm not familiar with these terms being used.

 

This is the way we begin Altar call during each Sunday service. I like the bidding prayer idea, we may work that into prayer service on Thursdays...

 

At our church, the members voice their spoken and unspoken prayer requests, then the men who are kneeling around the altar take turns praying out loud.

The prayer meeting part of Wednesday night service usually lasts about 30 minutes.

 

Yes, it is, Tim. And there is just something special about hearing your needs prayed for out loud by prayer warriors.

Prayer and praise unites.

Also if someone is going in for serious tests or has been diagnosed with a serious illness, this is the time they go forward and the elders lay hands on them and pray for them. Sometimes oil is used for anointing.