10. Prayers at the Table

Introduction

When we come to the Lord’s Table, we pray. We give thanks, we remember and we ask God to bless. The prayers we pray here are for the peace and salvation of the whole creation.  It is no exaggeration to say that these are among the most important prayers we make. This page aims to help us understand a little more. 

The Prayer of Thanksgiving

Whatever title we adopt for the Liturgy of the Table (see earlier article), the central prayer at the Table is one of thanksgiving (Gk: eucharistia); hence, the ‘eucharistic prayer’. Liturgists have examined the eucharistic prayers of the early Church and have discerned a pattern that they seek to follow in framing modern prayers at the Table.

There are three basic elements to the prayer: thanksgiving, remembrance and invocation.

We begin with the invitation to lift our hearts and minds on high and give thanks to God. The prayer then follows a trinitarian shape.

We thank God for creation. We may include special thanks for some event or season (Advent, Christmas, etc.).  The congregation sings a sort of “Amen” based on Isa 6.3 (Holy, holy, holy.) often accompanied by the words Blessed is he who comes . . .  (cf. Mk 11.9; Ps 118.26) greeting Christ, whose praise would be sung in the second paragraph.

We hymn Christ’s death, resurrection and coming in glory as the work of our salvation, and we often include a congregational response (a sort of “Amen”) acclaiming this.

We call on the Holy Spirit to make what we do and who we are holy, as together we share in the life and gifts of God.

The prayer of thanksgiving is not the action or preserve of any one person at the table. The whole congregation prays it. One way of demonstrating this is by congregational responses within the prayer. There are two additional ways in which the prayers at the table are shown to be the work (‘liturgy’) of us all:

the Lord’s Prayer

the prayers before communion

The Lord’s Prayer

The greatest prayer of the Christian Church is the Lord’s Prayer.  It sums up all our other prayers. For this reason, we say it together at the Table as we give thanks, remember and call upon God to be present to make us a holy people.

Prayers before Communion

As we make our final preparation before eating and drinking. We remember whose table it is and whose feast we celebrate; this is the foretaste of the bridal feast of the Lamb (cf. Rev 19.9). We remind ourselves that we are not worthy and stand in need of God’s healing.  Only when God’s grace is made known, are we ready to share in the holy communion of bread and wine, the body and blood of our Lord.

The Post communion Prayer

After communion, we give thanks and again and pray for the hungry and thirsty world of which we are part.  We ask God to bring us to the feast where all will be satisfied for ever.

A Glimpse of Heaven

The Liturgy of the Table is a glimpse of heaven, no less.

Further Thinking

When we pray at communion, what are we praying to happen?

If the prayer of thanksgiving is a prayer of the whole congregation, does it help us to have parts that we learn(like the responses to  the reading of scripture?

If not , how do we make sure that it is not just one person thinking?  Does that matter?

How do the prayers before and after communion deepen our understanding of what we are doing when we eat the bread and drink of the cup.

 

Abbey Baptist Church, Abbey Square, Reading. RG1 3BE   Tel: 0118 957 2197