Of all the elements that once made up traditional Protestant worship, there is probably none that has fallen on harder times than prayer. It is not unusual to visit a church today and find that prayer is perfunctory, rare, or absent altogether. If that is true of prayer in general, it is particularly true of the pastoral prayer.
The pastoral prayer is an opportunity for a pastor to intercede on behalf of his congregation and bring their concerns before the Lord—to pray for his people with his people. This means it is often a comparatively lengthy prayer, which is why it is sometimes known as the “long prayer.” It may include each of the standard elements of a well-rounded prayer—Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication—but it may also leave some out if they have already been included in the service in other ways. It will usually bring to God the particular cares of specific members of the church, the general concerns of the whole congregation, and the wider concerns of God’s Kingdom.
By way of counsel:
