A weekly blog of Creative Ideas for Leading Worship
Constructing a Service - Part 3
Finding or Writing Prayers and Liturgy
Click for audio narration
Introduction
As a worship leader, crafting meaningful prayers and liturgy for your services can be both rewarding and daunting. You need to find words that are theologically sound, spiritually engaging, and relevant to your congregation – week after week.
If you’re wondering where to start, how to structure your prayers, or how to make them resonate, this post is for you.
You’ll discover clear, practical advice for selecting or writing prayers and liturgical elements that flow naturally through a worship service.
You’ll gain insights into the purpose behind each part of the liturgy, explore helpful resources, and learn how tools like AI can support your creativity.
Purpose of prayers and other liturgy
Each of the types of prayers I include in services has a specific purpose and distinctive characteristics. Here’s a summary:
1. Call to Worship
Purpose: To gather and centre the congregation for worship, inviting them into a shared sacred space and setting the tone for the service.
• Invites communal participation and focus on God.
• Acknowledges God’s presence and calls for attentive worship.
• Often poetic, rhythmic, and inclusive in language.
• Usually responsive.
2. Lighting the Candle
Purpose: To symbolise Christ’s light in the world and to focus prayers on specific themes (e.g. healing, justice, remembrance).
• Symbolic act using light as a representation of Christ or hope.
• Thematically tailored (e.g. healing, justice, remembrance).
• Invites reflective or responsive prayer.
• Usually said together.
3. Opening Prayer
Purpose: To invoke God’s presence and dedicate the worship time to God, often offering praise and thanksgiving.
• Praise and adoration of God.
• Acknowledges God’s role in creation and life.
• Requests God’s presence and guidance in worship.
• Usually said by the leader.
4. Prayer of Approach
Purpose: To acknowledge human frailty and dependence on God, inviting God’s presence and offering ourselves in worship.
• Themes of humility and repentance.
• Opens hearts to God’s presence.
• Prepares the congregation spiritually.
• Usually responsive.
5. Words of Assurance
Purpose: To affirm God’s forgiveness and love after prayers of confession or repentance, offering reassurance and peace.
• Affirmation of God’s forgiveness.
• Often based on scripture or tradition.
• Brings comfort and renewal.
• Usually said by the leader.
6. Prayers of Intercession
Purpose: To offer prayers for the needs of the world, the community, and individuals.
• Includes global, local, and personal concerns.
• Uses a call-and-response structure (bidding & response).
• Often thematic, focusing on justice, healing, and peace.
7. Lord’s Prayer
Purpose: A communal recitation of the prayer Jesus taught, expressing shared faith and dependence on God.
• Universal and ecumenical prayer.
• Simple yet profound in theology.
• Always spoken or sung together. If sung in English, we use the setting at #676 in With One Voice.
• For a spoken prayer I generally now use the te reo version.
8. Offertory Prayer (Blessing of the Offering)
Purpose: To dedicate the offerings of money, time, and talent to God’s service.
• Expression of gratitude for God’s provision.
• Dedication of offerings for ministry and mission.
• Communal affirmation of commitment.
• Usually said together.
9. Benediction
Purpose: To send the congregation out with God’s blessing and a sense of mission.
• Pronounces God’s blessing and peace.
• Encourages discipleship and service.
• Sometimes includes Trinitarian language.
• Said by the leader.
10. The Grace
Purpose: A traditional closing blessing invoking God’s grace, love, and fellowship.
• Scriptural (2 Corinthians 13:14).
• Trinitarian in form.
• Shared aloud by all present.
• I generally now use the te reo version.
Sources
We offer subscriptions to these liturgy resources. (Click the links for more information and to place an order.):
-
L3 - Liturgy Learning (Purposeful) Life: A creative and innovative intergenerational, Revised Common Lectionary worship resource that embraces the breadth of ways we worship, learn and live.
-
Words for Worship: Scriptural, contemporary prayers and liturgical resources, tailored for weekly worship services.
- Gathering: Worship planning tools for every Sunday, with prayers, sermon starters, and hymn suggestions.
These books are excellent sources of prayers and liturgy. (Click the links for more information and to place an order.)
-
Prayers for Southern People: Revitalise your worship services with this extensive collection of responsive prayers and liturgies tailored for the Southern Hemisphere, perfect for engaging congregations throughout the liturgical year
-
Prayers for Southern Seasons: A collection of prayers and poems designed to enhance Christian worship in Aotearoa New Zealand, reflecting the unique rhythms of the church year and inviting congregational participation
-
Lay Preaching Basics: A comprehensive and encouraging handbook that equips lay preachers and worship leaders with practical tools, creative resources, and confidence to lead meaningful services.
-
Let Us Pray: A comprehensive collection of intercessions following the Revised Common Lectionary, offering thoughtful, scriptural prayers for worship leaders and congregations.
- Joyful Spirit Bubbling: A beautifully crafted collection of poems, prayers, and reflections that guide you through the spiritual rhythms of Aotearoa New Zealand’s seasons, perfect for worship leaders and anyone seeking divine inspiration.
Writing Prayers
Why not try writing your own prayers? Start with a Call to Worship or Opening Prayer.
As an example, see my prayer, God is in the small things, in this blog post: https://philipgarsidebooks.com/blogs/news/5-finding-the-divine-in-the-everyday
It is fun to use the AI tool ChatGPT to create prayers. Start with the ChatGPT output then tailor and edit the prayers until they are in your voice and reflect your thoughts and theology. See this blog post for instructions: https://philipgarsidebooks.com/blogs/news/22-using-chatgpt-ai-to-craft-prayers-and-liturgy
Top Tips
When you have drafted your order of service, print it out and read it read aloud to test the wording of the prayers and liturgy and to prepare yourself to present the service. This often highlights places where you need to tweak and improve your text.
I write down the text of all the prayers and liturgy in the order of service, i.e. the congregation and I follow a script. I don’t ad lib, or pray off-the-cuff – I’m just not good at doing this.
In tone and style, prayers can be conversational, formal, or informal (but never casual). Use simple, everyday language.
Conclusion
Leading worship isn’t about filling space with words – it’s about crafting a sacred experience that invites your congregation into genuine connection with God and each other.
By understanding the purpose of each prayer and liturgical element, and by making intentional choices about language and tone, you can lead services that are both accessible and profound.
Whether you draw from trusted resources, write your own prayers, or use AI as a creative companion, the key is to stay true to your voice and theology. And remember, preparing thoroughly – right down to reading your prayers aloud – builds your confidence and helps you lead with clarity and warmth.
The prayers you choose or create matter. They shape how people experience worship. So take heart: with these tools and tips, you’re well on your way to offering something that’s thoughtful, inspiring, and uniquely yours.
The Constructing a Service series
This is the third post in the Constructing a Service series.
Previous posts covered:
• The Elements of a Service
• Choosing Hymns, Songs and Waiata
Following posts will cover:
• Writing Your Sermon
• Introducing the Theme / Story Time / Children’s Talk
• Designing / Typesetting the Order of Service
• Two sample services led by Philip
Nga mihi
Philip