Article by Sam Ferguson
In a town like Washington, it seems that even the Sunday Prayers of the People can be politicized. Due to this, I want to clarify the non-personal and non-partisan factors that determine what and who we pray for, and why we pray for certain leaders by name. Both Scripture and tradition set a precedent for praying not only for our spiritual leaders, but also for those in public authority. This is why, as we’ll see more clearly below, our Anglican tradition guides us to pray for the sitting United States President each Sunday, and by name.
Let’s begin by reminding ourselves what prayer is and is not. By prayer we hallow (honor) God’s Holy Name, seek His kingdom, and ask that our will and the wills of others be aligned to His (Matt 6:9–13). Prayer is holy, drawing us into communion with our Maker. Therefore, prayer should never be used for political statements or partisan championing. Moreover, naming a leader in prayer is no endorsement of their competency. Rather, as is the case when praying for any imperfect human, prayer acknowledges one’s needs: we pray for strength, wisdom and righteousness for someone precisely because they lack it.
Therefore, prayer should be undertaken thoughtfully and reverentially. And as our Anglican tradition informs us, along with prayer’s role in our private lives, we are also to pray corporately and publicly.
The Bible tells a decidedly communal story, with God’s people regularly relating to Him as a gathered body. Israel, collectively, groans, worships and sings prayer to the Lord (Exod 4:31, 12:27, 15:1ff.). Jesus instructs us to pray using plural pronouns, “Our Father,” assuming a communal setting, and in Acts we find the new community “devoting themselves to prayer together” (Acts 1:14). Scripture calls us to pray corporately and publicly, which is why we do so every Sunday.
How do we then determine what to pray and for whom to pray for? Paul asks churches to pray for their pastoral leaders (Phil 1:19; Rom 15:30), the spread of the Gospel (Col 4:3–4), and for all things and at all times (Eph 6:18). He also specifies prayer for public leaders, “for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions” (1 Tim 2:1–2).
Drawing from these and an array of other biblical passages, the Anglican Book of Common Prayer instructs corporate prayer around six areas: the Church, the nation and those in authority, the welfare of the world, concerns of the local community, those suffering or in trouble, and prayers of thanks for the lives of the departed.
The tradition of praying for “the nation and those in authority” is therefore a biblical (1 Tim 2:2) and old practice. It developed in Anglican tradition to address the highest-ranking public leader who was “in authority,” and by name. For example, a Book of Common Prayer printed in London in 1734—the same year The Falls Church Anglican was founded—instructs the congregation to pray:
Almighty God, whose kingdom is everlasting, and power infinite; Have mercy upon the whole Church, and so rule the heart of thy chosen servant George, our King and Governor, that He (knowing whose Minister he is) may above all things seek thy honor and glory; and that we and all his Subject may faithfully serve, honor, and humbly obey him, in thee and for thee….
As time went by, American Anglicans were understandably disinclined to pray for the British Monarch, and therefore augmented American versions of the Book of Common Prayer as follows:
For our President, for the leaders of the nations, and for all in authority, let us pray to the Lord (BCP, 1979), or, For our nation, for those in authority, and for all in public service (BCP, 2019).
Two further observations are noteworthy, and move us toward clarifying who we pray for and how we address them. First, in keeping with the English tradition, public leaders are prayed for by their given (first) name, not their last name. One’s given name was traditionally understood as their “Christian name,” the name spoken aloud at their baptism—it is still our practice to baptize by one’s given, not family, name—and is what distinguished them from other members of their family. Therefore, Anglicans traditionally pray on Sundays for the President, as with their spiritual leaders, by first name: “we pray for our President, Barack,” or, “… our President, George;” “We pray for our Bishop, John.”
The second observation is that our tradition signals praying for one leader by name, either the monarch or president. All other leaders are assumed in “for the leaders of the nations,” or “those in authority.” It is not wrong to include by name other leaders; however, precedent does not require it. Therefore, Anglicans in the United States typically pray by name only for the sitting President, that individual who is highest in public authority.
When I started as Rector at The Falls Church Anglican in June of 2019, we were praying for both our President and Vice President, and by first and last name. Since then I have shifted us back to the traditional use of first name only. In the weeks ahead, we will be further aligning with tradition by focusing our prayers for the sitting President by name, with all other elected officials included within the mention of “other leaders.”
I hope these biblical and historical reflections clarify the non-personal and non-partisan basis for our prayers. Prayer is holy, and God hears our hearts, not just our mouths. In keeping with precedent set by Scripture and our tradition, at The Falls Church Anglican we will continue to pray reverentially and expectantly each Sunday for our sitting President, whoever they may be, knowing no leader is sufficient unto themselves, nor outside the reach of God’s mercy.
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