In the Reformation the prayer of intercession was restored to the ordinary worship of the Lord’s Day and focused generally on five fundamental subjects:  (1) the civil authority, (2) the ministry, (3) those outside the Church, (4) those suffering from affliction, and (5) the growth in grace and perfection of the saints.

The Importance of Scripture in Prayer

It is essential that prayer be rich in Scripture: “Now, since we know that only the Spirit of God can know divine things, I Corinthians 2:10-11, and further that the Scriptures of God contain nothing but good, II Timothy3:16ff, therefore in the congregation of God we use neither songs nor prayers which are not based on Holy Scripture.” German (Strasbourg) Reformer, Martin Bucer in Gund und Ursach (or Reason and Cause, referred to in English as Basic Principles), 1524, p. 208.  Translation of Ottomar Frederick Cypris, Th.D. dissertation, 1971.

The Work of the Spirit in Prayer

The prayer is a profound work of the Holy Spirit in the believer and it functions as a means of grace for the believer: “The early Reformed theologians did not understand prayer as some sort of self-expression or as man’s response to God but primarily as the word of God in the hearts of his people.  It is the Spirit of God who prays within us.  Scriptural prayers such as the Psalms and the Lord’s Prayer and the Biblical admonitions to prayer such as I Timothy 2:1-8 were understood as prayers of the Spirit.  When we repeat these prayers it is the Spirit within us who cries, ‘Abba, Father.’  Prayer is a means of grace, a means by which God does something in our hearts.  We pray out of obedience to God.  We pray in the spirit because it is the Spirit who gives the prayer.” Hughes Oliphant Old, The Patristic Roots of Reformed Worship (1970), at 247.

Central Scriptures for the five subjects are:

(1) the civil authority: I Timothy 2:1-2 “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made… ² For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.”

(2) the ministry: Matthew 9:36-38 “But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.” Ephesians 6:19 – “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit…; And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,

(3) those outside the Church: I Timothy 2:1-2 “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;”

(4) those suffering from affliction: James 5:13-14 “Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.  Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:”  

(5) the sanctification – growth in grace and perfection – of the saints: Ephesians 6:18 “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.” Philippians 1:9-11 – “And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ.  Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.”

Testimony from the Fathers

“We always pray for all the emperors, that they might have a long life, a secure reign, a safe home, a strong army, a faithful senate, a serviceable people, a quiet world, and in fact all that either man or emperor could wish.” Tertullian (c. AD 155-22), Apology XXX, 4, Corpus christianorum, series latina (Turnhold, 1954), I, 141; in Old, Patristic Roots, 249.

“For all the remaining things which have been said, have been said by the priest: praise to God, the addressing of the prayer, the intercessions for the people, for the king, and for the rest….” Ambrose (c. AD 339-397),  De sacramentis (IV, 14), PL, XVI, 440; in Old, Patristic Roots, 248.

“…you hear the priest at the altar admonish the people to pray for the nonbelievers, that they be converted to believing, for the catechumens that they be stirred up to desire the new birth, and for the believers, that through faith they may persevere in that which they have begun….” Augustine (c.354-430), Epistle (refuting the Pelagians) CCXII, 2; in Old, Patristic Roots, 250.

Genevan (Calvin) Form of Church Prayers, 1542

“Almighty God, heavenly Father, thou hast promised to grant our requests which we make unto thee in the name of thy well-beloved Son, Jesus Christ our Lord: by whose teaching and that of His apostles we have also been taught to gather together in His name, with the promise that He will be in the midst of us, and will be our intercessor with thee, to obtain all those things for which we agree to ask on earth.

First we have thy commandment to pray for those whom thou hast established over us as rulers and governors; and then, for all the needs of thy people, and indeed of all mankind. Wherefore, with trust in thy holy doctrine and promises, and now especially that we are gathered here before thy face and in the name of thy Son, our Lord Jesus, we do heartily beseech thee, our gracious God and Father, in the name of our only Saviour and Mediator, to grant us the free pardon of our faults and offenses through thine infinite mercy, and to draw and lift up our thoughts and desires unto thee in such wise that we may be able to call upon thee with all our heart, yea agreeably to thy good pleasure and only-reasonable will.

Wherefore we pray thee, O heavenly Father, for all princes and lords, thy servants, to whom thou hast intrusted the administration of thy justice, and especially for the magistrates of this city. May it please thee to impart to them thy Spirit, who alone is good and truly sovereign, and daily increase in them the same, that with true faith they may acknowledge Jesus Christ, thy Son, our Lord, to be the King of kings and Lord of lords, as thou has given Him all power in heaven and earth. May they seek to serve Him and to exalt His kingdom in their government, guiding and ruling their subjects, who are the work of thy hands and the sheep of thy pasture, in accordance with thy good pleasure. So may all of us both here and throughout the earth, being kept in perfect peace and quietness, serve thee in all godliness and virtue, and being delivered and protected from the fear of our enemies, give praise unto thee all the days of our life.

We pray thee also, O faithful Father and Saviour, for all those whom thou hast ordained pastors of thy faithful people, to whom thou hast intrusted the care of souls and the ministry of thy holy Gospel. Direct and guide them by the Holy Spirit, that they be found faithful and loyal ministers of thy glory, having but one goal: that all the poor, wandering, and lost sheep be gathered and restored to the Lord Jesus Christ, the chief Shepherd and Prince of bishops, so that they may grow and increase in Him daily unto all righteousness and holiness. Wilt thou, on the contrary, deliver all the churches from the mouths of ravening wolves and from all mercenaries who seek their own ambition or profit, but never the exaltation of thy holy name alone, nor the salvation of thy flock.

We pray thee, now, O most gracious and merciful Father, for all men everywhere. As it is thy will to be acknowledged the Saviour of the whole world, through the redemption wrought by thy Son Jesus Christ, grant that those who are still estranged from the knowledge of Him, being in the darkness and captivity of error and ignorance, may be brought by the illumination of thy Holy Spirit and the preaching of thy Gospel to the straight way of salvation, which is to know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. Grant that those whom thou hast already visited with thy grace and enlightened with the knowledge of thy Word may grow in goodness day by day, enriched by the spiritual blessings: so that all together we may worship thee with one heart and one voice, giving honor and reverence to thy Christ, our Master, King, and Lawgiver.

Likewise, O God of all comfort, we commend unto thee all those whom thou dost visit and chasten with cross and tribulation, whether by poverty, prison, sickness, or banishment, or any other misery of the body or affliction of the spirit. Enable them to perceive and understand thy fatherly affection which doth chasten them unto their correction that thy may turn unto thee with their whole heart, and having turned, receive full consolation and deliverance from every ill.

Finally, O God and Father, grant also to those who are gathered here in the name of thy Son Jesus to hear His Word (and to keep His holy Supper), that we may acknowledge truly, without hypocrisy, what perdition is ours by nature, what condemnation we deserve and heap upon ourselves from day to day by our unhappy and disordered life. Wherefore, seeing that there is nothing of good in us and that our flesh and blood cannot inherit thy kingdom, may we yield ourselves completely, with all our love and steadfast faith, to thy dear Son, our Lord, the only Saviour and Redeemer:

To the end that He, dwelling in us, may mortify our old Adam, renewing us for a better life, *by which thy name, according as it is holy and worthy, may be exalted and glorified everywhere and in all places, and that we with all creatures may give thee true and perfect obedience, even as thine angels and heavenly messengers have no desire but to fulfill thy commandments. Thus may thy will be done without any contradiction, and all men apply themselves to serve and please thee, renouncing their own will and all the desires of their flesh. *In this manner, mayest thou have lordship and dominion over us all, and may we learn more and more each day to submit and subject ourselves to thy majesty. In such wise, mayest thou be King and Ruler over all the earth, guiding thy people by the sceptre of thy Word and the power of thy Spirit, confounding thine enemies by the might of thy truth and righteousness.  And thus may every power and principality which stands against thy glory be destroyed and abolished day by day, till the fulfillment of thy kingdom be manifest, when thou shalt appear in judgment.

Grant that we who walk in the love and fear of thy name may be nourished by thy goodness; and supply us with all things necessary and expedient to eat our bread in peace. Then, seeing that thou carest for us, we may better acknowledge thee as our Father and await all good gifts from thy hand, withdrawing our trust from all creatures, to place it entirely in thee and thy goodness.

And since in this mortal life we are poor sinners, so full of weakness that we fail continually and stray from the right way, may it please thee to pardon our faults by which we are beholden to thy judgment; and through that remission, deliver us from the obligation of eternal death in which we stand. Be pleased, therefore, to turn aside thy wrath from us, neither impute to us the iniquity which is in us; even as we, by reason of thy commandment, forget the injuries done to us, and in instead of seeking vengeance, solicit good for our enemies.

Finally, may it please thee to sustain us by thy power for the time to come, that we may not stumble because of the weakness of our flesh. And especially as we of ourselves are so frail that we are not able to stand fast for a single moment, while, on the other hand, we are continually beset and assailed by so many enemies—the devil, the world, sin, and our own flesh never ceasing to make war upon us—wilt thou strengthen us by thy Holy Spirit and arm us with thy grace, that we may be able to resist all temptations firmly, and preserve in this spiritual battle until we shall attain full victory, to triumph at last in thy kingdom with our Captain and Protector, Jesus Christ our Lord.”

In Thompson, Liturgies of the Western Church (1980), p. 199-202.

The following are commended as good examples of biblically grounded prayers of intercession:

7/14/24 @ 12:20-17:00 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG7R4tAPMHE

6/30/24 @ 15:56-20:17

6/23/24 @ 13:48-19:12

6/16/24 @ 18:41-23:04

6/9/20 @ 21:00-25:08

5/26/24 @ 23:40-27:54

5/19/24 @ 20:52-26:00

See also: Hughes Oliphant Old, The Patristic Roots of Reformed Worship (1970), p. 240ff.; Terry L. Johnson, Worshipping with Calvin (2014), p. 108ff.; Genevan Psalter of 1524; Strasbourg Psalter of 1526; Augsburg service of morning prayer, 1529; Strasbourg Psalter of 1537; See also Ulrich Surgant, Manuale Curatorum (1516).