"Just the thought of praying out loud scares me to death!" If that sentiment describes you, take heart, you're not alone, and there is help!
Before I begin, let me say a few things: First, public prayer begins in private prayer. If you would lead others in public prayer, it helps to be comfortable on your knees in private prayer. Second, it is appropriate to pray about your public prayers. Pray that the Holy Spirit would guide you as you pray publically. Pray that you would minister to God through praise and adoration; pray that you would minister to the people through confession and intercession.
As you consider your prayer, visualize those you will pray for and with. Do you know their needs and fears, hopes and dreams? If you were in their situation, how would you want someone to pray for you?
Above all, let God guide you as you pray. It is all right to write out a the prayer before hand, if you know in advance that you will be leading in prayer. It is all right not to. Either way, the most important thing is to follow the leading of the Spirit.
In the worship setting, the different prayers have different functions. For example, the invocation, or opening prayer, has a different "job" than the benediction, or closing prayer. The prayer of dedication, or offertory prayer, has still another function. The pastoral prayer, also sometimes called the presider's prayer, plays still a different role in worship. They're all prayer, they're all important, but they're all different. Knowing what each one does in worship, how it functions, will help you as you consider how and what to pray.
A word of caution: you will need to adapt the prayer examples below to fit your own personal style of prayer and your situation.
The invocation is the first prayer that is offered in the worship setting. Prayers of invocation help the people lift up their hearts and minds to God, to enter into God's presence; they don't ask God to come into our presence. The reason for this is simple: the Bible tells us that where two or more are gathered together, God is in their midst (Matthew 18:20). God is already with us as we gather to worship.
Lord, you have invited "all who labor and are heavy laden" to come unto you, and so we have. We come this morning to worship you. We come looking for a word of comfort, encouragement, hope, and challenge. Open our eyes and ears to your message this morning that we might be renewed and transformed more closely into your image. Amen
The prayer of dedication is the prayer said over the offerings. This prayer usually asks a blessing on the gifts, that they might fulfill God's purposes and on the givers as well. In this prayer, it is appropriate to remember that not every gift that is dedicated to God will be monitary. Gifts of time, talent, and lives are also gifts that deserve to be remembered and blessed.
Giver of every good and perfect gift, in gratitude for you love and blessing, we bring offerings of thanksgiving. We dedicate them and ourselves to your service. Through these gifts may the hungry be fed, the thirsty soothed, the naked clothed, the lonely comforted, and the captives loosed. Bless them and us that both might be agents of your Good News. Amen
The pastoral prayer is the "long prayer" offered by the minister (or presider) on behalf of the people. One helpful way to think about the components or framework of this prayer is through the use of the acronym "ACTS": Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication. Here are some definitions and examples:
Adoration expresses praise to God for who God is: almighty, loving, gracious, merciful, just, righteous.
Confession: When we consider God's perfection, love and mercy, we find that we have come far short of God's standard for us. We confess our sins and ask for God's forgiveness.
Thanksgiving is an expression of gratitude for what God does: forgives, brings salvation, comforts, abides with us, provides for us.
Supplication: We are grateful, but we are also people in need. We pray for ourselves, our families, friends, congregation, country, world.
The basic components can be put together as above, or a text of scripture can be used as the framework. One that I sometimes use as the basis for prayer is Psalm 8 (the psalm text is italicized, some of my prayer thoughts are in regular type):
"O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is thy name in all the earth! Thou whose glory above the heavens is chanted by the mouth of babes and infants, thou hast founded a bulwark because of thy foes, to still the enemy and the avenger." Truly your name is above all names! Your praises are sung by brooks and mountains, wind and rain, birds and animals, sun and stars. How grateful we are to be able to join with the heavenly host in praising you!
"When I look at thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars which thou hast established; what is man that thou art mindful of him, and the son of man that thou dost care for him?" God of majesty and power, when we consider you, we are overwhelmed that you know and love each one of us, numbering even the hairs of our heads. We thank you for caring us and for providing for us, for protecting us, and for providing salvation for us in Jesus Christ.
"Yet thou hast made [us a] little less than [the angels], and dost crown [us] with glory and honor. Thou hast given [us] dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under [our] feet, all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the sea." You have called us to be co-creators with you and entrusted us with the world and with each other. Yet we confess, we have not taken you trust and our stewardship seriously. We have trampled and defiled the earth and wounded each other through our lack of love and our apathy. We ask your forgiveness for our sins, for the harmful and evil things we have done, and for the good we have neglected to do. God of second chances, cleanse us from these things and restore unto us the joy of a right relationship with you. As we are reconciled to you, empower us to reconcile with those around us.
As we consider the people you have placed in our lives, their names and faces come to our minds and we are reminded of their needs. We pray your healing touch on those that are ill. For those who are facing difficult decisions, we ask your wisdom. For the parents among us, we ask your guidance. [You will want to continue by adding the particular needs of your people. Be specific!]
Even though we are an imperfect people living in an imperfect world, we give thanks that imperfection and incompleteness will not have the final word. As your people, we are thankful for redeeming, reconciling presence in our lives. We thank you and praise you for your mercy and love. "O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is thy name in all the earth!" Amen
This prayer is said before the reading of the scripture or the sermon. It asks God to open the hearts and minds of the people to receive the message that God has for them.
Before the scripture reading, a prayer like this is appropriate:
Lord, your word is a light unto our feet and a lamp unto our path. Open our eyes to receive your light.
Or, this before the sermon:
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts together be acceptable in your sight, our Lord and our redeemer.
The benediction is a blessing on the people given to the people as they depart the worship service. Often the benediction is a short passage of scripture. An familiar example can be found in Numbers 6:24-26:
The LORD bless you and keep you;
the LORD make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you;
the LORD lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.
Here are other examples from scripture: Jude 24-25; Romans 15:13; Ephesians 3:30-31; II Corinthians 13:13; II Thessalonians 3:16, 18; II Peter 3:15.
The benediction does not have to be scripture. It could be one of your own:
May God bless and guide you as you leave this place and keep you safe until we meet again. Depart in the power of the Holy Spirit, the knowledge of God's abiding care, and the eternal presence of Christ our Lord."
It could also be a benediction from Christian tradition, like the Irish blessing:
May the road rise up to meet you,
May the wind be ever at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon you
And the rain fall soft upon your fields
And Until we meet again,
May God hold you in the hollow of his hand.