bidding prayer

noun

1. the formal petitionary prayer, said especially in the Anglican Church immediately before the sermon.

2. an intercessory prayer for persons living and dead, said in English churches up to about the middle of the 16th century.

Word History and Origins

Origin of bidding prayer¹

First recorded in 1745–55

Example Sentences

When he said, for instance, on hearing that the numbers of a rival college were diminishing, that he had heard that emigration was increasing among the lower classes, or that he had never realised what was the full force of the expression in the bidding prayer, "the inferior clergy," till he saw the minor canons of a northern cathedral—the fancy, though irresistibly tickled by the collocation, will on reflection recognise the cruelty of the expressions.

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At the University sermons, and also on occasions of more than usual solemnity, the Bidding Prayer is always used.

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Bidding Prayer.—The 55th canon of the English Church in 1603 enjoined a Bidding Prayer in the form of an Exhortation to be used before all sermons, each petition or exhortation beginning, "Let us pray for," or "Ye shall pray for," to which the people responded.

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The Litany and, also, the Prayer for the Church Militant in the Communion Office bear some resemblance to the Bidding Prayer, especially in the enumeration of the objects prayed for.

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The Bidding Prayer is now very rarely used, although attempts have been made to revive its use, especially in purely preaching services.

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