The Invocation (or Gathering Prayer)

The invocation calls upon God to be present to the worshiping community. The word invocation is derived from the Latin invocatio and means the act or process of petitioning for help or support. In worship there are three times when a prayer of invocation is appropriate: (1) in the Entrance, when we ask God to be present in our worship; (2) in the Service of the Word, when we ask God to be present through preaching (sometimes called the prayer of illumination); (3) in the prayers of the Table, when we ask God to send the Holy Spirit upon the people and gifts of bread and wine for the confirmation of faith in truth (called the epiclesis). The Entrance invocation calls on God to be present to the worshiping community and usually follows the call to worship. It is very brief and is often preceded by the traditional salutation to prayer: The Lord be with you. And also with you. Let us pray. The salutation engages the people in prayer and expresses the dialogic nature of worship. I…