“We beseech thee, Master, to be our helper and protector. Save the afflicted among us; have mercy on the lowly; raise up the fallen; appear to the needy; heal the ungodly; restore the wanderers of thy people; feed the hungry; ransom our prisoners; raise up the sick; comfort the faint-hearted.”
—Clement of Rome (died, c. 100)
Source: Clement of Rome, Prayer from First Epistle to the Corinthians, in Prayers of the Early Church, ed. J. Manning Potts (Nashville: The Upper Room, 1953), 15, https://www.gutenberg.org/files/48247/48247-h/48247-h.htm.
Question for reflection: In what ways does intercessory prayer serve as a form of spiritual communication that both expresses communal empathy and invites divine action—and how might this shape the way we speak on behalf of others in leadership or ministry?