The Collect/Prayer of the Day is one of those moments in the service that gets overlooked. In some congregations this is said by the pastor/priest/minister. In other congregations, the entire congregation participates.
The collect of the day is generally a summation of the worship service. It tries to give thematic focus to the day. The collect is kind of like the 60 second intro before the theme song for a sitcom. The early seasons of Seinfeld were great at this. Jerry would appear on stage doing stand-up comedy and his jokes were always connected to the themes the show was about to unfold over the next half-hour. This brief intro and summation reminds you what you've come to participate in. It gives you a preview of what's to come in the show. Likewise, the prayer of the day gives you a preview of what's to come in the readings and the sermon. It sets the tone as quickly as possible for the service.
Collects are made up of five parts. Not all five parts are always included in every a collect.
It begins with the address. We name who we are talking to. Examples include:
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Lord God,
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Almighty God,
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Lord Jesus Christ,
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Heavenly Father,
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Holy Spirit,
The second part is an acknowledgement of God's power, knowledge, or ability to do anything and everything. Examples might include:
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You are the author of life.
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You are the Good Shepherd.
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You have given us every good and perfect gift.
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By Your providence the world is sustained.
The third part is the bid or the petition. It's the thing we're actually asking for. Examples might include:
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Grant to your people the peace that passes all understanding,
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Protect all of the sheep of Your flock, seek those who are lost, and bind up those who are injured,
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Strengthen us to share Your good gifts with our neighbors,
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Help us to be good stewards of Your creation,
The fourth part is the result we desire from the petition. Examples might include:
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So that we may be able to serve You with pure minds.
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So that all Your sheep from every tribe, nation, language and people will praise Your name.
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So that they may be blessed by Your grace and generosity.
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So that together with all creatures, we might live in peace and quietness.
And the fifth part is a conclusion that typically names the other two persons of the Trinity not being addressed. The Father is most frequently addressed, so it usually goes:
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through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
And that's it. Can you guess what is coming in the readings based on these example prayers? Maybe, and maybe not. But hopefully if you were to go back and look at the prayer of the day after the readings and the sermon you would be able to see the common themes being drawn for the day.
