Invocation

Heard in the wild

The longer version

What it means

The invocation is the prayer that opens a service: a minister or lay leader asks God to be present, to bless the worship, and to receive the people. It's usually brief — a minute or two — and often ends with the Lord's Prayer. In the order of worship it comes after the call to worship and the first hymn, and before the confession or the readings. It's the church's "please come," spoken to God, at the start.

The word also describes the opening prayer at public events: legislatures, city councils, graduations, sports banquets, and military ceremonies often begin with an invocation given by a local clergy member.

Why people say it

Christians believe that where two or three gather in Jesus' name, He's there — and the invocation says so out loud, asking Him to be. It sets the service apart from a meeting. In civic settings the invocation is a leftover of a more religious public life, and it's kept, argued over, and adapted; clergy asked to give one usually keep it short and broad.

How to respond

In church, bow your head or don't, and say "amen" at the end if you like; the invocation is over quickly. If you're asked to give an invocation at a public event and you're not sure how, the etiquette is: brief, grateful, inclusive, and non-sectarian, ending with "amen." If you're in the audience for a civic invocation and don't share the faith, standing quietly is the usual courtesy, and sitting is also fine.

If you hear it in different churches

Presbyterian, Methodist, Lutheran, Reformed, and Baptist churches have a named invocation early in the service. Anglicans have the "collect for purity" and opening collects, which function the same way. Catholics have the opening prayer (the collect) after the penitential rite. Orthodox begin with "Blessed is the kingdom…" and litanies. Evangelical and Pentecostal churches have an opening prayer without the formal name.

Where does “Invocation” come from?

Solomon's prayer at the temple dedication (2 Chronicles 6) is the great biblical invocation — "hear from heaven, Your dwelling place." The Latin invocare, to call upon, gave the church the word; medieval Mass began with prayers invoking God's presence. Protestant orders of worship from the 1500s onward placed a named prayer of invocation near the start. Civic invocations in America date to the First Continental Congress (1774), and the Supreme Court upheld legislative prayer in 1983 and 2014, which is why the practice continues and continues to be debated.

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