This Is Our Prayer: Meaning, History, and Theology
"This is our prayer"
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Story
This Is Our Prayer is a short United Methodist prayer response set to Sally Ann Rhodes Ahner’s 1983 tune OUR PRAYER. Published in The United Methodist Hymnal in 1989, it gives congregations a concise sung way to affirm communal intercessions.
Overview
This Is Our Prayer is a very brief liturgical prayer response rather than a multi-stanza hymn. In The United Methodist Hymnal it appears as service music for prayer responses, giving a congregation a simple way to affirm petitions that have just been spoken on behalf of the gathered church.
Its spiritual force comes from function more than from verbal development. The response allows many worshipers to make a shared prayer their own, turning listening into congregational assent. Because the text is deliberately minimal, it can follow pastoral prayer, intercessions, prayers of the people, or another communal petition without competing with the content of the prayer itself.
The setting is Sally Ann Rhodes Ahner’s tune OUR PRAYER, composed in 1983 and published in The United Methodist Hymnal in 1989. The uploaded record incorrectly treated the item as though it had several verses; the documented form is a compact prayer response.
Historical Background
Sally Ann Rhodes Ahner composed OUR PRAYER in 1983. Her work at that time stood within a broader vocation that combined conservatory-level music training, teaching, performance, theological study, and practical worship leadership. She studied piano and organ at Salem College, completed graduate work in music theory at Eastman, and later studied theology at Vanderbilt Divinity School while also working as an intern in worship for the United Methodist General Board of Discipleship.
Ahner’s service music was created for actual congregational use rather than as concert repertoire. Discipleship Ministries later noted that service music she wrote in this period continued to be sung at West End United Methodist Church in Nashville. OUR PRAYER belongs to that liturgical stream: short, singable music designed to let an assembly respond together within the flow of prayer.
The setting entered The United Methodist Hymnal in 1989 as no. 487, under the title This Is Our Prayer. Hymnary identifies the tune as OUR PRAYER, attributes the music to Ahner, gives the tune date as 1983, classifies the meter as irregular, and records E major for the hymnal instance. The same source lists the item under prayer, trust, hope, and service music for prayer responses.
The text itself is exceptionally short. Hymnary presents only a brief congregational response and does not name a separate text author. This means the uploaded material describing multiple stanzas, mission themes, and a developing hymn narrative is not supported by the actual work. The safest historical description is therefore that Ahner composed the musical response in 1983 and that the item was published in the 1989 United Methodist hymnal, while separate authorship and dating of the tiny verbal formula are not established by the consulted sources.
The copyright record also requires care. Hymnary gives a 1989 United Methodist Publishing House copyright for the tune, and current church licensing information continues to treat the musical item as protected. HymnInfo’s public_domain field, however, concerns the text only. Because the consulted evidence does not independently establish a text author, a text-specific copyright notice, or a secure public-domain basis for the exact wording, the text-only status remains unresolved rather than being inferred from the tune’s copyright.
United Methodist worship resources continue to recommend no. 487 as a response after intercessory prayer. This documents an ongoing liturgical use more accurately than describing the piece as a conventional hymn with verses or as a broadly circulated congregational song.
Biblical Foundations
No consulted source identifies a particular biblical passage as the documented inspiration for This Is Our Prayer, so the following connections are editorial rather than claims about Ahner’s compositional intent.
Matthew 6:9–13 provides the clearest general foundation for communal Christian prayer: Jesus gives his disciples a prayer voiced in the plural, teaching the community to address God together. Philippians 4:6–7 similarly joins petition and thanksgiving with trust in God’s peace.
First Timothy 2:1–2 explicitly calls the church to petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings for others, which closely matches the response’s liturgical placement after corporate intercession. John 17:20–23 adds Jesus’ own prayer for the unity of those who will believe, making it a useful supporting passage when the response is used after prayers for the church.
Verse Explanation
This Is Our Prayer does not have a sequence of verses to interpret. The documented work is a short prayer response built around one compact verbal formula, with an expanded form addressing God directly.
The musical and liturgical movement is therefore one of assent rather than narrative progression. The congregation receives the petitions that have already been offered and answers by identifying those petitions as its own prayer. There are no verified second or third stanzas, and the uploaded “null” verse placeholders are not part of the hymn.
Theological Reflection
The principal theological theme is corporate prayer. A sung response allows the congregation to move from hearing someone else pray to actively owning the petition together. The plural language matters: prayer is presented as an action of the gathered body, not only as a private devotional exercise.
Its brevity also expresses dependence. The response does not attempt to explain the needs that have already been named; it simply places them before God. In that sense the music supports humility, trust, and attentiveness rather than adding another layer of argument.
The piece is therefore best understood liturgically. Its theology emerges from its place within intercession: the church listens, prays, assents, and entrusts its petitions to God. Claims about mission, thanksgiving, or unity can be appropriate in particular prayers, but they should not be treated as explicit themes developed by the tiny text itself.
Church Impact
Hymnary currently documents the piece in one hymnal, The United Methodist Hymnal of 1989, so its circulation should not be overstated. Its importance is more specifically denominational and liturgical: it is embedded in a major United Methodist hymnal as service music for prayer.
United Methodist Discipleship Ministries includes This Is Our Prayer among suggested sung responses following intercessory prayer in an order for midday praise and prayer. Congregational bulletins also show the item being used after pastoral prayer. These examples document continued practical use of the piece in worship.
Its contribution is therefore characteristic of effective service music: it gives a congregation a memorable, repeatable way to participate in prayer without requiring a full hymn text. That focused function is more accurately described than broad claims of widespread ecumenical influence.
Musical Notes
The tune is OUR PRAYER by Sally Ann Rhodes Ahner, composed in 1983. Hymnary classifies it as irregular meter and records the 1989 United Methodist Hymnal instance in E major. The music belongs to the category of short service music rather than a strophic hymn tune intended to carry several verses.
Ahner’s setting was designed for congregational participation in a liturgical context. Its compact scale allows a worshiping assembly to respond after spoken prayer without interrupting the larger movement of the service. The United Methodist Hymnal places it among other prayer responses, and later denominational worship orders continue to recommend it in that role.
The musical setting is separately copyrighted; Hymnary identifies © 1989 The United Methodist Publishing House. No ChordPro material is added to this record because the text-only inclusion gate remains unresolved. The tune’s copyright does not determine the HymnInfo public_domain field.
Application
- Use the response after pastoral prayer, prayers of the people, or a series of intercessions so the congregation can make the petitions its own.
- Teach worshipers that a short sung response can be genuine prayer rather than a transition or musical filler.
- Pair the response with 1 Timothy 2:1–2 when teaching about the church’s responsibility to pray for others.
- Let the simplicity of the response encourage attentive listening to the spoken prayers that precede it.
- Avoid presenting the piece as a multi-stanza hymn; its purpose is concise congregational assent.
Discussion Questions
- What changes when a congregation sings a response after hearing someone lead the prayers?
- How can a very short musical phrase function as genuine corporate prayer?
- What does the plural language of Christian prayer teach about the church as a praying community?
- How do Matthew 6:9–13 and 1 Timothy 2:1–2 shape our understanding of communal prayer?
- Why is it important to distinguish service music from a conventional multi-stanza hymn?
Teaching Tips
- Introduce the piece as a liturgical prayer response, not as a three-verse hymn.
- Place it immediately after spoken intercessions so learners experience its intended function rather than only discussing it.
- Read 1 Timothy 2:1–2 and identify the different kinds of prayer named there.
- Explain that Sally Ahner composed OUR PRAYER in 1983 and that it entered The United Methodist Hymnal in 1989.
- Use the piece to demonstrate how concise service music can increase congregational participation in prayer.
Sources
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Hymnary.org — The United Methodist Hymnal 1989 no. 487; text form, OUR PRAYER, Sally Ahner, 1983 tune date, E major, prayer-response classification, and copyright
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Hymnary.org — OUR PRAYER tune authority; Sally Ahner, 1983, irregular meter, E major, 1989 copyright, and single hymnal instance
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Hymnary.org — This Is Our Prayer text authority; brief response form, no separate author credit, and United Methodist hymnal instance
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Discipleship Ministries of The United Methodist Church — Two New Advent Pieces for Choir and Congregation; Ahner education, teaching, theological study, worship internship, and service-music work
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Vanderbilt University — Winter/Spring 2024 Obituaries; Sally Ann Rhodes Ahner, Blair School teaching career and death on August 1, 2023
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Eastman School of Music — Theory alumni; Sally Ahner, M.A. in music theory, 1974
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Discipleship Ministries of The United Methodist Church — An Order for Midday Praise and Prayer; recommends UMH 487 as a sung response after intercessions
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United Methodist General Board of Discipleship — The United Methodist Hymnal: Hymns Composed or Arranged by Women; Sally Ahner, born 1948, composer of no. 487
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U.S. Copyright Office — How Long Does Copyright Protection Last?
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Lawphil — Republic Act No. 8293, Section 213; Philippine copyright term
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World English Bible Classic — Matthew 6
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World English Bible Classic — Philippians 4
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World English Bible Classic — 1 Timothy 2
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World English Bible Classic — John 17
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Lyrics
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Sheet Music
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