Common Prayer.--Bishop Whitehead has given the following explanation
of this term: "Common Prayer is so called in distinction from
private or {66} special prayer. It comprehends those needs and
expresses those religious feelings which are common to all God's
children who come together to worship. So we make our common
supplications, confess our common sins, and offer our common
sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving, of alms and devotion." (See
WORSHIP, also PRAYER BOOK.)