Now that Rick Warren has been selected to deliver the invocation (and a firestorm has ensued), there’s another important question: what kind of prayer will he deliver?
Billy Graham, who has done quite a few of these, would usually close “in the name” of the Prince of Peace or some other allusion to Jesus.
In 2001, his son, Franklin Graham, took a different approach, asking the listeners to “acknowledge You alone as our Lord, our Savior and Redeemer. We pray this in the name of the Father, and of the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.”

Many people (myself included) believed that an official prayer, calling on the American people to acknowledge Jesus alone as “our Lord” violated the First Amendment and the spirit of religious pluralism.
Given the controversy over Warren’s remarks on gay marriage, an exclusivist prayer at this inaugural would be particularly inappropriate.
Two other models were presented at the Democratic National Convention. Evangelical preacher Donald Miller said, “In Jesus name I pray”, with an emphasis on the “I.” That way he was able to be true to his faith while recognizing that others in the audience would not be praying in Jesus’s name.
Joel Hunter, another evangelical pastor, tried a novel technique of asking the crowd to fill in the blank at the appropriate moment with the nameof whatever diety they pray to. I thought it was a pretty innovative approach but probably a bit chatty for an inaugural prayer.
Warren needs to stay true to his faith. But he also needs to offer inspiration and spiritual wisdom to all Americans, not just Christians.
Adapted from the Wall Street Journal.