Prayer with acoustic intro - Brillant !!!
 

I love this ! They have to keep this if Richie comes back. Specially the way Jon sings the first part of the chorus. The only bad thing about this is Jon's completely nasal voice.

Did this proceed with the second verse or the first verse again?

First verse again.

I'm pretty sure it will stay after Richie comes back, just like the "just me and you" ad-libs in I'll Be There For You that Jon brought back in 2011 during Richie's first absence remained when they hit Europe.

To my knowledge, the acoustic intro was first (and only) done in Denmark in 2008, on that day Jon and Richie were inducted into songwriters' hall of fame, so made this special version of Prayer, dedicated to Desmond Child. It's a bit different, as it started from the bridge (like in acapella), not from the first verse, but the basic idea is the same. It only returned in Edmonton 5 years later for a second time! Correct if I'm wrong. Check the video, shitty audio, but that's the best I could find. There used to be a better quality version, but it was probably removed not too long ago, cause it used to be one of my favorite performances of this song. I'm really glad that now we have a chance to hear the acoustic intro in much better quality!

Hmm.. I kinda like the intro of the crowd singing without Jon a bit better.

It returned in Calgary the day before. There isn't a better quality version from Calgary, but there is a much much better quality version from Edmonton.

Should have been really brave and just kicked straight into the drums and second verse.