We come to the final part of the Lord’s Prayer: ‘For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours, now and for ever. Amen.’ These words don’t appear in the Gospels as they were added later. They are, however, words that can be found elsewhere in the Bible.
These final words do three main things …
… First, they turn our hearts and minds back to God after having prayed for our concerns and needs. Ultimately, the aim of prayer has to be that God gets the glory because it’s his kingdom rule we want and his power that will get it for us.
Second, we leave our requests with God as an act of faith. Faith isn’t about trying to think harder; faith isn’t about persuading God over to what we want. Faith is surrender to him; it’s accepting and cooperating with his will and plan for our lives and for the world.
Third, the final word of all is ‘Amen’, which means ‘so be it’. Within this small word come two ideas which are difficult to hold together. God has granted us the wonderful gift and privilege of prayer, the ability to change the way things are. At the same time, prayer is offered in accordance and obedience to his will. Prayer ‘works’ when these two things come together; when God’s heart and ours are one, and is confidently expressed in the concluding ‘amen’.
As a way of finishing this series of blogs on the Lord’s Prayer, ask yourself – which one has changed the way you think or the way you pray. Have you been challenged in any way? Have you been reassured in any way?
You may be used to reciting the Lord’s Prayer, for example as part of a church service. Remember, though, that Jesus gave us the Lord’s Prayer in answer to a request from his disciples of how to pray more than what to pray. Let the words lead you deeper into how you shape your whole prayer life.
As a way forward from here, perhaps you might consider doing what may people do – keeping a prayer diary. It could be on paper or saved electronically. Make a note of what you’ve prayed for, and from time to time go back over what you’ve written and add in any answer you’ve received. You may be surprised!
