Today we are wrapping some thoughts on the Lord’s Prayer. It is a beautiful prayer, a way to praise God and a way to be reminded of all that He does for us. It is the prayer that He taught us, so we should not recite it mindlessly. Instead, we need to consider what it is we are saying as we say it.

What we know as the conclusion of the Lord’s Prayer is for Thine is the kingdom and the power and glory forever and ever. Those words are not found in the earliest manuscripts of the Bible. They do occur in some of the later copies of the Greek texts, and as a footnote in Matthew’s Gospel. However, these words are a fitting close to this prayer, an ascription of praise to our God, declaring that He is our King, that He alone has the power to hear us and answer, and that He deserves all glory and praise. They echo one of the doxologies found in the book of Revelation:

Revelation 5:13 “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!”

God is the King

He is the one who is in control of everything, and we should let Him be in control of our lives. Yet there are so many temptations for us to want to take charge, both in the church and outside the church. Instead of letting God be in control and taking our instruction from His Word, everyone seems to want to do what is right in his or her own eyes.

This is the attitude of our world that is taking over the way people think. That works against letting God be the one in control. And perhaps that is why Jesus wants us to remind ourselves and each other in this prayer: “The Kingdom is yours, Father. You are the King. We need you to be in control, to rule over us with your love and your mercy and your kindness and your forgiveness. We know you have our best interests at heart, so help us submit to Your Will! Be our King, and help us to be your willing, obedient subjects.”

We can pray with that mindset because we have seen just how much God cares about us. We see it in the face of Jesus. We see it in our Savior living a sinless life for us. We see it in Christ crucified and risen again.  Your King cares about you.

God has the Power

We see the power of God in so many ways – the Creation of this world, the awesome might of natural forces, the miracle of birth. Our Lord Jesus has all that power at His disposal, and yet He was willing to set it aside in order to come live as one of us and accomplish our forgiveness.

There are glimpses of that power throughout His ministry. Changing water to wine. Healing a blind man and some lepers. Raising a few folks from the dead. Forgiving sins. Our God is an awesome God, and His power is far beyond anything we can imagine.

The awesome power of God is seen most clearly in what transpired on Easter morning. An angel rolled the stone away, the guards fell down as though they were dead, and Jesus was raised from death to life. His victory over sin and death and the grave was complete. And He wants you to share in that victory.

God deserves the glory

He deserves to be honored, praised, and worshipped because of who He is and what He has done. The word “glory” is one that we know what it means but it can be hard to put into words. It is describing greatness, splendor, worth, tremendous value. But there is even more. “Glory” is used to translate several Hebrew words, some of which had to do with a visible brightness. That carries over into the New Testament as well.

John 1:14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

In the Transfiguration of Jesus, He was described as shining with bright light, and Peter later wrote:

 He received honor and glory from God the Father. (2 Peter 1:18)

Amen

The final word in this prayer, and in all our prayers, is Amen.  This little word means “Yes it is so” or “It is certain.” It was the word Jesus used when He said, “Truly I say to you…” When you end your prayers with this word, you are saying that you are certain that God has heard your prayers.  You know He is in control.  You trust that for Jesus’ sake He not only hears you, but will answer in the way that is best for you.