| The Lord's Prayer, Part 12: Conclusion, "For Thine is the Kingdom, and the Power, and the Glory Forever. Amen" |
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| Written by David Lawrence |
| Monday, October 03 2011 00:00 |
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The conclusion does not appear in some manuscripts, but I have a personal belief that it belongs. It is the prayer with which we are all familiar, and it seems quite fitting. Jesus began the prayer teaching His disciples to pray for the glory of God and to recognize His sovereignty: they were to recognize the holiness of His name as well as their own relationship to Him through His grace. They were to pray for the coming of His Kingdom and the execution of His will on earth, all to His glory. He then turns to a focus on human needs: their daily needs, and the need to ask for forgiveness and to forgive others, as well as the need for deliverance from the unprotected assaults of the devil. He then returns to the original focus on God to teach them to pray in recognition of God’s kingdom, His power, and His glory forever. It is a reaffirmation of the glory and sovereignty of God All belongs to God: all the kingdom, all the power, and all the glory. Church leaders need to pray this prayer and recognize that they are privileged to serve in God’s kingdom; it is not theirs. They have no power, and they should receive no glory. They may receive honor for a job well done, but all is done under the only One Authority in the church (kingdom). God is the ruler; we are not. God holds all power; we do not. Whatever power we have is derived from God. And God is due all glory; none is due to us. God will not be robbed of His glory. Such is a very appropriate conclusion to this prayer. Thus I reiterate that the prayer should rightfully serve as a model for all our prayers, and thus for our thoughts and actions to follow, and it also should be prayed exactly as Christ taught it, for I cannot conceive that any of us fallible and sinful people could ever compose a prayer to compare with it! |
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