MATTHEW 6:13
Many Christians who regularly say the Lord’s Prayer in church services each week or remember a version they memorized as a child recite concluding words that do not appear in many modern translations—“for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever, Amen.” The reason these words are not found in modern translations such as the NIV or the ESV is that they probably did not appear in the original copy of Matthew. As a result of studying ancient manuscripts, scholars now believe with some certainty that these words were probably a later addition to the Lord’s Prayer. Since the Lord’s Prayer seems to end rather abruptly, Christians in the early church added a doxology to the end of the prayer so as to give God the final word of praise in corporate worship settings.
Is it right or wrong to append these words to the Lord’s Prayer? It would certainly be wrong to ignore the textual evidence and assert that these words are scriptural and part of Matthew’s Gospel. We should never say something is part of Scripture that the author never intended. At the same time, it is not wrong to recite the Lord’s Prayer with the concluding doxology or to benefit from this tradition—so long as we understand the words are not themselves Scripture. The reasons for this are numerous.
First, doxologies are found all throughout Scripture. In fact, one of the doxologies found in the Old Testament looks almost exactly like the doxology traditionally appended to the Lord’s Prayer: “Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, and you are exalted as head above all” (1 Chron. 29:11).
Additionally, the psalms provide example after example of prayers beginning in supplication and ending in doxology. And this tradition of concluding prayers with doxologies continued into the early church. One of the earliest Christian documents outside the New Testament, The Didache—a treatise dating from the first century—has a version of the Lord’s Prayer that includes this very doxology. Simply put, doxologies are a regular part of the worship of the people of God and have a unique role in developing their piety. As J. I. Packer noted,
Doxologies (that is, acts of praise to God for his glory) pop up all through the Bible. . . . Personal devotion praise and prayer grow out of, lead into, and stir up each other. Need felt and need met are their respective mainsprings, and praise for what God is and does, is the strong support of hope in what he can, and will, do. . . . So the more you pray, the more matter you will have for praise.1
Second, doxologies are an appropriate response to the saving purposes of God and his glory. As I hope this book has shown, the Lord’s Prayer clearly expresses the glory of God and the gospel of grace. It reveals the coming of the kingdom of Christ, the forgiveness provided by the King, his daily provision and care for his people, and his deliverance of his people from the powers of this age. In light of these truths, Christians should respond with effusive praise. Prayer that truly reflects the heart of God is inseparable from a response of praise. Again, as Packer explained, “Prayer and praise are like a bird’s two wings: with both working, you soar; with one out of action, you are earthbound. But birds should not be earthbound, nor Christians praiseless.”2
Third, the theology of the traditional doxology is particularly fitting with the content of the Lord’s Prayer. The elements of “kingdom,” “power,” and “glory” are found throughout the Lord’s Prayer. At the prayer’s beginning, Jesus taught us to pray that God’s kingdom come. The prayer also reveals God’s power by showing us he is the King, the Provider, the Savior, and the Deliverer. And finally, it shows us his glory by revealing him as the Father in heaven whose very name is to be hallowed in all the earth. The traditional doxology reminds us at the prayer’s end that the kingdom will indeed come, for it belongs to the God of all glory and power. Indeed, the doxology perfectly and succinctly sums up the character of God as revealed in the Lord’s Prayer and does so in the posture of praise.
A FINAL ADMONITION
Every generation of Christians must learn to make the request, like the disciples before them, “Lord, teach us to pray.” Every generation of Christians must also remember that Jesus’ response to that question now is the same as it was two thousand years ago. If we would have the Lord himself teach us how to pray, then we must turn to the Lord’s Prayer for instruction.
As this book has shown, each petition is a theology lesson in itself. None of Jesus’ words were careless, and this is particularly true of the Lord’s Prayer. This prayer turned the world upside down. This prayer is dangerous, overturning the kingdom of the principalities and powers of this world. This prayer is hopeful, expecting the kingdom of God to come in fullness with Christ on the throne. This prayer is compassionate, teaching us to call God our Father and depend on him for our every meal. This prayer is reverent, showing that nothing is more sacred than the name of God. This prayer is good news, reminding each of us that God forgives sin and delivers us from the powers of darkness.
In an age of superstition and superficiality, the Lord’s Prayer is a beacon of true biblical piety and theologically informed worship. As Christians await the arrival of God’s kingdom in its fullness, let us continually return to these words, asking with humble hearts, “Lord, teach us to pray.”
Finally, I want to return to Martin Luther’s advice to his barber. Going all the way back to the Old Testament, God’s people have ended their prayers with “Amen.” Why? The word signals agreement and affirmation, but it actually means much more. As Luther said to Master Peter the Barber:
Notice, at last, that you have made the “Amen” strong every time and not doubt. God is surely listening to you with every grace and is saying yes to your prayer. Do not think to yourself that you are kneeling or standing there alone, for all Christendom, all upright Christians, are with you and you among them in a unanimous, harmonious prayer, which God cannot disdain. And do not leave the prayer unless you have thought, “All right, God has heard my prayer, and I truly know this for certain, for that is what Amen means.”
We never pray this prayer alone, but with all Christendom, and we never have to wonder if this prayer is pleasing to God. Christ gave it to us! And yes, we know that God has heard our prayer when we pray like this.
That is really what Amen means. And there is no more perfect way to end our study of the Lord’s Prayer, the prayer that turns the world upside down, than with Amen.