The phrase “for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever” is known as “the doxology,” or, a liturgical praise of God. The doxology is not included in Luke’s version of the Lord’s Prayer. In fact, there is fair debate about whether it was even present in the earliest manuscripts of Matthew. Interestingly, it is very similar to a passage in the Old Testament:
“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 Chronicles 29:11
The doxology encourages us to end our prayer with triumphant praise because we are secure in our victory over evil. We are reassured that the kingdom, the power, AND the glory belong to our Father and NOT to our antagonist. Our enemy will be destroyed and Christ will be handed the kingdom after He has destroyed all evil dominion, authority and power (1 Corinthians 15:24). Ending the prayer with thanksgiving and victorious praise gives us a great perspective to begin the day…or even to go to sleep at night. We have a vision of God as He is—which is where we began this series in prayer. We need to be constantly reminding ourselves of the greatness of God—lest we slip into praying to a powerless god. He is far more powerful than we realize or can imagine. Thus, we must train our minds to praise Him based upon what His Word says about Him.
And so we pray….
“For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.” (Matthew 6:13)
“Oh Lord, I know! I have heard! You, the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. Your understanding is unsearchable. You give power to the weak, and to those who have no might You increase strength.” (Isaiah 40:28-29) Therefore, I will trust in You for every problem that arises today. I will seek your wisdom and power before I seek my own.
Whether I am strong or weary—I will be mindful that You are my strength.
“Great are You Lord, and greatly to be praised. Your greatness is unsearchable.” (Psalms 145:3) Dear Father, give me a deep perspective about your greatness. Remind me that You have implanted the power of the resurrected Christ within me. Remind me that your love is so powerful it conquered death.
Lord, You are the fuse that ignites my soul; therefore, I will praise You!
“Great are You, Lord, and mighty in power; Your understanding is infinite.” (Psalms 147:5) Lord, make me mindful of the great wisdom that lies in having a strong relationship with You. You have made a plan for me from when I was formed within my mother’s womb. Allow me to tap into your omniscience and trust You completely. When my human mind cannot see around the corner of time, help to trust in your omnipresence. You have been there. You know. I will entrust my path to You in both large and small decisions.
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10) thus, may I live in awe of Your presence and possess Your ageless wisdom.
“Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power and the glory, the victory and the majesty; for all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours; Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and You are exalted as head over all. Both riches and honor come from You, and You reign over all. In Your hand is power and might; in Your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. Now therefore, our God, we thank You and praise Your glorious name.” (I Chronicles 29:11-13)
Amen
So now you may be wondering “can I really pray all this everyday?” Is this practical? And—what about intercessory prayer, praying for national and international issues, healing prayer, etc. Good questions! I am planning to write more on this subject…God willing. But, in the meantime, I will remind you of the first part of the prayer we discussed…God is Our Father. We can talk to Him anytime, anywhere, about anything. This prayer is to teach us to pray according to His Word. It’s kind of like learning Spanish and then actually going to Spain to practice with Spanish speaking natives. Or, it’s like the difference between how you communicate with your parents as an adult vs. as a two year old. God speaks His language with consummate skill; He is the ultimate wise Father. We need to work at it to advance our knowledge and communication skills if we want to have an ever-growing relationship with Him. That’s what this kind of prayer is about…maturing into a deeper relationship with God instead of spending our whole life speaking broken Spanish or babbling in baby talk with Him.
Isn’t it great to know God wants to have a strong and meaningful relationship with you???
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2 Responses
A great article. I particularly love the reminder that Matthew 6:9-13 is Jesus’ “textbook example” of a prayer, and that we are free to add to it as our hearts lead, that it is no less prayer if we leave out parts sometimes, and that we are free to strike out at right angles from it depending on what we need to say to our creator. There is even a hint in your “anytime, anywhere, about anything” to remind us that no matter how thoroughly us sinners mess up a prayer, that God can “descramble it at the receiving end” so that ultimately every prayer shall be made perfect! YOU know what I really meant, right, Lord? ;^)
Thank you, Ms. Faith,
Thank you for the encouragement! Blessings,
Kimberly