Q. 66. What are we taught in the conclusion of the Lord’s Prayer, “For yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, for ever and ever, Amen”?

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Conclusion. While the traditional ending of the Lord’s Prayer is not found in the earliest manuscripts of Scripture, it has been used by the Church for centuries as a fitting conclusion to the prayer which Jesus taught his disciples (see Didache 8).

Worship. Prayer is not merely asking God for our needs, it is also praising God for his glory and thanking God for his mercies. “Prayer is the most important part of the thankfulness God requires of us” (Heidelberg Catechism 116).

Confidence … God alone. When we pray, “For yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory,” we appeal directly to God’s sovereignty, power, and glory, through the mediation of Christ (1 Timothy 2:5), for the answer to our prayers. Although our disobedience may hinder our prayers (1 Peter 3:7), we should not trust in our own strength or merit, as if our obedience earns us a desired answer from God. While we may ask other Christians to pray with us, most Protestants have rejected the practice of praying to the saints in heaven, or asking them for their prayers. “God has not assigned to saints this office of aiding and assisting us. And in regard to angels, though He employs their ministry for our salvation, nevertheless He does not wish us to invoke them, nor to address ourselves to them” (Geneva Catechism 238). 

Amen. “Amen” is an expression of agreement, affirmation, or confidence: “Let it be so!” Jesus Christ is the ultimate “Amen” (Revelation 3:14). “All the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory” (2 Corinthians 1:20).