For Yours is the Kingdom, and the Power, and the Glory forever. Amen.

Matt 6:13, NKJ

Have you ever thought about how you end your prayers?  Do you say anything besides “Amen”?  I sometimes think about the ending of my prayers like the ending of a phone call. I might say “Thanks for listening God!” Or “That’s all for now!”  “Talk to you later.”  “Over and out!” A friend of mine used to end her prayers, “Thanks dad for the talk, I love you.  Bye for now.”

The prayer that Jesus taught…has no ending.  Most translations end with “deliver us from evil one.”  But somewhere down the line the traditional ending that we know was added. The Early Church would have recited or sung the prayer and perhaps added the doxology on the end.  Then the scribes who were transcribing the Gospel wrote the doxology as a side note.  Years later those who were transcribing took it as what should be there…and tada – it is part of the Gospel story.  And when you think about it…it really does make for a better prayer, right?

The prayer ends where it begins.  It reminds us to whom we are praying.  It acknowledges the power God has over our prayers.  It focuses our praise back on God.  I love how the Message translates that traditional ending:

You’re in charge!  You can do anything you want!  You’re ablaze in beauty!

So, next time you come to the end of your prayers, think about how you would like to end your conversation with a good friend.  Maybe say a little bit more than Amen. 

Blessings,
Pastor Jenni

Our Prayer Experiment: Daily pray the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13). 
Speak it out loud, slowly, deliberately and from the heart.

This week’s Prayer Experiment:  Focus your prayers on this phrase: “For Yours is the Kingdom, and the Power, and the Glory forever. Amen.” Reflect: What do those words mean to you?  What other words might you add? Practice: As you end your prayer time think of your ending the conversation with a friend.  How does this change the way you pray.