This is the final post in a series on the Lord’s Prayer.
“For Yours is the Kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Amen.”
– Jesus, The Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:13)
The final phrase of The Lord’s Prayer resembles the last notes of a symphony, reviewing the musical movements that have come before. After praying for deliverance from evil, we, as followers of Christ, are called to remember that the Kingdom, power and glory belong to God alone.
The Kingdom is not the United States or any other nation. The Kingdom does not belong to any one certain Christian denomination. It doesn’t belong to you or me! It doesn’t belong to the countries with the biggest military might, just like God’s Kingdom wasn’t Rome, Greece, Persia or any of the other world empires. Keeping in mind the prayer for God’s Kingdom to come, we state with certainty, “Yours is the Kingdom, Lord!”
Spiritual power comes not from our personal Bible reading, our prayer life, our knowledge, or our church attendance. Our own power is not what brings salvation. Deliverance from evil does not come due to our own strength. Remembering the weakness that we recognized when we prayed for deliverance, and our neediness when we asked for daily bread, we cry out, “Yours is the power Lord!”
The glory does not reside in the church that has implemented the latest church-growth scheme. The glory belongs not to the nation that can “shock and awe” win a war in another country. The glory doesn’t come to those who harp on “tolerance” and, with eyes closed to diversity, accept that all religions are basically the same. The glory doesn’t belong to the academics, the historians, the theologians, the greatest businessmen or even famous pastors. With one voice, Christians in all places and at all times, must be ready to shout, “Yours is the glory, Lord!”
The Lord’s Prayer closes with a startling reminder to keep our motives and actions in Kingdom-focus. The Kingdom is God’s. The power is God’s. To Him be the glory. Amen.
