Pray in This Way (Part Nine)

“In this manner, therefore, pray:
Our Father who art in heaven,
Hallowed be Thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.
Amen.”
(Matthew 6:9–13)

“For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.” The language of the prayer is very similar to David’s final public prayer recorded in 1 Chronicles 29:10ff:

"Blessed are You, LORD God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever.
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."

Like this excerpt from David’s prayer, this portion of the Lord’s prayer is pure praise. But every prayer should have at least the spirit of these words, and we should be praising God in this way daily.

When we ascribe to God all kingdom, all power, all glory, we are not taking it for ourselves, and we are not ascribing it to anyone else. This is a confession of our faith: God is King over all, He is all-powerful, and He alone is worthy to receive all glory, forever and ever. Amen.

“Blessed are You, O God, our Father, forever and ever. Yours is the greatness, the power and the glory, the victory and the majesty. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours. You reign over all. Reign over us by Your Holy Spirit and by Your Word, work Your great power on behalf of us Your saints, answer our prayers for Your name’s sake and for Your own glory, we pray in Christ’s name. Amen.”