If you were to evaluate the prayers that you lift before God, how biblically informed are they? How often are they mixed with biblical wisdom and faith? James, the Lord's brother, while providing guidance on how to respond to various trials and temptations of life, declared "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways" (James 1:5-8). How does one "ask in faith?" Is it not by taking God at His word? Does not true faith include "a certain knowledge whereby I hold for truth all that God has revealed to us in His Word" (HC Q21)?

With this in mind, it is important to turn once again to the teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ concerning prayer. In response to His disciples' request to be taught how to pray, He provided both a model ("after this manner"-Matthew 6:13) and an example ("say"-Luke 11:2-4). In other words, through this prayer He equipped them and us with biblical principles as well as biblical content that we can use when we pray. In this article, we will focus on the closing element of the Lord's Prayer, "For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever."

Speaking of biblically informed prayers, it is interesting to note the similarities of the content of this closing formula with the prayer of David when he dedicated the results of his preparations for the building of the temple. In I Chronicles chapter 29, starting in verse 10 we read, "Wherefore David blessed the LORD before all the congregation: and David said, Blessed be thou, LORD God of Israel our father, for ever and ever. Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all. Both riches and honor come of thee, and thou reignest over all; and in thine hand is power and might; and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all. Now therefore, our God, we thank thee, and praise thy glorious name (I Chron. 29:10-13 emphasis mine). In essence our Lord Jesus Christ taught us to close our prayers with a summary of what David prayed.

Why did Jesus teach, in closing the model prayer, that we should pray "For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever?" Question and answer 128 of the Heidelberg Catechism provides at least three reasons that are helpful in understanding what our Savior had in mind. Each reason can be thought of as answering a particular question which follow this order, who, how, and why. Question 128 asks "How do you close this prayer?" It answers "For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. That is, All this we ask of Thee, because as our King, having power over all things, Thou art both willing and able to give us all good; and that thereby not we, but Thy holy Name may be glorified forever."

First we will address the "who" question mentioned earlier. When we pray, we must remember to whom we are speaking and who we are in relation to Him. In this closing statement we are directed back to the beginning of our prayer. We began by focusing on "Our Father" and proceeded to speak of His holiness ("Hallowed be Thy name") and sovereignty ("Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done..."). He is our transcendent, sovereign King and we are the subjects of His kingdom, or better yet, servants of the King. But even more thrilling is the fact that having adopted us in Jesus Christ, He now calls us His sons and daughters. The Apostle Paul, in describing his prayer for the Colossians, stated it this way, "Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son" (Col. 1:12-13). Our lives are now related to his kingdom purposes and thus our prayers are kingdom prayers. Furthermore, Dr. Zacharias Ursinus in his comments on question 128 stated that this phrase "Thine is the kingdom" points to "the duty of a king, which is to hear, defend and preserve his subjects." By closing our prayer with reference to our King, we direct our focus away from ourselves and to the One whom we love and serve.

The second question that is answered in this closing statement concerns "how" it is that our prayer will be answered by God. In it we declare that we trust in our sovereign King who has all power or ability to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we could ask or think (Eph. 3:20). Furthermore He is not only able, but as our King, we believe that He is also willing "to give us all good." Again, our prayer is a prayer of faith based upon the One who "works all things together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose" (Rom. 8:28). What we desire is to pray as James taught us in his letter namely, "the prayer of faith" (James 5:15).

Finally, the third reason is in answer to the question "why." What is the purpose of our prayer and the purpose as to why God should answer it? Our Lord Jesus answered both of these questions by focusing our attention on the glory of God. If you look back and reread what David prayed in 1 Chronicles 29, you will find that it is a prayer that is filled with desire that God would be glorified. And isn't that why we exist in the first place, to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever? Shouldn't our prayers reflect this truth concerning the purpose of our existence? The catechism teaches us that the intent of closing our prayer with a reference to God's glory is in order "that thereby not we, but Thy holy Name may be glorified forever."

In summary, when we bow our heads and pray we should not forget to whom we are speaking and the goal that we desire to be accomplished through the answering of our prayers. The great composer Johann Sebastian Bach was accustomed to signing off on each work his works, "S.D.G." (Soli Deo Gloria). Our prayers should include, if not conclude, with the same response-to the glory of God alone!