Lesson 10
(For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory,)
Finally, we come to the phrase, “For
thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.” What is
the significance of this statement in prayer? Kingdom, Power, and Glory raise
which sentiments or frame of mind? Is it not proper that every fervent payer
should be concluded by upholding that the kingdom that reigns above every
government, all power, and all glory exclusively interminably belong to the one
and only living God? Every born again Christian should unashamedly and resoundingly
respond with firm amen!
The kingdom speaks about control
and governance. In Lesson 5 we alluded to the fact that God’s kingdom cannot be
destroyed. All earthly kingdoms, dominions and the greatness of all other territories
or governments in the entire world shall serve and obey our God because His
kingdom is an everlasting kingdom and the Lord Jesus Christ shall reign for
ever and ever. By closing our prayer with the words, “thine is the kingdom,” we
will be affirming that the kingdom does not belong to us and hence we are not
in control. We are upholding that God is in control and we are his subjects. In summary we are saying, “I’m not God but you
are my God and king.”
This hearty declaration emphasizes
that God possesses and presides over his immense and unending kingdom as the
sovereign king who exercises supreme authority and unlimited dominion over the vast
domain. God’s reign undoubtedly, embraces both the spiritual and physical as
well as the realm of providence and the sphere of salvation. The great apostle
in his epistle to the Ephesians at chapter 6:11, wrote that God “works all
things according to the counsel of his will” hence in that regard, he controls
and commands all the affairs of mankind. He has infinite control over even the
intricate inner workings of the entire universe including the mysterious things
of the spirit.
In lesson 5 we prayed that God’s
kingdom should come and here we are asserting that the kingdom belongs to God. When
Jesus came in to the world he “went about ….…… preaching the gospel of the
kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the
people.” Matthew 4:23. His main thrust was to establish the kingdom of God. To a
teacher of the law he said, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be
born again, he cannot see the kingdom of
God. …….. Jesus answered, Verily,
verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he
cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”
John 3:1-5. It is abundantly clear that the Lord’s gospel is the gospel of the
kingdom and nothing else.
By confessing that the kingdom
belongs to God, we are not just acknowledging that the kingdom does not belong
to us but to God. We are proclaiming that God does what he wants with us. We are
further decreeing that we are willing to conform to his standard and values. The
apostle once wrote, “the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but
righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.” Rom 14:17. This then
follows that for us to be part of the kingdom of we God we must live righteous
lives. In Matthew 7:21 the Lord said, “Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord,
Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my
Father which is in heaven.” In other words, by praying, “thy kindom come,” we
will be accepting to be guided by the will of God. That was why in lesson 4 we
sought God’s will soon after praying for his kingdom to come.
The power speaks of control, authority,
supremacy, influence and rule. In other words, by saying “thine is …. the power
we,” we will be succumbing to the authority and influence of God. We will be
saying, “God influence my affairs.” The Lord must order our steps. We follow
his commands and we cannot command him. The psalmist wrote, “Once God has
spoken; twice have I heard this: that power
belongs to God.” Psalm 62:11.
Theologians explain his power as
omnipotence. This refers to having unlimited power. He is called Elshadai which
means the Almighty God. The prophet reports that, “…. the word of the LORD came
to Jeremiah, saying, "Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh; is anything too difficult for Me?" God’s power is so enormous that Jesus only
used his finger to cast out demons. In Luke 11:20 the Lord said, “if I drive
out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.” In Matthew 10 the Lord compared the power of
those who can kill the body alone agains the power of God who is able to
destroy both soul and body in hell.” Imagine power which is able to raise back
to life the following: Revelations 20:2 “And
I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne. And there were
open books, and one of them was the book of life. And the dead were judged
according to their deeds, as recorded in the books. 13The sea gave up its dead,
and Death and Hades gave up their dead, and each one was judged according to
his deeds. 14Then Death and Hades were thrown
into the lake of fire. This is the second death—the lake of fire.”
Indeed, all power belongs to him.
The Lord taught his disciples to affirm that “the power” belongs to God. The
definite article defines the infinite scope of His sovereignty. He possesses
not a mere portion of some power, but the
power. He has all power in heaven and on earth. All that God’s supreme will
chooses to do, He has the omnipotence to execute it fully. Nothing can hinder
the free exercise of His sovereign pleasure
Glory speaks of magnificence and
the truth that God is an awesome being who says in the book of Isiah, “I will
not yield my glory to another or my praise to idols.” Everything is made for
the glory of God! All things in life and ministry must be solely for the glory and
praise of God. Our passion and prayer must be God-centred focussing on
glorifying God in prayer. To this end, all prayer before to God must begin and
end with unqualified acclaim to him. The Alpha and Omega of prayer must be for
the glory of God.
Prayer must not be a selfish self-centred
quest which is motivated by the gratifying of selfish indulgences of notorious “name
it and claim it” or so called “prosperity gospel” which is devoid of ascribing
to God the glory which is his alone. Seeing that Jesus emphasised glorifying God
at the start and end of his prayer model we immediately notice that his primary
focus of prayer is for one to be captivated upon the supreme glory of God. As
our Lord gave instruction regarding how to pray, He was unequivocal in teaching
us to attribute all glory to God. Everything must yield to the glory of
God! The Lord Jesus here indicates how our
prayers should be concluded by ascribing glory to God hence we pray, “For thine
is the kingdom, the power and the glory forever. Amen”
It is desirable that the climax of
any prayer be a pulsating assertion of the glory of God, his power and his
rulership. Our prayers must climax with the proclamation that all glory belongs
to our God. All glory rightfully belongs to God.
Finally, the prayer is concluded by
the word “Amen” which refers to being firm, sure and secure. Indeed his promises
are sure and Amen
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