Teach Us to Pray · Stop 7

What does Amen mean, and how do you pray in your own words?

You've probably said Amen thousands of times. It's a Hebrew word, and it doesn't mean “the end.” Today you'll find out what it does mean. Then you'll write a short prayer of your own, in the shape Jesus taught.

Amen

Amen means “yes, it's true,” or “so be it.” Christians, Jews, and Muslims all use the word. When you say Amen after someone else's prayer, you're signing your name to it.

Luther said Amen means you can be certain God hears these prayers, because God told us to pray this way and promised to listen. His explanation ends by saying it twice: yes, yes, it shall be so.

Many churches end with a line of praise: “For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever.” It isn't in the oldest copies of Matthew. But Christians were praying a form of it within about a hundred years of Jesus.

Read it in your Bible

• Romans 8:26. Paul admits we often don't know what to pray. The Spirit helps us in our weakness and prays for us with groans that words can't hold.
• 2 Corinthians 1:20. Every promise God has made finds its yes in Jesus. That's why we say Amen through him, to God's glory.
• Philippians 4:6–7. Don't worry about anything. Bring every request to God with prayer and thanks. God's peace, bigger than anything we understand, will guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus.

The ending and Luther's explanation

Words to know

• Amen. A Hebrew word meaning “yes, it's true” or “so be it” Say it like you mean it. You're agreeing with the whole prayer.
• Doxology. A short burst of praise, like the prayer's closing line about the kingdom, the power, and the glory. It hands the whole prayer back to God with praise.
• Petition. A request. The Lord's Prayer has seven of them. Each one is something Jesus says you're allowed to ask for.

Keep going

• 6 Before thisDoes God tempt us? What are we asking to be kept from?
• 7 The whole bookTeach Us to Pray