“For Thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen”
“Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted Him authority over all people that He might give eternal life to all those you have given Him. Now this is eternal life; that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” – Jesus (John 17:1-3)
The Bible talks a lot about “Forever”. In every story in Scripture there is an eternal aspect or perspective. It is seeing things from God’s point of view. He looks at everything in terms of eternity. Everything is evaluated on the basis of the long term impact. This is the perspective of Jesus when He gives us the Lord’s prayer. It does address the here and now of our daily living but… also keeps our eyes on the eternal impact of our existence. All parts of the prayer have an eternal aspect to them and this ending to the prayer reminds us of that.
This eternal perspective is the source of our hope in a world of the temporary…a world of change…a world that is broken…a world that is here today and gone tomorrow…a world that is full of separations and good byes…a world of funerals and grief. This hope in an eternity is something that God has implanted in each of us when He created us. An awareness deep within that says there is something more than this world. This is not the end. The Good News is that the darkness that we see in the world around us is not forever and that the things of the Kingdom of God are!
The Lord’s prayer directs us to pray for our needs of today (God’s presence, God’s forgiveness, His leading and protection) in the light of eternity (Thy name, Thy Kingdom, Thy will, Thy power and glory). To pray this prayer is to bring our thoughts into harmony with God’s thoughts. It is seeing our requests and desires in light of the greater light of “forever”. Each request is set in the light of it’s eternal significance. When we begin to pray from this perspective our requests change. We begin to pray more like Jesus prayed. Temporary comforts and quick relief answers become less important as we bring to the Lord the things that can change lives forever.
What are you praying for today? Temporary relief to the pains of this world or heartfelt requests for that will impact the world “forever and ever. Amen”?