For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen
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1 Chronicles 29:10-22; Matthew 6:5-15
Modern translations put this verse in footnotes. It does not appear in Luke’s version of the Lord’s Prayer, nor in the earliest manuscripts of Matthew that we have. It does appear in the Textus Receptus and so, for 300 years it appeared in all the English translations from Tyndale onwards. In that time it has taken root, most particularly in Protestant Churches where it is said as part of the Lord’s Prayer.
It is a doxology (word of praise) that bears a resemblance to the prayer of David from 1 Chronicles:
“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.” (1 Chronicles 29:11)
It is a glad-hearted affirmation of the LORD’s all-sufficiency. And perhaps it’s significant that the Lord’s Prayer ends this way. The prayer that begins “Father” ends on a note of power and glory.
The person who rests in the Son and is brought to the Father will, in the end, confess His power and glory. To such a Father as this we ascribe all majesty, and gladly so. But this is the way around which Jesus would have it. He does not ask us to approach the glorious Potentate and then to seek fatherly care in Him. That would be quite a different spirituality. No, Jesus our Brother introduces us to His Father and invites us to call Him “our Father.” As a little child we pray for His Kingdom to come and, as we wait, we ask for daily provision, pardon and protection. Then, knowing His Fatherhood and our own littleness, we confess “Thine is the kingdom!”
This total self-abnegation is not the precondition for prayer. If it were, it would be something we drum up in ourselves, therefore not self-abnegation at all. Instead what Jesus calls us to is a joyful outflow from delight in a Father who will indeed provide, pardon and protect. How happily we place the kingdom in His hands, knowing who He is!
So, this is the Lord’s Prayer. And Jesus says, “After this manner therefore pray ye.” (Matthew 6:9)
Is this the manner in which you pray?
CS Lewis compared the Lord’s prayer to a Christmas tree. The lines of the prayer are like the boughs and our own personal prayers are like the decorations that we hang. That’s good advice. When we pray, perhaps we can use the Lord’s Prayer like that. At each line we pause, adding our own prayer, decorating the Christmas tree. And as we put words to our desires and needs we can enjoy, in a deeper way, our union with Jesus and the Fatherhood of God. Then we’ll gladly declare “Thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.”
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