CD - The Conclusion to the Lord’s Prayer - Psalm 150

A phrase and response that has at one time popular has been, “attitude check,” followed by a response of “Praise the Lord.” Today’s reading from Psalm 150 sums up very well the Psalms in their many verses of praise as it also serves as a good summing up for our look at the conclusion of the Lord’s Prayer. Our attitude, that is the way we look at the world and react to it reflects what is in our heart. I know that sometimes we do have a bad day, get down on ourselves, others are down on us and we do have a, shall we say, not so good attitude. But for those of us who have faith in Jesus, our overall attitude is one of “praise to the Lord.”

In the concluding words of the Lord’s Prayer, we reaffirm our faith in Jesus as the king over us, “Thine is the kingdom.” We reaffirm the fact that Jesus, not we, has the power over all. We reaffirm that He receives the glory and praise, not we, for all that is done here on earth. Jesus dethrones us from the throne seat in our heart and place Himself back in it where He belongs.

We end with the single word, Amen. Amen is not a contradictory word, that is, “a” as in one and “men” as in many (little joke there). Amen is a word that implies (I say implies, because this may not be true for everyone. Some people say Amen without meaning it, only saying it because it is a part of the prayer.) trust, hope, faith and a firm assurance that God will answer our prayer. It comes from the Hebrew word Amon, meaning faithfulness. Thus when we say “amen” we are saying that we believe that God is faithful in answering our prayer.

Amen implies trusting that God will answer our prayer. It implies hope that He will answer our prayer in the way that He knows will be for our best. And it implies firm assurance and faith that our prayers will be answered when and in the way God has in mind to answer them. It also implies that we know He knows what is best for us and that He will answer our prayer in that way.

I guess we might well add then, Lord grant me the patience and faith needed to say Amen. We have to believe the Lord will answer, but we need His help to believe. The Lord knows what we need even before we ask, yet He asks us to pray and “praise the Lord.” He gives us what we need, in spite of our prayers. His will is that we do ask, not because He needs to know, but because we need to be reminded from where all our good gifts come. We are reminded when we pray this prayer which He has given to us to pray.

Therefore, it is fitting to keep our attitude in check. It is fitting to conclude the Lord’s Prayer and all our prayers with praise to the Lord. He created us. He preserves us. He is deserving of our praise. “Attitude check”—“Praise the Lord.”

Our Father, my Father, forgive me when my attitude goes unchecked. Forgive me when I hurt others, when I forget from where all my wants and needs get supplied. Help me as I live my daily life to remember to come before You with my prayers in order that I might be reminded that You are the one who answers all my prayers and that You are the giver of every good gift. For Jesus’ sake. Amen.