“Our Father . . Yours is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever.” Matthew 6:13 NKJV.
If God were not sovereign, prayer would be mere words thrown into an empty heaven.
My thoughts and comments today are about “prayer and God’s supremacy.”
In life, it is important to know who is in charge. Most of us like to think that we are, but that would be inaccurate. There is One who is supreme and rules and reigns in the affairs of men. Until you recognize His rightful place, life will not work out well for you. In the Lord’s Prayer, we have considered the “Pattern for Prayer, God’s sovereignty, God’s kingdom, God’s providence, God’s forgiveness, and God’s reinforcement.” Let’s look at prayer’s majestic conclusion.
Prayer is noblest when acclaiming who God is. When you know who God is, you learn who you are in Him. Jesus taught His disciples, “[When you pray, say], ‘Our Father . . Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’” Matthew 6:13 NKJV. If God were not sovereign and supreme, prayer would be mere words thrown into an empty heaven. If He were not Lord and King, why would anyone bother to pray? Prayer humbles one’s self before an omnipotent, all wise God. Purposely, the Lord’s Prayer begins and ends with recognition of the Kingdom of God and His will, as ought every prayer to rest on those enduring truths. Only between such encompassing truths can your own needs be properly addressed.
“Our Father, Yours is the kingdom . .” Prayer extends the righteous rulership of God and His Son. Prayer claims borders and boundaries for the Kingdom of God and pushes back the intrusions of darkness, “pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God . .” Read 2 Corinthians 10-3-5 NKJV.
“Our Father, Yours is the power . .” Prayer asserts the incomparable power of God. Using the example of Elijah, the Bible says, “The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and wonderful results.” James 5:16-18 NLT. Prayer aligns your heart and faith with the purposes of God and releases the power of God into even the most desperate, long-standing circumstances.
“Our Father, Yours is the glory forever . .” Prayer concerns itself with achieving the glory of God. David avowed God’s supremacy, “Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is Yours. Yours, O Lord, is the kingdom; You are exalted as head over all.“ 1 Chronicles 29:10-13 NIV.
“Our Father . . Amen!” Prayer aligns your desires with God’s will. “Amen” is so much more than a religious formality to conclude your prayer. The word triumphantly agrees with God and affirms your conviction, “Make it so!”
Again, let me share from a collection of prayers by the Puritans, “Let me know that the work of prayer is to bring my will to Thine, and that without this it is folly to pray. I can only succeed when I pray according to Thy precept and promise, and to be done as it pleases Thee, according to Thy sovereign will. When Thou commandest me to pray, it is because Thou wilt give me the thing promised, for Thy glory, as well as for my good.” (The Valley of Vision).
My prayer for you today is that your prayers overflow with acclamation and adoration.