Amen And So It Shall Be
Text: Luke 11:1-13 and the Conclusion to the Lord's Prayer
In
the name of Jesus: Amen.
We
all say the word Amen. Some people
pronounce it ah-men, while others
pronounce it ay-men. There are also phrases that are used in
our popular culture in connection to the word Amen. Phrases such as:
Amen to that!
Amen, brother!
Can I get an Amen?
Furthermore,
we say the word Amen in a variety of different contexts. We say Amen after a dinner prayer in our
homes, we say it after praying the Lord’s Prayer in church, we say it after our
nightly prayers, and we will even hear it spoken on television and social media
when a person wants to express agreement to a particular sentiment. Indeed, the word Amen is used at least every
week in our vocabulary, if not every single day.
Now,
with all of that said, I do wonder if we are fully aware of what we are saying
when we use the familiar word Amen. Is
the word Amen simply a word that is used to notify the end of a prayer? Is it a religious gush that pious people say
in order to look and appear holy? Or is
it something more?
The
word Amen actually comes from a word that means firm, steady, trustworthy,
true, and faithful. The word Amen is a
solid word; it is not flimsy. It is not
a word that is to be spoken with a hushful pious sounding whisper, but rather,
a word that is to be spoken with a loud, firm, and convicting declaration. It is a word that communicates sureness,
certainty, and confidence.[1]
Pagans
will sometimes use the word Amen from time to time, which really does not mean
much; however, when the word Amen comes out of the mouth of a Christian, we
must take notice. Yes, when you say the
word Amen, it is not just a bold confident two syllable word, but rather, it is
much more.
Baptized
Saints, to put this another way, when we say the word Amen, it is the voice of our
faith. The word Amen coming from our
mouths communicates nothing else than the unquestioned faith. Surely, when we pray and end our prayers with
the word Amen, we are confessing that our prayer is not a prayer that is offered
as a matter of luck or a shot in the dark, but rather a prayer that is actually
heard by the God of the universe!
Indeed, when we say the word Amen, we are actually confidently asserting
in faith that God has heard our cry for mercy, help, and grace. The word Amen is a bold confession that our
prayer was not cast out of our mouths into endless space, but heard by our
loving Father.
But
why can we be so certain that our prayers are heard? What gives us the right to say Amen? Why should we be so bold to boast that God
hears us Christians when we pray?
The
answer is this. We can say Amen because Jesus
invites us and teaches us to pray boldly to God as dear children talk to their
dear Father. In other words, if there
was no faith and no Christ and no forgiveness of sin and no baptism, there
would be no Amen and no prayer. But
there is and that is why we say Amen and that is why we pray. Yes, Jesus extends this invitation to us
because He shed His blood to break down the wall of sin that stood between us
and the Father. Jesus makes us children
of God. The Holy Spirit gives us faith
that receives Jesus and His benefits. Through
the Holy Spirit’s gift of faith, we are the children of God, the heirs of His
Kingdom, and He gives us the right to pray boldly and to end our prayers with
the sure word of Amen.
And
so we pray and we pray with an Amen at the end of our prayers. We ask in faith of our needs, knowing that
the Lord hears the cries of His children.
But
what are we to do when it seems like the Lord God does not answer our
prayers?
Lord, I don’t have a
paycheck, my health is failing, and I am all alone. Oh, and that neighbor is out to destroy
me. Help me, Lord. Deliver me.
Preserve me. Protect me. Give me this day my daily bread, and forgive
me my trespasses as I forgive those who trespass against me. Lead me not into temptation, but deliver me from
evil.
Dear
friends, even in situations like this, we still say the word Amen! The reason why? The Lord typically does not answer prayers
the way that we think they should be answered, for the Lord’s ways are not our
ways and our ways are not the Lord’s ways.
Frankly, the Lord does not respond to our prayers by saying,
Here is a winning lottery
ticket. That should solve all your
problems. Now go away and be quiet and
leave me alone!
“That’s
not how God works. That’s how we often
work. We try to solve problems—even
spiritual problems—not by getting at the root cause of the problem, but by
simply throwing money or goods at the problem until it goes away. Sadly, that’s what we sometimes want from
God. That’s what we sometimes
unfaithfully pray for—full bellies and full bank accounts. Just mask the problem and make it out of
sight and out of mind. But those sorts
of loveless, empty materialistic responses don’t make the problem go away,
especially when the problem is a trust problem; a trust in God above all things
problem. Those false materialistic
crutches and promises are the lies of the devil.”[2]
My
brothers and sisters in Christ, when we end our prayers with the word Amen, it
is the voice of our faith confessing that we not only know that the Lord has
heard our prayers, but that He will answer our prayers in the way that is
best. You see, we must never forget that
when the Lord answers yes to our specific requests, it is because He loves
us. When He answers no, it is because he
loves us. And most importantly we must
not forget that the Lord always answers our prayers by strengthening our faith
in His promises. Indeed, the Lord
answers our prayers by strengthening our faith so that we can hold up the
Lord’s promises in the midst of whatever storm we might be going through, and
say,
You oh God are enough. You are good.
You will take care of me, you will satisfy me. You will get me through this. You are my treasure. Whom have I in heaven by you? And on earth there is nothing that I desire
beside you. My flesh and my heart and my
life may fail, but you are the strength of my heart and my portion forever.[3]
The
Amen to our prayers is our bold confession of our faith that the Lord is in
control. It is a bold confession of you
and me saying that the Lord has heard our prayers. It is a bold confession that the Lord will
answer our prayers as is best.
Indeed,
the church’s word is Amen. Amen to
Baptism. Amen to the Word. Amen to the body and blood of the Lord. Amen to our prayers. Amen today, tomorrow, and forever, for “the
throne room of heaven lies open before us.
[Yes,] God is ready to listen to whatever we have to tell Him. The privilege of prayer is there for all who
believe. It is one of the many gifts God
gives to us with His presence here in time and forever in eternity.”[4]
In
the name of Jesus: Amen.
[1] New
Bible Dictionary: Third Edition, ed. I Howard Marshall, A.R. Millard, J.I.
Packer and D.J. Wiseman (Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press, 1996), 29.
[2] Jason Zirbel, “Unanswered Prayers?”
LCMS Sermons, http://lcmssermons.com/index.php?sn=3375 (accessed March 15,
2016).
[3] Paraphrase of Psalm 73:25-26.
[4] James T. Batchelor, “Tenth Sunday
after Pentecost,” LCMS Sermons, http://lcmssermons.com/index.php?sn=3378 (accessed
March 15, 2016).
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