The Doxology of Prayer: How to End Your Prayers
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Dear Congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ,
I wonder if ever find yourself praying the exact same words at the dinner table or at be3dtime, or even in a churchm eeting - words flow off unthinkingly - and you wonder am I even blieving what I am praying, am I really asking? DOn’t get me wrong it is not that I don’t think there is vlaue in praying repeateadly, nor even in taking a model prayer and learning it. But it is the last bit of not even really lifting those words up in expectation and belief and consciousness of speaking them to God that I am concerned about. It is a common difficulty in prayer that even believers complain about that it feels like my words just crash into the ceiling. That’s a frustrating experience isn’t? Think of it normal concversation with eacho ther. If I just stone wall you, if like with a family member -feel like heard \it all before what they are saying, almost tune it out - onesided conversation of phone - go like this. If that’s what it seems like talkingt o somone - we hav an expressiong. When I talk him, it is like talking to a stonewall! Jesus teaching this model prayer -was designed most pointdly to avoid that kind of ritual prayer - that is empty of faith and really meaning what you pray, and intimate conversation with the Living God!
“And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words.
Instead prayer is communion in Christ with God as our Father. not a perfect example but whoville’s mayor, nice home with 100 kids, each one aroud the table - its your turn with 5 minutes with God today. In Christ know livng Creator and Ruler and Saviour of the Univrese - your God and Your are His child - intimate yet reverent communication - that what the prelude tells us. But it is an asking, but about what first? About the hallowing of His name, fruther ing of his kigndom, and accomplishment of his revealve will, to konww discern applyit - see it done not just in your own life , but in affairs of those around you - Jesus us gives us a model, not word for word but model of how prayer is tuning our lives to His program and earnestly asking in Jesus’name and authroity for that goodwork of grace to be done!
But then in roder for us to be outfitted to pray and work for what we are praying about in Kingodom, Jesus invites us to pray about the sutuff in our lives, to pray about frogivness your own with God, ongoing cleansing - and your own forgivign spirit with everyone around you ; finfally he says this ais abbattle, their are trials and even temptation that God has ordained for you to face - that stand, overcome - pray about temptation otsonly you face that if fall will corrupt you , but about the evil that is about to hijack others, this church. About half of the words, 33 out of 70 greek words about our needs - anything but dull if you learn to pray this model!
But then the Christain church from the early days, said ok prelude - focusing on God -invoking with meaningful title - not rushing into ask ask - but tand in his Holy Presence your spirit waiting on the3 Lord, then 3 and 3, but as you getting into the asking mode so easy to make prayer alla bout us and are asking. So the early church, following biblicial teaching on prayer said this is the model, but from other bibilcal models and because of our tendenciy to thenjust make prayer about us and our asking - look how we will end this model prayer! Not words that Jesus taugyht as them odel of our asking, but these are words the church include wit hthis model - because of the example of how bibilcial prayers so often end. Began gazing at God -not asking first - gazing unto him in faith - and the practice of ending witha doxoogly , a worshipping of God - establishes the ground and motivation of all our praying. Not just example but the Bible’s teaching too - that our concentrated verbal rayers (not onoinng coniitnueous prayers) but our formal set apart prayer time, never to be a mere asking but always acocmpanied with the worship of our heart, with doxology/praise! And so we read what later copies and transalations, and the Didache, The teaching ofthe Apostles put on the End of this model of Disciple’s Prayer that Jesus taught! And it is in complete harmony not only with the examples of acutal preayers of the Bible but also f its teaching:
do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Do you see how we present our prayers to God? What goes with the asking? Witht he supplication. Supppication is with thanksgiving to God -
with praise and worship to god. And what is the promised results that Peace of God will gaurd us when - our prayer is not just asking but aslo thanking giving doxolgy. Like the prelude reutrning to look the One of whom we are asking, in the face after we’ve asked! Don’t be a shifty asker - just shuffles into office, can’t look into the eeyes, blurts it out and runs out of the office. NO, as you look into the face of your Lord at the end of prayer, so to speak, what you find Him will fill you with such confidence in who He is so that you will be so sure of what you’ve just asked and of His love and widsdom and power to acocplish His good wil inwhat the Holy Spirit has prompted you to ask! As you look back into God’s eye’s as it were, see that the ground for al this asking, the reason you want it done, not for own selfish ends, Jesus taught that too - God’s not being stingy you don’t have to focus on your needs:
Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
God already knows so why pray? Pray because God wants your desires brough in line with his and as you commune with Him about His dsesgins in your life and your needs and His proomised provissions, as you pray that - eyes turned off your self to His kingdom, and His POwer and His glory. And whe you do that yoour soul wil thrill in worship. Remember I asked you when was the last time had a belly laugh, really cried tears - good for your soul. Well doxology following real prayer so good for your soul and brings such delight to your God. Why completely approriate to add this Doxology to the pattern of the Disicples prayer and why you should end your prayers, not with nodding off to sleep, or magic rabbit foot phrase like in Jesu sname Amen. But with heartfelt praise for our great God! This should be part of our streucture to prayer half the words on God half the words on our needs but framed by the prelude at the begininnga nd the doxology at the end!
The first thing I want you to see is that this kind of doxology, even on ehese topics of the of God’s kingdom, his power, glory all of which are forever - are the great praise that bubbles up in believing prayer and are great comforts topraying belivers! Look first where these words find their orginin:
Therefore David blessed the Lord in the presence of all the assembly. And David said: “Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of Israel our father, forever and ever. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all.
1 Chronicles 29:
The context is that God had establish the Davidic kingdom peace on all sides, then wanted to build the temple, but that would be for future Davidic son, but peole dedicate abudnance of donated materials - and David looking back at how God was buidling his kingdom in his tmime, but lookig ahead to how promised a son who would si ton the throne forever, who would buidl a house a duynasty for David last forever, that would establish a dwelling of God with his people - David is overwhelmed by God’s Kingdom and God’s Ability and God’s forever commitment to his people - and He cried out these words about power and glory and God’s headship His kingdom that spans all and is never for a moment not present!
In the NT Paul contemplates ehse promises and is in prayer for his ethnic bro and sisters to know the pormises of God and be saved and he callout:
For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.
Do you ever in prayer after praying for God’s grace and kingdom expainsion for needs you need met , for protection spiritually, ever take a step back and praise God for How He has been able to work deliverance, how wonderfull His grace has been , and is and will be? Glry forever to you oh God!
This is how so many of these epistles end, including
to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.
In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to be proud of my work for God.
It is how ends too
To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.
That’s the way we ought to sign off in prayer! Recalling again God as Father, God as ruler of an eternal kingdom, God not only all powerful, strongerst of strong kings, but God as teh Only All-Soveriegn , by whom any opower that exists has opwer at all who is conpletely in control of all things. We have just been praying about Christ’s role in the kingdom comiong on earth, that he won the decive battle, but now reigns in heaven, to apply that vicotry more and more in our perosnal lives - do yoou really start praying about your temptation and trails so as to see Chriwt truimph over the, so you stand, and stand effective and victorius. Then you can lift up the Revlation doxoolgyof
and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
You are part f that domionion, you experience that glory, you are praying for that growing kingdom and that growing vicotry over sin in and aroudn you. So, as you really start to pray kingdom prayers - closee them with coinfidence and joy with praise with kingdom doxology!
But next let’s consider the parts of bibilcial doxology in prayer:
B. Praising and Resting in God’s Forever Kingdom
Another obstacle in prayer is to ask in a doubtful way, not really believing God cares or that he is able, or that He wants to answer what you are asking! James1 desrbes someone asking for wisdom but not really believing god will grant it and says:
But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;
I don’t cliaim perfect faith, and my prayer is sometimes touched with unbelief, but praying FOR thine is the kingdom with understanding is a corrective to that unbelief that would disqualify my prayer! This is not just praying hoping that God will bring his Kingdom on the last day, or when we enter heaven. It is praise for the fact t5hat right now and forever our Father is the undisputed ruler of all things. That he has sole authority and exclusive perogative, not only over the kgidomof grace in jesus Christ, but the kigndomof the whoel creation. Sure some dispute his rule, Staan and his minion s attempt to thwar4t it, but even they are under the ultiatme sway of God and His kngdom plans. As the Psalms put it
Surely the wrath of man shall praise you; the remnant of wrath you will put on like a belt.
Some would like this to read for your will be the Kingdom, but right now in the midst of the battle that god has ordained between light and darkness we are to praise himand take conifdence in His kingdom. We pray this and jesus is breathing His agenda his message, his life in to our lives. We pray this like King Hezekiah did in the battle he faced with the Assyrian comander mocking the living God, . Hezekiah faced the arrogance - confident of God’s Kingdom in them idst of the battyle he payed:
So now, O Lord our God, save us, please, from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, O Lord, are God alone.”
We too have our battles with injustice and moral evil\, and trusting in God’s kingdom we are to engage the enemies, for the battle in our live and our culture for truth, justice, and purity. To pray in jesus name isn’t magical, it is by faith to pray as a member of this new royal family of jesus, loyal and expectant in his kingdom. It is ito pray - claiming him as your king. William Temple said: When I prqay “coincidences” happen, when I stop praying. When i stop praying coincences stop happening. “ To end your prayer thinie si kgindom forever is to cement God’s rule in your askign and thnaking.
That is the message at the heart of the last book of the Bible - God reminding his churchin them idst of the battle, at times in intense suffering - that the kingdom os fo this world - whther Babylon under Nebuchdanzer, or Frace under the Sun King Loioius XIV, Trump Truedeauy, no one of this last forever, all are brought to nothing, But Look - here is the scroll of all history - who is worthy to open it - Lamb who was slain - He reigns even now, and his judgments are in all the earth, and even more all authroity has been given to Him, that His church can preach the gopsel can disciple all the peoples! And this causes us to sing even as we work and pray: Slow contemplation, to building affirmation of God’s power and rishes.. Till final Amen - climax with orchestra and loud trumpets aand ounding timpani! - That’s the confidence in God’s reign, his kingdom with which end our prayers!
Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.
saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.
C. Pray with the Confidence that God’s Dynamite & Dynamic is for You
What do we mean when we pray Thine is the Power Forever? There are two words for power in the NT, one is focused on the authroity, the reign in teh kingdom. For istnance Jesus says, All authority in heaven and on earth has been tgiven to me. But the other idea that is used here is from our word dynamite and dynamic. It is simpoly the ability to do things. This is the idea of
Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.
A praying saint is to have this kind of coifdence in his God. There is no power taht is independent to God - that means not only do we trust the power that’s within God to establish his kigndom of Grace, but even the power that’s outside of God, power of crreatures who choose against God’s will, who act as rebels androuges, even the power that’s in cancer, the power in nature, the power in wart, the power that the devil mimited and on a time frame - all power is not independent of God. Not a thing in a creation holds power on its won. We pray and confess and wr\orship saying THINEis the POWER - knowing nthing isable to frutrate hithe work of god , and he will execute His good pleaure - and we can pray knowing he has that power now,not just in the futuer and that we trust him to use that dynamite now for us!
Listen to how Paul puts it in - not allthings in this world rightnow are good, but God with all power is bending to them to serve HIs good purpose for those who lovehim. So Paul asks:
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
And do you remember his answer - all these things that seem to take power away from us, from God as if we are at the mercy of death, disease persecution, danger, dis-stress whether by weakness or pressure, or how does he answer?
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
When you praise God at the end of prayer for His power, when you confess You are Avble God, your arm is not shortened to save and edeliver -
You are saying - the way is diffuclt the climb is steep, opposition is strong, i feel in the dark I felel itaht the night will neverend, I even experience the slence of God as I wait in prayer - but can any of this separaet me from the love of God in Christ. … No nothing. .. his power always exercised perfectly for his poeople in Christ!
Do you remember Pilate asking Jesus about power? And jesus saying You would have no power/authority unless it had been given you from above.
Jesus answered him, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin.”
Jesus power even in the darkness, was a new kind of power, a forever power from above, Power of his love and truth and jsutice, a power that neabled him to conquer with suffering love and reverse even death itself. It is relying on this new power, taht we are deriving confdnce from as we lclosein doxology. To pray Thine is the Power forever, is a statement of faith, God give me the conifence to truipm over evil, God help me to be prepared for the scars in teh battle. trusting your power and your plan.
But the last part of this doxology is really the whole goal isn’t it. Thine is the glory forever. If Go’s is the Kingdom, authoriiyt adn the power it followsthat - you know what no matter not only is God good - He is good to us. Godis good all the time. God’s way with us is good all the time! and that makes us cry out GLORY!
C. Ascribe to the LORD the Glory Due His Name!
If the goal of life and of all creation, is that God’s name be hallowed in us. That the creation, and every part of it reflect His goodness and perfections - that He shine and all that reflects Hima nd his character and His deeds - ind of vibrates and reverberates with His goodness - By praising and praying at the end of our prayers - God Yours is the Glory Forever - is really just to make our your life , our whole prayer - saying God YOUR ARE GOOD, Infinitely Good , and I magnify all your perfections!
Some think you tack God onto any of the activities in your life that you are good at it - giving glory to God. Well no often we are glory thieves. We take what is good and make ourselves the cetnre of attention. Often instead of taking God’s good gifts and praising him for them, we are so enamoured bythe gifts that we don’t even akcnoeldge and adore and appreciate the giver. ie Augustine, engaged couple oh the ring! But to gpray at the end THINE IS THE GLORY sto remind ourselve that though we bring urgent needs that God is delighted to heart andmeet from his children, thought we want results in prayer - that our ulitatem aim is on God’s Glory not ours. God’s reputation and
A fortmer pastor deep appreicateion for glory, and you for the way he even said the word. Do you have a glory radar - e\any glory you see is God’s glory - do yo ackeldg it do you gloryin your God - all the good you see in others, in creatino, all the dleight for how things work, satifaction trace it all back to God? Notihing in the creation andin mere mortals like you and me, gets remotely close to the wonders of our Father in heaven’s character and person! In Christ, who is redeeming all thigns unto HImself, we are to see all glory and relate it back to Him. .Catechism says it is the chief end, of man - to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. What redeemed to do - live for his glory - don’t belong to ourselves but to Christ who is working God’s glory in all the earth! This was the Psalmist prayer:
As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness.
In Christ it ieven more our prayer:
And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
That is the goal that beholding glory in Christ, we would shine with God’s glory that why Christain prayer isn’t jsut throwing up our needs to God, nor randomly thankign him, it is this commuinon with God in Christ, ongoing covnersation that gets us living toward His glory. Relate every request bac to it.
Until the whole earth is full of yhis glroy!@
, Cry of the believer
And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”
Blessed be his glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with his glory! Amen and Amen!
And it the prophesy we are taking part in Christ right now:
But truly, as I live, and as all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord,
Favourite
For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.
For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.
Now don’t you undertand that this is what is happening with Jesus coming and reigning - and our prayers are part of that movement of God’s glory encompassing the earth:
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
And you Amen is to agree with taht and live in light of the transfomring vision of the Saviour who brings the kingdom and the opwer and g\the glory into the low places, intot he suffering, ven into the sin of ourlives-and makes all things new!
Conclusion:
Last week - I asked you to imagine D-Day, VE Day decisive battle won, just quit fighting and the objectives, But today imagine fighting as if that decisive battle hadn’t been won - REv we have the outcome, we have judgment day in Christ already, we have our resurrection in see dfrom, we have inward renewal = beginning of the new creation = this doxology is LIKE the song that keeps us lliving in that reality - ie Bridge over the River Quaiai - couldn’t keep them down - whistling.. It is like - anthem “This is my fight song...
TThat is what this doxolgy at the end of prayer is to do, it is to sum up all that we have prayed in the six peittions , reminding ourselves that God’s proises in them are sure and depnedable, that they are all yes and amen in Christ. QA 117 That we can depend on ourprayers being answered by God, even more than we can depend on our desires regarding waht we pray. Pray form the heart not hidihng anything, and hubmliing your self in god’s amjestic presence. And then you will say that last word in bleieinv gprayer with meaning. Amen. Not a nnouncement that I’m done. But a resopnse -
Paul says that’s hwo Christain respond with cretainty agreeing, asking let it be , trusting God
Otherwise, if you give thanks with your spirit, how can anyone in the position of an outsider say “Amen” to your thanksgiving when he does not know what you are saying? For you may be giving thanks well enough, but the other person is not being built up.
We are not to end our prayers with whimper, sigh, or snore. But that our hymns, our worship, thakgsgivin our hearing of God’s word, preaching - elieicit a response - taht’s say in Christ yes let ibe so. I am countingo n it in Christ!
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For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.
Lead on o King Eternal
Last week - I asked you to imagine D-Day, VE Day decisive battle won, just quit fighting and the objectives, But today imagine fighting as if that decisive battle hadn’t been won - REv we have the outcome, we have judgment day in Christ already, we have our resurrection in see dfrom, we have inward renewal = beginning of the new creation = this doxology is LIKE the song that keeps us lliving in that reality - ie Bridge over the River Quaiai - couldn’t keep them down - whistling.. It is like - anthem “This is my fight song… Andrew Peterson - and in the night and in the night - my hope lives on… like prodigal hopes of forgiveness.
Lead on o King Eternal