When children are learning how to pray, “Amen” is one of the first things they get down pat. With little prompting, they say it every time.
Over the years, this lesson becomes deeply ingrained. But in one sense, “Amen” is just a word. As with any word, like “Please” or “Thank you,” we can say it a lot, but if we don’t really mean it, then it has little value.
So when Jesus taught us to end our prayers with “Amen,” He was teaching more than just a word.
The word itself is from a Hebrew noun that means truth, reliability, and faithfulness.
In prayer, it expresses confidence: “Amen. It is true and certain.”
In other words, we shouldn’t pray, just because that’s what is expected from us here at the end of the meal or the end of the day.
We also shouldn’t pray, if we don’t really believe that our prayers will be received and considered by a living and gracious God.
No, when we pray, we have to do so in the sure confidence that God will hear all our petitions. Think of what James says about a praying person, “When he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind” (1:6).
Not wavering, but standing firm. Not doubting, but believing—that’s how we must pray. And when we do pray in faith, “Amen” becomes more than just a word. It expresses our confidence and hope in the Father.
Paul describes the certainty of prayer in 2 Corinthians 1:20, “For all the promises of God in Christ are Yes, and in him Amen, to the glory of God through us.” Jesus fulfilled every prophecy (hundreds of them), and in a similar way, Christ fulfills every promise.
Whatever God has vowed, He’ll grant it because of Christ.
Are you asking for a knowledge of God’s will? God will grant it. Are you pleading for the forgiveness of your sins? He will give it. Do you request your daily bread? You can be certain that it’s yours. Are you looking for strength to resist the devil? For Jesus’s sake, God will grant this. Are you hoping to receive a place in God’s eternal kingdom? It is yours in Christ.
So we say it at the end with great conviction: “Amen. It is true and certain that my Father has heard my prayer, and for the sake of Jesus, I know He will answer me!”
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Scripture: James 1:1-8
Prayer: Father in heaven, you are reliable in all your ways. Help me to know that you are trustworthy, and to come to you with confidence. For Jesus’s sake, Amen.