Message
Why Prayer Works
A sermon on 1 Chronicles 29:11
The Lord’s Prayer is used by Christians all around the world.
You may or may not know that the Lord’s Prayer is found in the Bible.
You also may or may not know that there are two versions of the Lord’s Prayer written in the Bible.
Matthew 6
9 “This, then, is how you should pray:
“‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’
Luke 11
2 He said to them, “When you pray, say:
“‘Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come.]
3 Give us each day our daily bread.
4 Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.
And lead us not into temptation.’”
When you compare them like that you can see that Luke’s version of the prayer is definitely shorter, about 50% shorter, than Matthew’s version. You can see that can’t you.
But do you notice anything else?
Where is the doxology?
You know the bit which talks about the kingdom and the power and the glory that we also say when we use the Lord’s prayer? Where is that?
The very early versions of the Lord’s prayer, both in Matthew and Luke, do not have the ending which so many people use today to finish the Lord’s Prayer. So where does it come from?
History is helpful here. There is a very old Christian writing called “The Didache” which was written in the second century. It talks about many aspects of the Christian life including containing the Lord’s prayer. And, in the Didache, you will find the doxology "for yours is the power and the glory forever".
Which makes a lot of sense. Because of the doxology was missing the prayer would end with a focus on "temptation" and "evil" – which does not seem to be such a suitable way to end such a great prayer.
So, from an historical point of view, we can be sure that a doxology was added very early – even though the words themselves are not from the mouth of Jesus. But just because it is early, that doesn’t mean it is Biblical.
Is the way that we say the Lord’s prayer, especially the way that we finish with the doxology, is that all in keeping with Scripture?
The answer to this question must be “yes”.
Let me show you 1 Chronicles 29:11.
Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendour, for everything in heaven and earth is Yours.
Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom; You are exalted as head over all.
What is amazing about this verse is the context.
King David is still alive but old – he is about to hand over to Solomon his son.
David has been collecting the materials to build the temple and he is now encouraging the leaders of the nation to follow his example. Let’s read about it.
Read
1 Chronicles 29:1-13.
It is all about worshipping God.
It is all about reliance on God.
That is really important to see – because the addition of the doxology reminds us why prayer works.
This prayer works because we centre our focus on God, and not on ourselves.
The Lord’s prayer may be a relatively short prayer yet through it we have made many petitions from God.
We ask that His Name always be honoured and praised (first petition).
We ask God to rule over us and to keep His church strong (second petition).
We ask God to help us reject our will and obey His will (third petition).
We ask God to take care of all our physical needs (fourth petition).
We ask God to forgive us our sins and to grant us the grace to forgive others (fifth petition).
We ask God to grant us victory when faced with temptation and evil (sixth petition).
Four of the six petitions are about us. And it is ok to focus on us, because that is what Jesus taught us to do. But, ultimately, life is not about us – it is about God.
We start the prayer by honouring God.
We finish the prayer by giving glory to God.
We are in there, we are part of the story. But God is the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end. That is the pattern, the only pattern, that can get us through anything.
Let me read you a POEM, it is called DEATH.
each morning as I fixed our family's breakfast I would see them
(our kitchen windows met across the way)
a woman, gentle-faced and sweet laying out the morning things
and he, sitting at the table, would take the family Bible out
smoothing its pages—
for forty years, or more
they plied this self-same ritual
starting the day together … and with God
and then one night quickly death called and she was gone
the next morning I watched as tears stood in my eyes
an old man his shoulders hunched against the years
take down his cup and saucer
smooth the family Bible out
sitting at the table
alone ...
and with God.
Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory. Ending the prayer like this gives us a pattern ... a pattern which can get us through life and death.
This prayer works because we recognise that God has heard us.
In prayer a relationship is established with God. We are not talking to the ceiling we are talking to a God who loves us dearly. He is our Father.
The Father who lovingly moulded us out of the dust of the earth and then blew His own breath into us so that we could enjoy the wonderful creation He had made.
He is the Father who watched with sadness, but with a special plan in mind, as we pitifully hid in the bushes contemplating the consequences of our first sin.
This is the Father who called a special people as His very own – a nation called Israel. They were not called because they were the most powerful, or smart, or numerous. But only because of His love for them.
This same heavenly Father did what was necessary to provide a Saviour – One who would come to the nations and be the cornerstone of their lives. Indeed, as the Father who loves us, He would pour His anger onto His own Son so that we could know of our special place in His heart.
We pray to a Father who has come to give us a comprehensive answer to all of life. He is the One who has the power and glory. He is the One who rules. He is the One who makes things happen. And He is listening to us.
We are given here an image of a listening king. In Saudi Arabia it is the right of any citizen – rich or poor, herdsman or oil sheik – to demand a private audience with the king. So one week a year the king holds public court. Petitioners come forward one-by-one and all advisers and body-guards, to respect the right to privacy, have to stand beyond hearing range. The king leans forward and listens to and talks with his subjects.
God is the same – but much more so. He can hear the unuttered words … the thoughts … the silent pleas. He knows the deepest cries of our heart. And He is willing and able to answer. When we come to the end of this doxology we know we have been heard.
This prayer works because it gives us confidence that God has the power to do anything.
When we lack confidence it begins to make us question ourselves.
You see it happen in exams. If a student begins an exam but has trouble with some of the first questions, then it can put them off for the rest of the exam, even though they know the answers.
It happens as you get older. You can’t do what you want to do because maybe you fell or hurt yourself. So you lack confidence, and you pull yourself out of situations that, ordinarily, you wouldn’t think twice about.
Confidence is important. In life as well as in prayer. God wants us to have confidence in our prayers … in fact He wants us to be confident in our whole life.
Just stop for a moment and think about the context of our text. David has been in the process of gathering all the materials that are going to be required to build the temple – a temple that would be built by Solomon. But he needs so much more. He doesn’t want to leave the task to a young Solomon. David just wants Solomon to focus on the building. But David also knows the people and he confidently asks them for help.
They give because they acknowledge it all comes from God in the first place.
They give because they trust in the abundance which God has provided.
They give also because they are confident in God.
The people have seen God at work and they are now responding to His grace.
Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory. It is an expression of confidence in the one who has ordered our lives … and will continue to order our lives … so that we may have real hope.
This prayer works because we are making ongoing confession of faith.
Through recognising the kingdom, power and glory of God we are making a significant statement of faith.
The Greek word for kingdom means kingship. In faith we are saying to the Father. “Kingship belongs to You”.
He is our King, the King of the universe who controls all.
He is our King, the King of grace who is willing to save.
He is our King, who has the power to draw us close and hold us so that nothing can take us out of the kingdom.
A king who is building a kingdom that will last and of which we know that we are a part.
In praise and adoration we say “Yours is the power”. To him belongs the might and strength and force which cannot be resisted or overthrown.
The word for power in this doxology is the word from which our word dynamite is derived.
It is an explosive action which can cause great effect far beyond its size.
God’s power is unlimited which means all things are possible and nothing is impossible with God. In faith we trust the power He uses to make the impossible happen in our lives.
In recognition of His grace we say, “Yours is the glory”. It is a pointer to the sort of God we have.
God is full of radiance, splendour and majesty – the One from whom comes every good and perfect gift.
God is unapproachable as He will not bear sinners in His presence – yet He makes Himself accessible through His Son.
Sometimes words are just not enough. His Word and his works have been sung and praised throughout history, as we do in this doxology, for he is our God who has done all things well. By ending the prayer in this way we constantly tell God of our desire to confess our faith in Him. And faith in Him is all that we need.
So it may be that this part of the prayer wasn’t attached to the original teaching – but it is a very fitting conclusion to this prayer that has been at the heart of believers for 2000 years. It’s a doxology that gives all the praise and focus back to God.
In a grand finale we are reminded of the very nature of God.
When you get in contact with God there is never a busy signal.
He is a listening God who gives us great confidence.
He is a Father in whom we can have ultimate trust.
In other words we can be sure that prayer works. Why? For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.
Prayer
Finish together with Lord’s Prayer.
