The Lord’s Prayer – Doxology

Matthew 6:9-13 (ESV)

Pray then like this:

“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.

“For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Amen”

Why don’t we find this well known ending to the Lord’s Prayer in most translations?

Commonly known as the ‘doxology’, this part of the prayer is only found in a select group of original texts (the Bible is translated from the original languages using original documents, or texts, from multiple locations), and not in any of the oldest and most reliable texts. Our best guess is that a scribe at some point added it as a note, and further copies of the text included it as part of the text.

So the question begs then, why do we pray it, and is it a problem? Theologically, there is no issue with the wording in relation to it being prayed in a public or private setting. In fact it mirrors a text in 1 Chronicles 29:11-13 in some ways, and doesn’t at all conflict with solid theology. It is also very similar to Jude 24-25. So in prayer, I don’t think there is an issue at all, however, in our Bible translations it needs to be left out, as it seems clear it wasn’t part of the original text.

The Kingdom

First we declare that all kingdoms belong to our God. Not just the heavenly realms, but the Earth and our universe as well. It may not seem like it now, as God is still postponing the final judgment when sin will be finally removed from this world, but this Kingdom is God’s Kingdom, and he can and will do what He wants with it.

The Power

Secondly we declare that all power belongs to God. This firstly is a declaration that God is all powerful. But secondly, we are declaring that all power and authority on this earth is granted by God, and in His control to not only grant, but to revoke.

(Romans 13:1 ESV)
Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.

It is both a declaration and a reminder – God is in control.

The Glory

The final declaration is that all is for God’s glory. All that we do is for God’s glory. All that God has done is for God’s glory, because He deserves it. We are reminding ourselves as much as proclaiming – all is for the Glory of God.

Forever

What a statement! A lifetime is a long time – but its got nothing on eternity. We are declaring that all of these things will be God’s forever. The kingdom. The power. The glory. Forever. Forever means not just in the future, but also now, and also in the past. So for eternity past and eternity ahead, these things all belong to God.

Amen!