A prayer of repose - St Stephen's and St Wulstan's Church

For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory for ever. Amen.
Matthew 6:13 (NIVUK)

Many of us will be more familiar with those words in the traditional version of the ending to the Lord’s Prayer: “For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory for ever and ever. Amen.”

Interestingly, those words aren’t in every manuscript of Matthew 6:13, and they don’t appear at all in Luke’s version of the Lord’s Prayer (Luke 11). But they are a most fitting way to conclude this special prayer.

At first sight this line doesn’t appear to be a prayer at all. It’s not asking for anything. We’ve already asked for plenty of things in the prayer already – concerning God’s name, kingdom and will and our provision, pardon and protection – but in this last line we ask for nothing.

It is, however, addressed to God. And what is prayer other than speaking to God? We say, “yours is the kingdom…” It’s not just something we say about God; it’s something we say to him. And the ancients called it ‘a prayer of repose.’ I like that. It’s where we rest, where we find our repose.

And notice that little word “for” at the start of the line. This is the basis for all the rest of our praying that has preceded it. It’s what gives us confidence to ask that God’s name be hallowed, his kingdom come and his will be done, that we be given our daily bread, our forgiveness and delivered from evil. It’s all because the kingdom, the power and the glory are already his, and always will be.

And so these words are a great place to rest, and to find our repose, whether at the end of our praying or at the end of the day – to lay our requests and our cares, our needs and our fears, before him, and then to leave them all with him saying, “For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory for ever. Amen.”

Prayer
Lord, thank you that the kingdom, the power and glory really are yours, always have been and always will be, all of them and for ever; teach me to pray with that confidence and to rest in that assurance. Amen.

Yours warmly, in Christ,
Chris Hobbs (Senior Minister)