Many families say grace before they eat dinner. Some families, I have found, say grace after dinner, with the idea that they would rather thank God with great praise than praise Him distractedly while salivating over their food. I don’t think God has a preference; what God cares about most is the state of their heart while they pray.
I find myself in a dilemma, constantly having to refocus, especially after I am hungry. ”Thank you Heavenly Father for your provision in our lives and your faithfulness to us. Please bless the hands that prepared this food. We also take this moment to lift up to you those who don’t have. Lord, be their strength and provide for them according to their needs, out of the abundance of your love. Amen.”
Sometimes I pray when things are tight and I need the ultimate Provider. I pray when my heart is broken and I am hurting. I pray when I am happy. No matter how sincere my prayer, no matter what I pray about, I have come to realize I ignore one little word that contains all the power and serves as reassurance to my soul: Amen.
The translation for amen is “so be it.” Amen is far more than a cursory ending to a prayer. Amen is an affirmation. When we say amen we say, “God, you have heard me. I believe you. I believe you have heard me and I am trusting you. As I have prayed, let it be done.” When we say amen, we are saying that we do not doubt God.
The thought crosses my mind that if I contemplated more on the meaning of amen, perhaps I would be less fearful. Perhaps I would not worry and I would know that when I ask of God, that He has indeed heard me. Perhaps my faith would be stronger. I have come to a painful realization that perhaps all the prayers which I uttered without saying Amen as an affirmation were prayers that I did not trust to God; empty, hollow, utterances made as part of a Christian to do list. Suddenly I must ask: I have often praised God with my prayers, but have I affirmed my prayer? Are my prayers ramblings spoken within four walls (or whatever environment I happen to be in), and God my dumping ground? Do I know God and seek Him, or do I live a life of one-sided me-ness, enjoying the label of Christian but unwilling to walk by faith?
God knows all, sees all, and hears all. I know He has heard my prayer. But has He liked what He has heard? Does he know the hollowness of my words?
I had never evaluated the way I pray, until reading in 2nd Corinthians. Paul writes, “For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, whom we proclaimed among you, Silvanus and Timothy and I, was not Yes and No, but in him it is always Yes. 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.” (2nd Corinthians 1:19-20) This verse struck me in my heart, resonating as never before.
If you have not known the meaning of Amen, I hope this blesses your life. I find much encouragement and power by saying it, because it reminds me of whom I pray to, that I am affirming Jehovah as God, and that He will be glorified in my prayer; however, I wish to stress that most importantly when we pray, it is the state of our hearts. Some of us never need to know the meaning of ‘Amen’ to feel firm in our faith, and I am not stating that Amen is the secret key to a great prayer life. I do believe, though, that it is important to God whether we have faith in Him to hear and act upon our prayers.
Great read, very true indeed