Our Final Word
“The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.” Revelation 22:21 NKJV
There are certain words that we use so often that they come to lose their significance in our understanding. They almost become throw away words or phrases. Unfortunately one of those words is “amen”. We use “amen” to end our prayers but we don’t consider what the word means as we speak it. We probably use the word every day in our Christian life and yet never give a thought to what we are saying when we say “amen”. For most of us, we think of it as simply as the word we use to end our prayers as if God would have no way of knowing we were finished with our prayers unless we concluded with “amen”. We think of it in terms of it being our spiritual way of saying “Over and out God”.
But there is a lot of power in that one little word. We see that it is the very last word He speaks to us through His Word as it is the final word in the final verse of the final chapter of the Bible. So what does “amen” mean when we pray? According to Adam Clarke’s Bible Commentary, it means: “So be it! So let it be! And so it shall be, God, being our helper, forever and ever!” Let’s look at that phrase by phrase.
“So be it!” – This is saying that you believe everything you just said in prayer. It is a statement of faith that you believe what you prayed for is already done and that you know that it is done in the spiritual world and will soon be evident in this natural world we live in. It says that you believe what was spoken shall be done in the glory of Jesus’ name.
“And so it shall be” – Again we see the emphasis that it shall take place regardless of the appearance of things right now. It is a strong statement of faith, not just a throwaway word. It is telling Jesus that you believe His Word and His promises.
“God being our helper” – This is such a great promise because the Bible can be hard to understand on our own. Additionally, it is hard to live up to the standards of the Word. Amen means you know and believe that the Lord Himself will be your help and strength to live the Word, in His strength, not yours. He has given us the “helper”, the Holy Spirit, who will empower you to do and accomplish all that has been spoken. It is notable that this is the last word in the Bible. It is a promise to you that He will empower you to live the entirety of the Word and experience all of its promises. How awesome is that?
“Forever and ever” – The things spoken in the Bible are true and will remain true forever and ever. As you stand on them in prayer and add your “Amen”, you are enforcing what He has already done for you. 2,000 years later His Words are just as true and carry just as much power.
J Todd Hostetler