EPHESIANS 3:21

“to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.”

In the ministry where I serve (Every Man A Warrior), we teach men how to pray. You may say What do you mean, teach them how to pray? Doesn’t everyone know how to do that? Well, you would be surprised. In fact, in our lesson about prayer a story is told about a “newbie” who closed his prayer by saying, “Well, over and out.” He didn’t know how to close his prayer, so he just signed off. I don’t think God was offended.

Paul is closing his prayer that he began back in verse 14. There is no right way or wrong way to close a prayer. Paul knows that, but he closes this prayer with a benediction praising God and mentioning the church, Jesus and future generations. I think he was trying to cover the bases, lol. Paul was so thankful for the these Ephesians and what he knew God was going to do through them.

APPLICATION

Okay, this is an easy one to apply. Right? There are so many times each day we lift up a prayer to the Lord. Do you close that prayer each time? Maybe not. Paul told us in 1 Thessalonians 5:17, “pray without ceasing.” We should always remain in that spirit of prayer. I know people who only say “Amen” when they get ready to go to sleep. They want that channel open all day with God.

God does not care how many times a day you say “Amen.” Do you know the definition of “amen.” It means “so let it be.” In other words, you are agreeing with God what you have talked about. As you pray, the Holy Spirit is speaking to you. As you listen to Him and finish your prayer, you say “Amen.” You’re saying “Okay, Lord, we are in agreement on these things.” The next time you say “amen” think about that.

As I said earlier, there is no right way to close a prayer. Just pray! Talk to the Father. Give Him praise. Confess your sins. Thank Him for all He has done. Share your request. God knows them, but He loves to hear you ask Him. And then when you are finished, you can “sign off.” Or you can leave that “phone” off the hook (you younger folks may need to ask someone what I meant by that, lol) and pick up where you left off later.

May all my prayers, Father, end with an “amen,” a “so let it be.”