Amen!

I like the way children pray. No pious platitudes and fancy phrases. They just tell God what's on their minds. They understand our heavenly Father cares about the small details as well as the big picture.

"Thank you God for the pizza," my children would pray when they were young, "and for sending Jesus to die on the cross for us. Amen."

They especially loved that word "Amen." They'd say it with extra emphasis, stressing the second syllable the way they heard some say it in church: "a-MEN!"

I like that word too. "Amen" is not merely a term to tack onto our prayers as if it were a holy sounding way to say "The End." In biblical times people used "amen" to express confident assent or agreement. It literally means "truly" or "so be it." The King James Version translates it "verily" when Jesus says, "Verily, verily truly, truly I say unto thee."

When we say "amen," we agree that the words spoken in prayer are accurate and true. Since Jesus himself is the truth (John 14:6), "amen" should remind us of him. He is "the Amen, the faithful and true witness" (Revelation 3:14). "Through him Christ the 'Amen' is spoken by us to the glory of God" (2 Corinthians 1:20).

Jesus' Devotion to Prayer

The Gospels mention at least 15 different occasions when Jesus prayed.

His ministry began with prayer. He was praying when John baptized him in the Jordan River (Luke 3:21).

His ministry continued in prayer. Early in the morning and late at night, he would slip away from the crowds and find a solitary place to pray (Mark 1:35; Luke 5:16).

He prayed when he chose leaders for the church. Before selecting the 12 apostles Jesus "spent the night praying to God" (Luke 6:12, 13). Later, his disciples followed Jesus' example and selected church leaders after prayer and fasting (Acts 1:23-26, 6:6, 13:3, 14:23).

He prayed when performing miracles. Jesus didn't beg the Father for power, though. He simply "gave thanks" and broke the loaves when he fed the 5,000 (Matthew 14:13-23; John 6:11). When he raised Lazarus from the dead, he calmly thanked the Father in advance for hearing his prayer (John 11:41, 42).

He prayed in times of suffering. On the night before he died, Jesus uttered the longest prayer recorded in the Gospels, which fills an entire chapter (John 17). He prayed for the unity of his first-century disciples, and he prayed for us: "I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one" (John 17:20, 21). In the Garden of Gethsemane he poured out his heart saying, "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done" (Luke 22:42). Three of Jesus' seven statements from the cross were prayers: "Father, forgive them . . ." (Luke 23:34), "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Mark 15:34), and "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit" (Luke 23:46).

After Jesus rose from the dead, he lifted up his hands in a prayer of blessing for his disciples. "While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven" (Luke 24:51). What a memorable parting glimpse of the Master! Even now he intercedes with the Father on our behalf (Romans 8:34; Hebrews 7:25; 1 John 2:1).

When we follow the example of the Master Teacher, our own prayers will come alive. All of us can say "amen" to that.