In Jesus' Name, AMEN

I have been going through the book, Future Grace, by John Piper over the past few months and wow has it ever affected my life. What a treasure trove of spiritual guidance and truth! I would highly, highly recommend it. While it is somewhat of a challenge to get through, given John Piper's writing style, it is exceptionally written and has helped me so much. If your parents have an extensive library like mine, chances are they have this book. Might I challenge you to begin reading it this summer along with me? You will be so blessed by it...I promise.

A few weeks ago I read a chapter entitled, "Looking back for the sake of the future." In this chapter, John Piper is explaining how looking back at God's faithfulness to us throughout our lives thus far, gives us a confidence that God will continue to be faithful to us in the future. God's past grace is him saying to us, "See my faithfulness? It will continue. Because I am never changing and am always working for your good." This is such a great hope for us! God's grace is not a one-time thing. It continues every day in abundance! New mercies meet us every morning! However, there was one particular thing he talked about in this chapter that has changed my prayer life. It literally was such a radical illumination to me that I am now praying differently and I believe more effectively than ever before, and I must share it with you. I hope that it enriches your prayer life as well.

The place where past and future are linked repeatedly in our lives is prayer. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 1:20, "Wherefore also by him is our Amen to the glory of God through us." Wait...huh? What exactly is Paul saying here? Ok...stay with me. Basically, Paul is making the point that because of Christ, and the work he accomplished for us, we say AMEN to God in our prayers to show that God gets the glory for the future grace we are counting on. Think hard about this. Do you ever wonder why we as Christians say Amen at the end of our prayers? Do you know what it means? Some say it means, "I agree" or "I affirm what was just said." Most simply though, AMEN means a very earnest YES! in the context of addressing God. It doesn't mean, "yes, I have now said all this prayer and I am now ending my conversation with God." No, it is so much more than that. When we say AMEN we are saying, "Yes, God has made all these promises." It means, "Yes Lord, you can do it. Yes Lord you are powerful. Yes, Lord you are wise. Yes, Lord you are merciful. Yes, Lord, all future grace comes from you and has been confirmed in Christ." AMEN is like an exclamation point of hope after our prayers for help. 

I don't know about you girls, but I often find myself saying AMEN without really thinking about it. We say it often...during church sermons, at the end of personal or public prayer, etc...but do we really think about what we are affirming with that word? Next time you pray, instead of saying AMEN...say instead, "Yes, Lord you can do it and I believe and trust in your faithfulness. Yes, Lord you will answer my prayer in your perfect timing. Yes, Lord, you are worthy of my complete obedience and trust." Simply changing the way I view the word AMEN has changed the way I commune with the Lord through prayer. It reminds me of who God is, what Christ has accomplished on my behalf, and of the hope and assurance that I have.

Honestly, I don't know if this will encourage or help anyone else. But God used this simple explanation of the word AMEN to change my prayer life in a pretty intense and powerful way. My prayer in sharing this with you is that God will use it to change your prayer life as well. We all need to be changed, amen? Yes indeed. Change us Oh God. In Jesus' name, AMEN.

~Julie