We pray this not because God needs to know this, but we need to be reminded of this reality. Whether we acknowledge this or not, it doesn’t change one tiny thing about who God is. God is already God. God already created everything. God already knows all things belong to him.

But when we come to grasp this reality, we are changed. This changes our puny lives from mere existence for a few decades here on earth to being God’s children who get to participate in God’s plan to restore and redeem God’s creation for all of eternity.

It’s so easy to forget. We don’t even have to try to forget. We just forget even without trying. And when we forget, we make life all about us. That’s our autopilot: what we want, what we think, what we feel, what we desire…

When we pray, “For Thine is the Kingdom,” we are reminding ourselves that life is all about God.

Most of the people living on planet earth have no clue about this reality. And the thing is, every soul who has ever taken a breath here on planet earth will come to realize the truth of this reality whether they acknowledge it or not. The only hope that our world has is for those who know this truth to live this truth out in such a way that they too come to grips with this reality.

When we watch the impeachment trial taking place in DC, as we watch the forecast of snow for this weekend, as we watch the roller coaster of the stock market, it’s so stinking easy to forget that “Thine is the kingdom.” It’s so easy to forget that God is in control. That history is not mere chance. That all of time and all of history is moving toward one moment in his-story when all living creatures will bend their knee before the Creator of all things.

We take ourselves and our lives much too seriously when we confuse ourselves to think that life is about us. That we get to participate and be a part of God’s kingdom plan is a privilege and an honor.

“Thine is the kingdom.”

God, thank you for this daily reminder. We need a daily re-orientation to kingdom reality. We need a daily recalibration of our bearing.

“Thine is the kingdom.”

The prayer which Jesus taught his disciples to pray is recorded for us in Matthew 6:9-13 and in Luke 11:2-4.

Matthew 6:9-13 – “This, then, is how you should pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”

Luke 11:2-4 – “He said to them, ‘When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgives us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.'”

Notice something missing?!?!

Where is “Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever”?

It’s not there?

Then where did we get this phrase?

The early church added the last clause to the end of the prayer.

Why did the early church do that?

The early church added the last clause because you can’t end a great prayer without a great doxology, a great praise. The early church didn’t add anything that Jesus wasn’t already teaching and preaching. They added the clause because a great prayer deserves a great ending. You can’t end it with “Deliver us from evil” or “Lead us not into temptation.” That just wouldn’t do.

Jewish prayers ended with praise and God’s glory. A good example of this is found in 1 Chronicles 29:10-11 which records David’s prayer toward the end of his life.

“Praise be to you, LORD, the God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Yours, LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, LORD, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all.”

Or, in other words, “Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.”

Jews would have been familiar with this prayer and doxology.

Now, thanks to the early church, we have a fitting ending to a great prayer.

In the next three days, we will explore the meaning of “Kingdom, power, and glory.”

Jesus tells his disciples to pray, “Deliver us from evil,” to remind us that there is a war that is raging in our world. The war is not between nations but between God and forces that are waging war against all that God and his kingdom stands for.

There is no doubt about how this war ends: God wins, the kingdom of God wins, God’s will is established here on earth as it is heaven. But until that is the reality at the second coming of Jesus, there are forces at work to destroy everything God stands for.

The Greek actually says, “Deliver us from the evil one.”

It would be easy if the evil one was the guy in the red suit with a pitched fork. That guy would be easy to pick out. But the reality is that sometimes it’s the colleague who wants us to lie to our clients, it’s our friends who want us to join them in activities we know to be wrong, it’s popular culture that wants us to turn a blind eye to injustice and wrong. And, sometimes, it’s us. It’s us when we know what is right and good and we want to do the very opposite.

“Deliver us from the evil one.”

When we pray this we are asking God to deliver us from the evil that pulls us down, the evil that wants us to focus only on things on earth, the evil that wants to blind us to God’s goodness and his will.

We pray, “Deliver us from evil,” because we are powerless to deliver ourselves, not matter how hard we try. Only God can deliver us. Only God can save us. Only God can change us.

When disciples pray, “Deliver us from evil,” we are asking God to give us the wisdom to discern God’s will from the bad and to have the courage to change what needs to be changed. And, oftentimes, this prayer is asking God to change us. We are the ones who need to be reminded on a daily basis that God is at work in our world. Evil will meet God’s justice and righteousness. Evil will one day have to answer to God for its work.

Until that day, disciples pray, “Deliver us from evil,” so that we can join God in establishing God’s will here are on earth as it is in heaven.