By Marvin A. McMickle
There is a reason why we can have as much faith in God as this prayer demands; it is because of how this prayer ends. For thine is the kingdom, and the power and the glory forever. Nations will rise and fall, sadly, including our own whose moral decline already seems to be well underway. But God's kingdom will last forever. His reign and rule in the hearts of people all over the world will never end.
The power of great military forces or giant industrial or technological corporations will inevitably wane. The ability of men and nations to rule great parts of the world ends as their power slips away. No one fears the power of the pharaohs, the Caesars, the czars of Russia, the kings and emperors of old Europe or the caliphs of the Ottoman Empire. And in a world of suicide bombers throughout the Middle East today, it is apparent that a great many people no longer fear the power of the President of the United States.
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Power is a fluid thing, and no matter how much of it we may possess at any one time, our grip on power does not last forever. Meanwhile, the power of God over every element of creation and over the long sweep of human history goes on and on. I love the song that says, "He's got the whole world in his hands." Thine is the power.
The last thing we can say about God is this; thine is the glory forever. There is only one name that is going to be praised and celebrated at the end of time. The celebrities of our world rise and fall, shine and then slip into the shadows of the soon forgotten past more quickly than any of them might like. In just the last few weeks and months, one celebrity after another has been knocked off of their pedestal of popularity by their own acts of misconduct. Michael Jackson, Wynona Ryder, Glenn Campbell and Kobe Bryant have each had their faces and their police mug shots spread across newspapers and TV screens. Each of them was enormously popular within their field of endeavor, but already their glory has faded.
Now consider the glory of God that was shining from before the dawn of creation. Then consider the promise of Isaiah 40:8 that says, "The grass withers and the flower fades, but the word of our God shall stand forever." Consider the glory of God that hovered one night over the hills of Bethlehem and lit up the world when the birth of Jesus was announced. Consider the stirring scene on the Mt. Of Transfiguration when the face of Jesus shown like the noonday sun. Consider the promise and proclamation of Hebrews 13:8 that says, "Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever."
We can pray like Jesus has taught us, because we have this final assurance that Jesus has given us concerning God; thine is the kingdom, and the power and the glory forever. Amen!
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Marvin A. McMickle is Pastor of Antioch Baptist Church in Cleveland, OH.