By David Faust
ToddlerTalk.com lists 15 common words babies say when they are first learning to talk. Not surprisingly, number one is “Mama.” Others on the list include “Dada,” “ball,” “bye,” “uh oh,” “no,” and “milk.” Surprisingly, “mine” didn’t make the list.
Kids say “mine” a lot—especially while quarreling over toys. Marriages suffer when partners can’t agree on what is “yours,” “mine,” and “ours.” In sports, it’s a losing formula when players put personal goals ahead of the team’s success. For most of us, it comes naturally to worry about what is “mine.”
That’s why the closing words of the Lord’s Prayer are so significant, although some early Greek manuscripts don’t include the traditional ending of Matthew 6:13. Biblical scholars debate the textual validity of “for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever,” but I have no problem with those words, for they appear in David’s Old Testament prayer: “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” (1 Chronicles 29:11, New International Version).
Thine, Not Mine
The Lord’s Prayer steers us away from self-centeredness.
When I try to assert autocratic rule over my life, “yours is the kingdom” reminds me that Christ is King and ultimately he is in charge.
When I’m tempted to be headstrong and self-serving, praying “yours is the power” puts me in my rightful place (and God in his).
When pride causes my EGO to “Edge God Out,” it’s good to say, “yours is the glory.”
When I become possessive and enamored with material possessions and worldly comforts, the Lord’s Prayer reminds me to tell God, “These things are Thine, not mine.”
We Are His
There’s no question who owns what. God says, “Every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird in the mountains, and the insects in the fields are mine. . . . for the world is mine, and all that is in it” (Psalm 50:10-12).
God promised the ancient Jews, “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine” (Isaiah 43:1). Our identity doesn’t depend on what we own, what we accomplish, or what others think of us. Under the new covenant God promises, “You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession” (1 Peter 2:9).
Jesus teaches us how to pray, not as a burdensome duty but as a loving response to the Creator who invites us to call him “Father.” Love motivates us to pursue his will, ask him for our daily bread, receive his forgiveness, and seek God’s help to steer us from evil and steel us against temptation. We approach his throne of grace with confidence, saying, “Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.”
David Faust serves as contributing editor of Christian Standard and senior associate minister with East 91st Street Christian Church in Indianapolis, Indiana. He is the author of Married for Good.
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