Why do we end our prayers with "Amen"?

If anyone address himself to God in the assembly, whether in prayer or thanksgiving he must remember that he does so as giving expression to the desires or the praises of the assembly. He is not speaking merely on his own behalf. Consequently he must carry the assembly with him; and they, understanding and following his utterances, ratify them before God and make them their own by saying "Amen" (signifying "So be it") at the end. They cannot intelligibly and honestly say "Amen" at the end if they are quite unaware of what it is all about. Far better is it to speak but five words profitable for instruction, than ten thousand words that mean nothing to the hearers.

Take note that verse 16 supposes that each in the assembly, even the unlearned and insignificant, do say "Amen." They say it, and not merely think it. If our experience be any guide, a very small percentage in the assembly say "Amen" today. Test what we say in an average prayer meeting. If a brother in prayer really voices our desires let us ratify what he has uttered with a good distinct "Amen." If he has not, honesty compels us to refrain from saying it. If the earnest, fervent outpouring of our desires were ratified by all of us in the utterance of a hearty "Amen" at the close, and the wearisome parade of information, and discussion of doctrines with God, which sometimes is inflicted on us at great length as a substitute for prayer, were ended in a rather chilling silence, the offender might possibly be awakened to what he is doing. When however every prayer finishes in silence save for a few feeble "Amens,' no such discrimination can be felt, and one begins to fear that all may be formalism and with little or no meaning or depth. Let us think on these things and cultivate reality.

ἰδιώτης (from ἴδιος, 'one's own') has a different signification: it is applied to private persons in distinction from those who are officials or professionals, and so to simple or uninstructed persons. The apostle asks how such a one could say Amen to the giving of thanks by one speaking in a tongue, not understanding what was said, 1 Cor. 14:16; and in 1 Cor. 14:23-24 he is classed with unbelievers. The word occurs also in 2 Cor. 11:6, where Paul maintains that though he may be simple, or untrained, in speech, he is not so in regard to knowledge.

(2) The apostle goes on: "For if I pray with a tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my mind is unfruitful." It has been thought, perhaps generally, that here his inability to understand what he was saying was necessarily supposed, but why? Is not the fruit which the apostle is teaching us everywhere to look for, the edification of the assembly? And thus if a man prayed simply with a tongue, apart from interpretation, there could be no fruitfulness; in that respect the mind was really unfruitful. "But," says the apostle, "I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray also with the understanding. I will praise with the spirit and I will praise with the understanding." That is, surely, therefore, in connection with the context here, in such a way that there shall be understanding all round, for he goes on directly to argue that if you bless in the spirit only, the one who occupies the place of the unlearned cannot possibly say "amen" to the giving of thanks; for he does not know what is being said. You may give thanks ever so well, but there is no edification for the other. Thus even in prayer and praise the same principle obtains. In the assembly all is done for the assembly. The speaker must be either the voice of the assembly to God or the voice of God to the assembly, but the assembly as such is always in mind, and the gathering is not to be diverted into any mere field for the private exercises of the saints, whatever their character might be. Solemn it is to realize that even the giving thanks well in this way would not justify the thanksgiving. The fact that the gift is from God does not of necessity justify the use of it. The use at any particular time must be governed by the principle which runs through all this, the principle of edification, which is sought always. The apostle was not speaking to discredit tongues, the ability to use which he had more than all, yet he deliberately chooses rather to speak five words with his understanding, to instruct others, (there he defines really what he means by five words with the understanding, which is that he may instruct others by them,) he would rather speak five words this way than ten thousand in a tongue. To think otherwise would be to be children in their minds; but he does not want them to be children in mind, although he would be happy that they were children in malice; but in their minds they were to be full grown. What, in fact, had God shown with regard to this use of tongues, unintelligible tongues, as we see? That is really the point of it. It was written in the law, in the book of Isaiah (the whole of the Old Testament is characterized as law): "With other tongues and lips of others I will speak unto this people, and not even so will they bear me, saith the Lord." But to what did this refer? In fact, to their captivity among foreigners or the dominion of foreigners over them, a thing in itself which would necessarily and notably speak to a people who could only be in this condition through their own sin and failure, and yet their sin would not be remedied by it, nor would they listen, as the Lord says, to these tongues by which He was speaking so strangely to them; so that in this case tongues were for a sign not to believers, but to unbelievers. God was speaking to them indeed, but in a strange language through their unbelief, and this only, through the hardness of their heart, shut them up the more in that unbelief, did not deliver them. Prophesying, on the other hand, was directly for believers, not for unbelievers. Now if the whole assembly come together in one place and all speak with tongues, he urges, and there come in unlearned persons or unbelievers, what will they say? What effect will it have upon them? "Will they not say that ye are mad?" It is supposed, of course, that there is no making plain the thing so as to edify; just used as strange tongues because of the wonder of such speech. They are tongues, he supposes, that are not understood. On the other hand, if all prophesied, and there came in one who was an unbeliever or unlearned, this bringing in of the mind of God, unbaring as it does the secrets of the heart, would bring conviction to the man who came. He might not indeed be converted by it, but be would find, in fact, his inmost heart searched out, and would recognize that it was God who was searching; so, falling upon his face, he would worship God, and declare that God was with them of a truth. How plainly is the character of prophesying thus seen as the bringing in of God in such a way as would speak for itself; the voice of God made audible in the speaker, with its direct power over the conscience of those who heard.

But we see also that prayer, singing, blessing, thanksgiving, as well as prophesying, had their full place in the assembly. They are all to edification; and who could forbid any of them? Power is insufficient, however manifestly divine. What is with the understanding, and consequently addresses it, has the greatest weight with the apostle, as thus speaking authoritatively for the Lord; and this is as true of prayers and hymns as of teaching. The least in the assembly is presumed to go intelligently with the praise or thanksgiving that rises up to God.

Verse 16. "Else when thou shalt bless with the spirit," etc. What is here chiefly interesting is the distinct recognition of the "unlearned,"3 and his place as a genuine worshipper in the assembly of God. The thoughts of the apostle are mainly upon him; for God's assemblies are not institutions for the vain display of gift, but means for the common and mutual edification of His saints. There is a hearing faculty in every true child of God. The babe in Christ has an unction from the Holy One, and knows all things. Whatever, in an assembly of worshippers, is unintelligible to the weakest member of Christ's body, is unprofitable for edification, though it may interest a few. Let us also note the use of the term "thanksgiving "in this verse. Already he has spoken of praying and singing. From these incidental allusions we obtain an accurate notion of true church worship in its several elements. Teaching is not worship. Nor is exhort- • ation; though both, if really in the spirit, tend directly to its enlargement, and the elevation of its tone. But as in heaven there is neither preaching nor teaching, so also in a worship-meeting of true saints; while place will be found for whatever is of God, and seasonable words of exhortation, of comfort, or rebuke will assuredly be heard, according to the moral need of the assembly at the time, the predominating tone will always be thanksgiving and prayer, with melody of heart and voice to the Lord.4 In such assemblies God will more frequently be addressed than men. How this verse and the one following condemn by anticipation the dead ritual of Rome, as well as the modern extravagancies of Irvingism, will forcibly suggest itself to every spiritual reader.

The Hebrew word is always translated 'Amen,' except twice in Isa. 65:16, where it is rendered 'truth.' "He who blesseth himself in the earth, shall bless himself in the God of 'truth ;' and he that sweareth in the earth, shall swear by the God of 'truth.' " And in Jer. 11:5, where it is translated 'So be it,' God declared that He would perform the oath that He had sworn, and the prophet answered, "So be it, O Lord." A cognate Hebrew word signifies 'to believe:' it is used in Gen. 15:6.

In the N.T. it is often added to the ascription of praise and to benedictions, as in Heb. 13:21, 25. As a response see 1 Cor. 14:16; Rev. 5:14; Rev. 7:12; Rev. 22:20. There is another way in which the word is used, as in 2 Cor. 1:20, "Whatever promises of God [there are], in him is the yea [the confirmation] and in him the Amen [the verification] for glory to God by us." And that Christ is the verification of all the promises is so true that He Himself is called 'the Amen:' " These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God." Rev. 3:14. As there are responses in heaven, as seen in some of the above texts, so there should be responses on earth in the assemblies of the saints, and not simply a hearing of prayer and praise. It is the word constantly used by the Lord, and translated 'verily.'

There may of course be occasionally a matter of such urgency that all prayer is concentrated upon it, as was the case in Acts 12:5. But normally a petition is offered, and ratified by all present, as they say, Amen. After that, repetition does not indicate reverence.

Assembly prayer is not just so many individuals uttering so many prayers for one thing, but the presentation of a single prayer, intensified 25 or 50 times by the harmony wrought by the Spirit of God among the 25 or 50 persons present. They are all praying as one, presenting one petition and all saying, Amen, to the one petition going up to God in the name of the Lord Jesus. There is, therefore, special power in such united prayers. Such is the great power entrusted to the Church, which may be exercised in prayer and supplication for untold good and blessing for itself and others.

The saying Amen, in verse 16, is general, I think; it would include the Lord's supper too. But if some prayed in Dutch or Persian, nobody here, at least, could say, Amen. A very wonderful thing were the tongues. There is little difference between "when ye come together in the church," in chapter 11:18, and "the whole church be come together into some place," in chapter 14:23. It may be more emphatic in chapter 14, that is all. The way the difference at all comes about is in chapter 11; it is the character of their coming together, in assembly; here is the whole assembly come together. The one is a character; the other is a thing. The "unlearned" persons (v. 23) are those not taught in the word. This is true of an unbeliever, but we have the unbelievers named also. The word is "idiotes," and a person not instructed in an art was called such; a private person. It makes two classes, the untaught in the things of God, and the actual unbeliever. There were no catechumens at that time. When the catechumen was first invented, they were allowed to hear the first exhortations; and when the church part came on, they were all sent out. That is the origin of the word mass, from 'Ite: missa est.'*

We have already remarked upon, And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors, so that there only remains, And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. This cry will always be suited to us while in this world with the sense of utter weakness, and knowing that we could not stand for one moment in temptation if left to ourselves. Nor is there any incongruity between such a petition and entire confidence in God; for there will be confidence in God just in proportion as we have learned that in our flesh there dwelleth no good thing. Afraid of ourselves, we shall ever cry, Lead us not into temptation, and this will lead to the further desire that we may be delivered from evil. This, indeed, was the request of the Lord Himself for His own — "I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil." (John 17:15.) Whether the remaining words, the doxology, as it is termed, For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever, Amen, be part of Scripture or not, they undoubtedly express truth that all Christians delight to acknowledge and to turn into praise.