In this episode of Year on the Mountaintop, we come to the familiar closing words of the Lord’s Prayer: “For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.” Millions of Christians have recited these words for generations, but there’s a fascinating problem: they probably weren’t part of Jesus’ original prayer as recorded in Matthew. Why, then, do so many Christians know these words by heart? And what does their history tell us about Scripture, Christian worship, and the power of communal prayer?

This session explores the textual history of the Lord’s Prayer, the ancient manuscripts that omit the doxology, the development of early Christian liturgy, the influence of the King James Bible, and the connection between the doxology and David’s prayer in 1 Chronicles 29. More importantly, we’ll consider why these words have endured. “Thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory” becomes a powerful declaration that God’s kingdom transcends human empires, God’s power is greater than the powers of the world, and our lives are ultimately oriented toward God’s glory. Whether or not these words were spoken by Jesus in the original prayer, generations of Christians have used them to gather the community together and proclaim a final “Amen”—so be it—to the vision of the kingdom community Jesus teaches us to pray for.