The word “Amen” means “let it be,” “so be it,” or “truly.” “Amen” makes its first appearance in the Bible in Numbers 5:22. Some 60 more times it is used throughout the Bible and is, of course, even the very last word of the Bible.

Martin Luther wrote in 1535 that “you must always speak the Amen firmly. Never doubt that God in his mercy will surely hear you and say ‘yes’ to your prayers. Never think that you are kneeling or standing alone, rather think that the whole of Christendom, all devout Christians, are standing there beside you and you are standing among them in a common, united petition which God cannot disdain. Do not leave your prayer without having said or thought, ‘Very well. God has heard my prayer; this I know as a certainty and a truth.’ That is what Amen means.”

Your promise-keeping Father hears your prayer and delights in your Amen. He has given good gifts to us, His children, some wrapped in joy and beauty, others enclosed in suffering and shadow. But always, His design is for His glory and our good.