‘And all the people said, Amen..’

1 Chronicles 16:36

Of all the words which we speak in prayer none is repeated as much as the timeless ‘Amen’. Tragically, so few know its meaning and so become guilty of praying it without without knowing it. No part of our prayer life must be characterised by ignorance. When we cry this one word prayer we are following the footsteps of the saints of God – even Christ Himself.

Bringing the Ark of the Covenant back to Jerusalem was an occasion like none other. While it was greeted with singing and dancing yet it was not a time for levity and carelessness. Uzzah found that out for himself as he touched the ark to his fatal end. Everything about the Ark of the Covenant cried out ‘the presence of God’ and ‘holiness’. Its time away from Jerusalem symbolised the spiritual dearth among the people of God and now its return was a token for great good.

What we read here in 1 Chronicles is also narrated in 2 Samuel 6. However, this passage in Chronicles stands out because it records for us David’s song of thanks upon this momentous event. In many ways this precious psalm of David is crammed with ‘one word prayers. I draw your attention to how the people respond to David’s song and prayer in verse thirty-six, ‘And all the people, said, Amen, and praised the LORD.’

Why Amen?

As we see here, this word was used by Israel as a means to both praise God and also respond to prayer. Behind this word is the concept of God’s truth. It is often said that Amen means ‘let it be so’ – here is a collective agreement to what the ears have heard. In the passage before us the people could not be more in agreement with what David said. In particular, consider verse thirty-five: ‘save us, O God of our salvation…deliver us…that we may give thanks to thy holy name…’ This was truth which all the hearts of the people assented to. When we pray ‘Amen’ we are agreeing whole-heartedly to the truth which has been spoken either in prayer or preaching.

This in turn represents a searching reminder to us that we must be discerning the Word of God as it is preached in order to know that what is said is Bible truth. It also means that as a brother or sister is praying openly and publicly that we agree with what is being said by the encouraging ‘Amen’.

Let all the people of God say, ‘Amen’.