Nothing saps the spirits like reaching the end of a prayer and getting a whimper of an “Amen”. I can think of one congregation where I almost jump at how loudly everybody says it! It’s great. It says: “we’re present and engaged in this worship!”. It seals our worship.

I probably said it at church today about 15 times. You might have said it slightly less. It’s a “religious” word. You find it translated in English Bibles 50 times, each time in connection with worship. What am I talking about? It’s the little word: “Amen”. 

It’s a Hebrew word that’s been carried straight over into Greek, and virtually all other languages, including English. It means: “Let it to be” or “this is sure to be”. 

But “Amen” is one of those words that doesn’t just mean something; it does something (like making wedding vows). There’s more to it than meets the eye. The trouble is that we use the word so much that we don’t notice what it’s actually doing. For many of us, it’s turned into a verbal full-stop; it’s the only way we know to show that a prayer has ended. 

Here are 2 ways the word works: 

It glues us together. This word is designed to unify the congregation in the act of worship. Notice in these verses that all the people say, “Amen”, not just the man upfront, or a few enthusiastic people!  

“Then all the people said, “Amen!” and praised the LORD” (1 Chr 16:36). 

“Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God and all the people answered, ‘Amen, Amen’, lifting up their hands” (Neh 8:6)

“Let all the people say, ‘Amen!’ Praise the LORD!” (Psalm 106:48)

One of the things churches have tried to do since the ‘60s is get more people feeling like they’re involved in church services.

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