Why Say Amen?

Before entering the land of promise, the Israelites vowed that the Lord would be their God, and they would wholeheartedly keep His statutes and judgments that Moses delivered in Deuteronomy 12:1—26:15. That same day, the Lord avouched Israel would be His special people. But the Israelites had to agree to the curses proclaimed in 27:11–26: "And all the people shall say Amen" (Deut 27:26b). The word Amen means firm, faithful, and verily.

God kept His covenant with the Israelites, but they didn't honor their vow. Hundreds of years later, the Lord told His prophet, Jeremiah, to remind the inhabitants of Judah of His covenant, the blessings for obedience, and the cost of disobeying. Jeremiah answered, "So be it, O Lord" (Jer 11:5) or Amen.

Humbling ourselves before our heavenly Father in the authority of Jesus, we expect Him to hear our petitions and intercessions. In the conclusion of praying, saying Amen was and still is the proper response to prayer; we are saying as Jeremiah, "So be it, O Lord." Jesus called Himself the Amen, the "faithful and true witness" in Revelation 3:14. The One who knows our hearts will deal rightly with what we entrusted to Him; we can rise from praying, knowing He heard and will do what is best (1 John 5:14, 15). When we are bowed low with clean hearts before God, the enemy of our soul knows he did not win a victory when he hears the Amen. "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much" (James 5:16b).