Ah man!

If you are a committed to prayer as a Christian, there is one word you would most definitely use at least once a day. The word amen!

This weekend one of our precious friends told us how he gave the senior pastor of his church a lift after the service. His youngest son of six is very outspoken and he always speaks his mind. He asked the pastor: “Why are you driving with us?” The pastor explained that his wife already went home with their car and that they were so kind to give him a lift. His son just fell back into his seat and said: “Ah man!” My friend said he wish he could just sink into his chair and hoped that his pastor did not hear the comment. To his surprise, the pastor exclaimed: “But you have such lovely children… to say amen, because I am driving with you” Our friend just smiled and said: “O yes, I have lovely children!”

Amen is a powerful word; unfortunately most Christians are not so sure about the meaning.

Tony Warren writes that amen is one of the few words of scripture which is written in its original Hebrew form. In fact, it is practically a universal word, having been adopted directly from the Hebrew into Greek, Latin, English, Spanish, and many other languages.

This Hebrew amen is derived from the root “aman”, which means to be firm or solid in the sense of permanency or faithfulness. Thus by implication, it means to be sure or true.

So whenever we see this word amen used in Scripture, it is affirming what is truth, or illustrating something said that is of absolute certainty.

So make sure that “amen” is for what is true and sure, and “ah man” for all other inconvenient situations…!

Shalom!

Anina