What Do I Mean When I Say "Amen?"

It would be nice if I could have a dollar for every time I’ve said the word “Amen” over the course of my life. 

In fact, as a pastor I would take a dollar for every time I said “Amen” at the end of all the prayers I’ve said over the past forty years.

I suspect my windfall would be close to winning a small lottery.

Amen!  Such a religious sounding word, isn’t it? Of course we all use this little word to end our prayers, whether they are private prayers or public prayers. What would a prayer be without an “amen” at the end? Right?

We also say “amen” when we agree with someone in a conversation. 

But what do we mean when we say “amen!”

Well I can tell you that for a long time I thought saying “amen” simply meant: “I believe” or “I concur” or “I agree ” with what was just said. Look, as a pastor I used to worry when I didn’t get at least one “amen” during my sermon.

One dear Christian friend of mine used to say that when a person in the congregation said “amen” during a sermon he or she was saying, “sic’em pastor!”

So really, what do we mean when we say the word “amen” whether it is at the end of a prayer or used in conversation or said during a sermon?

Well first allow me to tell you up front what it does not mean. But first a brief story to set the stage.

Abram lived in a far off place called Haran, in the Middle East, and was seventy-five years old when God approached him for the first time. As the story goes God told Abram, who later became Abraham, to pack all his belongings, gather his family together and move from his home of birth. 

God promised Abram that he would become the father of a great nation whose numbers would equal all the stars in the universe—a bit of Biblical exaggeration I might add.

So what was Abram’s response. You got it: “Amen!” Well the Hebrew word used in this text (Genesis 12) is ‘aman , from which we get our English word “amen.”

Here is Abram’s reported response recorded in Genesis: Then he believed in the Lord; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness (15:6).

The italicized word “believed” in the above verse is the Hebrew word ‘aman from which we get our English word “amen.” But unfortunately it has also been translated as “believe.” This has caused some confusion.

So what do we mean when we say “amen” at the end of a prayer or in response to our pastor’s sermon or a part of a conversation with another? 

Well given the entirety of the Biblical witness we may conclude that Abram really trusted God rather than believe in what he was saying. The New Testament equivalent to the Hebrew word ‘aman is pistis, which is also translated into English as belief or faith.

Unfortunately we Christians in the West, particularly in America, have overly emphasized these faith words as belief words. 

Thus Christianity, especially among Evangelicals, has become a matter of what one believes rather than in whom one trusts. 

That said, our relationship with God through Christ is more a matter of trust rather than belief. Abraham trusted that what God said would come true. It wasn’t that he believed certain things about God or necessarily believed that the things God told him were true.

Abraham trusted God. Trust became the risky foundation of his relationship with God. 

Quite frankly I am amazed at how we Christians in the West have elevated beliefs and belief systems to the level of becoming litmus tests for fellowship. 

Likewise, referring to Christians as “believers” is also misleading. I would prefer that we refer to ourselves as “trusters” or as “faithful ones.”

So when you say or hear the word “amen” we know that it is a word of implied trust. I trust that God will hear my prayers or do what He says he will do on my behalf. 

Now my final thought: Beliefs never lead to one’s inner transformation. It takes an abiding trust in God and Christ to be changed from within. 

“Amen!” 

Trust in God! Trust in Christ!