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The meaning of the Glory be prayer
Two words are important in this prayer. Glory and praise. The form of this prayer is an expression of these two key words to God especially at the end of some longer prayers, short prayers, simple prayers and in the conclusion of all forms of prayers including personal prayer.
Some Christians use it to round up their prayers glorifying God in Trinity. I will say, it is recognizing and ascribing glory to the Trinity, to the three in One.
The Glory be prayer is sometimes referred to as doxology in some older prayer books. Doxology simply is an expression of glory and praise for God. The term doxology has its tradition from the Jews.
“Doxa” is the Greek word for glory. It is often mentioned as part of the Rosary and other devotions.
“The Glory Be is far and away the most common prayer after the Our Father and the Hail Mary.
The doxology in the bible is seen in Romans 11 verses 33 to 36,
“Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! “Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?” “Who has ever given to God, that God should repay them?” For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.”
Other Doxologies in The Bible
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,”
1 Timothy 3 verse 16,
“And without controversy great is the [i]mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, Justified in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Preached among the Gentiles, Believed on in the world, Received up in glory.”
Ephesians 3 verses 20 to 21,
“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”
Psalm 72 verses 18 to 19,
“Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, Who only does wondrous things!
And blessed be His glorious name forever! And let the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen and Amen.”
Three levels of doxologies in Christian worship.
The Greater Doxology
This is also called Gloria in Excelsis. It is the Gloria of the Roman Catholic and Anglican masses with hundreds of musical settings in Latin. The Latin text, from the Roman Missal is translated to the modern Roman Catholic English version as stated below:
Glory to God in the highest, and peace to his
people on earth.
Lord God, heavenly King,
almighty God and Father,
we worship you, we give you thanks,
we praise you for your glory.
Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father,
Lord God, Lamb of God
you take away the sin of the world:
have mercy on us;
you are seated at the right hand of the Father:
receive our prayer.
For you alone are the Holy One,
you alone are the Lord,
you alone are the Most High,
Jesus Christ,
with the Holy Spirit
in the glory of God the Father. Amen
The Lesser Doxology
It is sometimes called Gloria Patri and is used in most Christian traditions at the close of the psalmody. It is said as stated below:
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and
to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is
now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen
The Metrical Doxology
This is a variant from the lesser doxology, Gloria Patri. They both talk about adoring God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. One of the most common versions is stated below:
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
Praise him, all creatures here below;
Praise him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen
The Gloria Patri is the most common among the tree doxologies. It is a very popular liturgical prayer of the Christian faith usually used as part of the Catholic Rosary.
The Latin translation says,
“Gloria Patri,
et Filio,
et Spiritui Sancto.
Sicut erat in principio, et nunc et semper, et in saecula saeculorum.”
What is the Glory be prayer?
“Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was, in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, a world without end. Amen”
Conclusion
The important thing to note in this prayer is that it acknowledges and praises the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit which are the three persons of the Holy Trinity. The prayer is often prayed with the sign of the cross in common prayer.
Public prayer and church services. It can be used at the start of mass, at the holy communion, or in any words of the prayer. We must all come to the reality that all glory belongs to God and we must give honour to whom honour is.
God is a jealous God, He does not share His glory with any man.
Isaiah 42 verse 8 says,
“I am the Lord; that is my name! I will not yield my glory to another or my praise to idols.”
What we are and all we have today is from God. Every living soul is expected to praise God all the time. David says Seven times a day will I praise thee. As long as you live, God deserves your praise and we must give the praise and glory to Him.
Your everyday life must include prayer of glory and hymn of praise for the goodness and mercies of God over your life. The kind of prayer that Jesus taught His disciples in the New Testament also reflects giving true glory to our heavenly Father.
The Psalmist concluded his book in Psalm 150 verse 6,
“Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord.”
The Glory be prayer is an opportunity to glorify God at all times. The best way to live a glorious life is to put this physical world aside and be focused on praising God at all times. The good news is, that God is always faithful to those who worship Him.