Do you know what Amen means?
The Hebrew word Emunah may not sound familiar to you at first, but how about the word Amen?
The Hebrew word emunah (אמונה, pronounced “eh-moo-nah”) means “faith” or “belief”. But it is often also translated as “faithfulness.” And yet, it describes much more than just believing a statement about God. It describes a life of full reliance upon Him.
Emunah is faith that results in faithfulness, implying action. The word Amen shares the root with Emunah; it means “so be it” or “may it be so,” and shares the root also with eman, meaning “to confirm,” and with haemeen, which means “to trust.”
Consider now all the meanings together and you’ll realize that, when we say “Amen” at the end of a prayer, it is not just a closing statement or ritual word. It is an agreement to act upon what we have prayed.
Allow the awareness of “Amen” to serve as a reminder each time you pray. It’s easy to ask something of God in prayer. But as His children, we are invited into a partnership of life with Him.
Faith doesn’t just happen in your head – it must be in your entire life.
Throughout the Bible, the idea of faith is like a staircase. You may intellectually know that the stairs will bring you up to the next level. But you can’t just believe that the stairs are there. You have to climb the stairs!
I love what St. James, wrote: “Faith without works is dead.” Emunah is faith completed by works.
What about when the Lord allows us, His sons and daughters, to face a challenge to our faith? The times when He knows and allows us to walk into circumstances that turn out to be challenging or even downright wretched?
Jesus sent His followers into the storm because He knew it was there that He would reveal His love and mercy!
Jesus’ apostles needed to ask for His intervention—even in prayer. We need BOTH the understanding, and the action. When we assume faith is just about what you know, then we miss half of what it means Emunah – faith! We need to be able to say with confidence, “Amen,” and mean it.
In a sense, emunah is also an expression of persistence, or steadfastness. It is often in those difficult circumstances that a certain level of endurance is cultivated. Our faith becomes tenacious.
Other words to describe emunah are: reliable, dependable, stable, steady, verified, true.
Emunah faith is backed up with action consistent with the assertion of faith. Faith placed in God and all that He promised to us in Jesus is how we possess the kingdom of heaven while on the earth.
Do the people around you see your faith in actions? Do you live your faith in God only through words …or through the way you serve Him?
Excerpts from ‘The Meaning of Amen and the Hebrew Word for Faith’ By Avital Snow
Also available in You Tube: https://youtu.be/63PF05CyG_0
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