Based on a talk by Rev. Fr. Pachomius Ma. San Juan, OSB

“For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.” These closing words of the Lord’s Prayer are not simply a doxology. They are a declaration of hope.

Prayer, at its core, is an expression of that hope. It is the forward-looking faith that affirms God’s sovereignty, acknowledges His power, and rests in His eternal glory.

Power in hope

Hope is not a vague optimism or blind wish. It is powerful. It provides clarity and vision for the future. What will be, where we will be.

Hope allows us to lift our eyes beyond the struggles of the present and fix them on the promises of God. As Helen Keller once said, “Hope sees the invisible, feels the intangible, and achieves the impossible.”

The need of the world

In a world filled with uncertainty, despair, and distraction, hope becomes not just desirable but essential. John Maxwell observed, “Where there is no hope in the future, there is no power in the present.” Without hope, we lose the will to endure and the strength to overcome.

Many today walk through life without hope, held captive by false promises that cannot sustain or satisfy. Such false hopes are traps, illusions that leave us disoriented and disillusioned. Despair, such as that which consumed Judas, is the tragic result of a vision disconnected from God.

A vision in motion

Yet God’s vision is our hope. Faith assures us that this vision is not only true but already unfolding. Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith and hope, never lost focus. Neither should we.

To live in hope is to live radically, to maintain our gaze on God’s kingdom, to trust in His power, and to seek His glory above all.

Prayer: an act of hope

Prayer keeps us tethered to this vision. Without hope, prayer becomes mere words, empty, powerless. But when we pray with hope, we place our trust in the One who can change our circumstances.

We are not casting words into the void; we are casting our cares upon the Lord, believing that He hears, helps, and holds us.

The discipline of presence

Christian meditation deepens this prayerful hope. It is not a time for words, however beautiful or sincere. It is a discipline of silence, a surrender that says, “I trust You, God.”

Silence itself becomes an expression of hope. We are simply asked to listen, to be present, to rest in the presence of the One who is both infinitely near and infinitely beyond.

Humble and deeply rooted

Through meditation, we become rooted, first in our own being, and then more deeply in God. We learn to be still, to let go of anxiety, and to become stable in a world that is constantly shifting.

Humility is essential in this process. The faithful discipline of meditating, even just twice a day, is not about personal achievement but about surrendering to the One who is our only sufficient motive.

Silence, the sound of hope

We must have the courage to be silent, to bask in the love of God without needing to explain, justify, or perform. In this silence, we rest. In this rest, we hope. And in this hope, we pray.