“This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Thy name'” (Matthew 6:9).
“To be a Christian without prayer,” said Martin Luther, “is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.” Yet, so often, we voice words mechanically and we fail to grasp the meaning behind them. How often have you prayed, “Our Father who art in heaven …”, and you repeated a prayer by rote, without even thinking of the words you were saying?
When the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, teach us to pray,” Jesus began by saying, “Our Father!” Of all the terms which Jesus could have used—Almighty God, or Great Creator, or Oh Thou, Maker of heaven and earth, He chose simply the word Father. But what an interesting word—a word that is warm, intimate and personal.
Yet for some, the word is troublesome, because their earthly fathers disappointed them. But God is not a man; He is God, and He, unlike earthly fathers, will never take advantage of you or mistreat you.
In pondering the meaning of that word, “Father”, you must notice that the term implies a relationship patterned after that which you probably had with your earthly father. Actually, all prayer is based on a relationship—the relationship of a child with a Father. In the prologue of the Gospel that bears his name, John wrote, “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12). And to those words, add the impact of Paul’s words to the Galatians, saying that we are adopted into the family of God. He wrote, “God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts whereby we cry ‘Abba, Father.'” As God’s children, we can call upon our Heavenly Father, because we have been adopted into God’s family.
Then notice secondly that the term father is a term of reliance. When John F. Kennedy was the president, his son, then called John-John, was 4 years old. Cuba was much in the news, and people were concerned about the missile crisis. The president had called for a press conference in the Oval Office of the White House when a side door opened and a little four-year-old boy wandered into the room. It was the president’s son. The press conference stopped as the father put aside the lofty affairs of government because his child wanted his attention. That, friend, is a picture of your Heavenly Father’s concern for you. He is never too busy that He doesn’t hear the most insignificant cry of His children.
The third thought I’d like to leave with you is that the term father is a term of respect. Periodically, I hear God referred to as “The Man Upstairs” or even terms of less dignity. Twice Scripture says the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain. Have we lost sight of the awe and even the fear of the Almighty? Has God’s name become so common that we no longer care when it is used profanely? In days of old, the name of God was so holy that ancient scribes would not even write that name, but substituted another word, lest they be guilty of profaning the holy name of God.
When you pray, remember the warmth that comes through a personal relationship with God as you pray, “Father!” When John McNeil, the Scottish preacher of another generation, was a lad, he was crossing a mountain pass often frequented by robbers, when he heard footsteps behind him. Frightened, he tried to walk faster, but he couldn’t elude the person behind. Finally, he heard the voice of his own father, saying, “John, it’s I, your father.” As you listen carefully, you will hear His voice as well.
Resource reading: John 16.
