Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. Matthew 6:9
What if two simple words in a familiar prayer could change the way you see everyone around you?
When Todd and Deb decided to begin praying together each night after dinner, they used the prayer Jesus taught His disciples as a model. It’s called The Lord’s Prayer. It begins with “Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy” (Matthew 6:9).
But the couple didn’t just stop at praying with those words. Each day, they kept on talking with God about the people and situations that weighed on their hearts. Over time, something changed in Deb. She shared, “When I pray our Father now, I’m not just speaking to my Father—I’m talking to the God who loves everyone I meet.”
When she and Todd prayed about problems they were having with their landlord, she realized they were speaking to the God who loves their difficult landlord too. Deb found comfort knowing this Father was also Todd’s Father who would help them reconcile after they had arguments—and her daughter’s heavenly Father, who was with her daughter at school when Deb couldn’t be there. She realized that God’s love was deeply personal for each and every person He had created. “I actually began to see people through new eyes,” she said.
Maybe you’re secure in knowing that God loves you—that He’s your Father. But is there someone in your life now or someone who’s wronged you in the past, that you struggle to think of God loving? Someone you really can’t say you love? Consider for a moment that God’s love is limitless and unconditional. So today, when you pray, start with Jesus’ words: “Our Father in heaven …,” and consider the people around you—they’re loved by Him, just as you are.
