Our Father
“This, then, is how you should pray: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Thy name.” Matthew 6:9
When the disciples asked, “Lord, teach us to pray,” Jesus began by saying, “Our Father!” Of all the terms which Jesus could have used like: Almighty Jehovah, Sovereign Ancient of Days or Oh Thou Excellent Creator of the heavens and earth, He chose simply to use the word – Father! A word that is warm, intimate and personal.
For some, the word ‘father’ may not be very pleasant because their earthly father disappointed them. But God is not a man; He is God, and He, unlike some earthly fathers, will never take advantage of you or mistreat you.
The Bible says, “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.
Also, “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 the family of God.
There is this story about when John Kennedy was president of the US, his son was then 4 years old. Cuba was much in the news, and people were concerned about the missile crisis. The president had called a press conference in the Oval Office of the White House when a side door opened and the little 4-year-old boy wandered into the room. The press conference stopped as a father put aside the lofty affairs of government because his child needed his attention. That is a picture of the Heavenly Father’s concern for you. He is never too busy that He doesn’t hear the most insignificant cry of His children.
As often as you pray, remember the warmth that comes through the personal relationship that you have with God as your “Father!”
“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.” 1 John 3:1