Luke 11:1-2
1 Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.”
2 So He said to them, “When you pray, say:
Our[a] Father [b]in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.
One of the most misrepresented images of God to this generation would be the image of a father. We live in a generation where “deadbeat fathers” are the order of the day, fathers who sire children but don’t take responsibility and are seldom involved in their lives. I don’t think we have ever seen a generation with so many “single mothers” raising up children on their own as we see today and I believe that because of this, many cannot fully relate to God as a loving father because they have a distorted image of who a father is.
In the book of Genesis before the fall, we see God coming down in the cool of the day to hang out with Adam and Eve, that to me is a picture of a loving relationship between God and his children.
When Jesus taught his disciples to pray, he said, “when you pray say: Our FATHER…. Those two words are a whole sermon. Jesus did not tell them to say, “Almighty God” or “The great I am” but he said, “Our Father!” That signifies relationship, Romans 8:15 tells us that we have received a spirit of adoption by which we cry out Abba Father.
You and I need to recognize that we have a special relationship with God because we are his children and he is our father. Yes, he is God almighty the great I am but he is our father in heaven.
Can you imagine if you were summoned to state house to meet the president? Can you imagine all the preparation and protocols you would have to go through to actually meet him? What about rehearsing what you would say and how you would address him? Now imagine the same scenario, only that now, you are not a stranger but you are the son of the president. How different would that be?
We first and most importantly go to God in prayer because of the relationship we have with him, that is a privilege that we should embrace and nature and going to prayer with that perspectives makes prayer so very personal and different than what many know it to be. We have a father, the perfect father who promised never to leave us nor forsake us. The maker of the universe, the all-powerful God is our FATHER.
Reflective Thoughts
What kind of a relationship do you have with your earthly father?
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How has this relationship affected how you relate to God as a father?
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If God is your father, what kind of relationship do you think he desires to have with you?
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