Pray How?: Our Father
"This, then, is how you should pray: " 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,' " (Matthew 6:9)
It's no wonder so many people have memorized the "Lord's Prayer." What a huge opportunity! When the Son of God says, "This is how you should talk to my Father," we should write it down on our brains and never forget it. Still, Jesus did not mean that we should only ever pray these words in this order. He gave His disciples a plan for approaching the God of eternity in conversation.
First, He said, remember whom you're talking to. Address your prayer to your Father, the one who lives in your future home in heaven. I realize some people feel more comfortable talking to Jesus in prayer -- and it's great to pray to our Lord. But He told us to follow His example by talking to our "abba," or our daddy. His mission, in part, was to connect us with His Father.
But God is not just any daddy. His name -- his being, person, essence, identity -- is "hallowed" or holy. As casual-by-nature American evangelicals, its harder for us to understand what "sacred" really means, but our Father is sacred to the core. Strong, powerful, and untouchable with anything impure or sinful. Our prayer begins with remembering we're talking to our close and distant, approachable and unimaginable holy Father.
Think: How do you tend to picture God when you pray? Do you need to adjust your understanding of Him?
Pray: Ask God to help you to remember to approach Him as your loving "daddy" and as the absolutely holy God of all.
Do: Practice saying to God "your name is holy" when you pray this week.
First, He said, remember whom you're talking to. Address your prayer to your Father, the one who lives in your future home in heaven. I realize some people feel more comfortable talking to Jesus in prayer -- and it's great to pray to our Lord. But He told us to follow His example by talking to our "abba," or our daddy. His mission, in part, was to connect us with His Father.
But God is not just any daddy. His name -- his being, person, essence, identity -- is "hallowed" or holy. As casual-by-nature American evangelicals, its harder for us to understand what "sacred" really means, but our Father is sacred to the core. Strong, powerful, and untouchable with anything impure or sinful. Our prayer begins with remembering we're talking to our close and distant, approachable and unimaginable holy Father.
Think: How do you tend to picture God when you pray? Do you need to adjust your understanding of Him?
Pray: Ask God to help you to remember to approach Him as your loving "daddy" and as the absolutely holy God of all.
Do: Practice saying to God "your name is holy" when you pray this week.
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