“Our Father…”

“𝑶𝒖𝒓 𝑭𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓, 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒏, 𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒚 𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒆.”  Matthew 6:9

Oh, the very beginning of this prayer!  Our Father!  Our Father.  Not just anyone’s Father, not just Jesus’ Father, but our Father!  The very fact that He is my Father threatens to overwhelm.  The level of intimacy that this speaks of is deeply personal, and not just any Father but a perfect Father.  A Father that never disappoints, hurts or frustrates, a Father that is ever present and always near, not distant or detached.

As Jesus introduced this way of praying to His disciples they would have been surprised.  Surprised at being ushered into the family, surprised at the thought of addressing the Great I Am as Abba Father.  Dearest Father.  Daddy.  It’s a little surprising to me too, this wonderful invitation to be a part of the family of God.  A family which takes me as I am, encircles me, beckons me to sit at the feet of our Abba Father.  I love how this prayer reminds us that this is no earthly Father, but a Father who is in heaven.  A heavenly Father, one that is omnipresent.

Like two beautiful bookends, the beginning of this prayer and the end start with Praise.  An absolutely appropriate way to begin any time of prayer.  “𝑯𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒚 𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒆!”  May your name, Abba Father, always be glorified.  The word “𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗱” means treated as holy, dedicated, consecrated, set apart, sanctified.  We praise You, Father, as you are a holy God. When we think of praising His name, we are giving praise to the nature and very character of God, His reputation, His goodness, His love.  That right there is the very essence of glorifying God’s name.  He is set apart, different to us and as such His name needs to be treated with reverence, never leaving our lips in any other way, respected.

Psalm 9:10 says, “𝑻𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖, 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖, 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅, 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒔𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒌 𝒚𝒐𝒖.”  Those who know your name, who know your character, who know your goodness, who deep down inside have experience your love, they trust you.  We can know someone’s name and not ‘know’ them.  But we know the living God and so we trust Him.

As you begin your day, your time of prayer, as you sit at the feet of your Father today, start with Praise, glorify His name, worship your Abba Father – He is worthy of it all!