Have you ever thought about how incredible it is the way that Jesus taught us to pray? He taught us to call upon God the Almighty, the Maker of heaven and earth, the Lord of Lords, the King of Kings, the Great I am, The Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End as our Father.
Now this is so incredibly revolutionary because people up until the time of Jesus, all the OT people and all the people around Jesus did not think of God as a Father.
In fact, Deuteronomy 6:2 tells us to fear the LORD your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees
Isaiah 49:23 know that I am the LORD;
Psalm 46:10 "Be still, and know that I am God;
66 times in the OT God says to “know that I am God.” 39 times He is referred to as “the Lord God Almighty.” In the OT, God had 3 primary names:
Elohim (God the Creator)
Yahweh (God who keeps His covenant)
Adonai (God is the Lord or Master)
And up unto the time of Jesus, the Jews so revered the name of God that they dear not even say it. They took the consonants out of the name Yahweh and the vowels out of the name Adonai and put them together to create a new name for God, Jehovah. Since the time of the calling of Moses a top Mt Sinai in Ex. 3, when God said "Do not come any closer," "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground . . . At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God, the people of God feared and stood in awe of the Lord God Almighty.
However, when Jesus came, He changed all that.
When Jesus died on the cross, He eradicated the sin that separated us from God.
When Jesus shed His blood, He eliminated the debt that held us in bondage.
When Jesus rose from the dead, He redeemed us from the penalty that sin put upon us.
And when we put our faith in Jesus Christ alone for our salvation, the wall of separation that kept us from emancipation was torn down so that we no longer have to wait in anticipation but can now rise each morning with a glorious expectation and make the wonderful proclamation that we have direct access to God through Jesus the Son.
And because of this liberation, we no longer have to fear God, but we can gather each week in celebration knowing the full revelation of God’s wonderful plan of redemption.
And now because we have access to God through Jesus, we are adopted into the family of God
But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. Eph. 2:13
For through him we have access to the Father. Eph.2:18
The Father!
Because of what Jesus has done, we now have a Father in Heaven. God is no longer far, but near. God is no longer out there, but right here! Why? Because of Jesus’ death and resurrection!
Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. 16Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Heb. 4:14-16.
Jesus broke down the barrier to His Father, so that we can now have a Father. A Heavenly Father to get close to, like when a little girl cuddles’s in her daddy’s arms and a little boy sits on His daddy’s lap to read a story. Jesus changed the way that people can come to God!
Now I am a father and my children affectionately call me dad. They don’t call me father to my face, they use it as a title when talking to other people; “my father”.
I am a father and that is one of my titles, but I have other titles. I’m a pastor, I’m a coach, I’m a grandpa, I’m a Police Chaplain and I’m on the Board of Community Action. Each title is like a hat I wear and each tells little of who I am and what I do.
God has many names:
Jehovah-jireh (the Lord will provide)
Jehovah-rapha (the Lord who heals)
Jehovah-nissi (the Lord our banner)
Jehovah-Shalom (the Lord our peace)
Jehovah-ra-ah (the Lord my shepherd)
Jehovah Sabaoth (the Lord of hosts)
But Jesus said “I come in my Father’s name” John 5:43.
He says” I and the Father are one." John 10:30
He said, I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me. John 14:10
However, none of the many names and titles of God are as intimate, personal, warm, friendly and endearing as the title “Father”. And when God is our Father, we can say with the Apostle Paul, in Rom 8:15 "Abba, Father." For the Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.
The word “abba” is an Aramaic word, the language spoken by Jesus and it means more than the official title of father. Abba is a colloquial term of endearment which more closely resembles our words for “Papa” or “Dad”.
So when we pray, “Our Father” the Lord is telling us several things:
First: There are two families in the world. There is the family of God which calls God their father and there is the family of the world who cannot call God, Father. The children created by God cannot call God their Father because the only way to do that is through Jesus the Son. Jesus said in John 14:6 "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! 1 John 3:1
And because we are God’s children, we can come to Him anytime and anywhere! No matter where you are; in your car, at the mall, mowing the lawn, in traffic or in a jam, God your Father is there around you, over you and in you. He can hear everything you pray! He hears you when you pray out loud or when you pray quietly.
O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Ps 139:1-3
You can pray to your Father when you’re scared, just like a little boy runs into dad’s room during a thunderstorm. Just as a father tucks his child into bed, so your father will tuck you.
You can run to your heavenly Father when you are glad, like a child runs to their dad to tell him about a new adventure they had.
Just an earthly father welcomes their child, so your heavenly Father welcomes you.
The second thing Jesus is telling us is
God wants us to call Him Father
-Jesus could have said, “When you pray, say ‘My Lord’”
That would have shown His sovereignty over us. But Jesus, wanted us to know something more than God’s control of our lives.
-Jesus could have told us “When you pray, say ‘Dear Master’” In Jesus day, master meant teacher and this would have shown that you listen to and come under God’s direction. But Jesus wanted to show us more than the way the Master directs and guides our life.
-Jesus could have informed them “When you pray, say “My Shepard” That would have shown His car over us. Jesus, however, wanted to show that God offers us greater protection than a shepard’s care for his sheep.
-Jesus could have instructed them, “When you pray, say Hail, King” That would have shown Hid rule over us. Jesus however wanted to show a better way for us to relate to God.
Instead of these terms, Jesus encouraged us to talk to God in a more intimate way. Jesus told us, “When you pray, say ‘Our Father’”.
When you begin to pray, you are like a child of the King who walks right into the presence of his Father. No guards stop you and you don’t have to make an appointment with His secretary. You are your Father’s child and you have direct and immediate access to Him. When you pray “Our Father” you know that you belong to God and you can come to Him.
Now how do you feel when you have a close relationship with a friend, a sister, a parent or spouse?
When you have that intimacy, you feel at one with them. You feel together, you think together, you love the same things and you like to go to the same places together. The Lord’s Prayer offers us that kind of oneness with God.
Third: Jesus wants us to go to the Father with Him
Have you ever wondered why the Lord’s Prayer begins with “Our Father”? Why not just speak of God as “a” Father”?
Jesus could have compared our relationship with God to our relationship with our earthly fathers. However, Jesus did not call God, “A father.”
Jesus could have called God “the” Father. The article “the” would have pointed out the uniqueness of God the Father. It would have meant that God is the only Father. But Jesus didn’t tell us to call God “the” Father.
Jesus could have told us to get God’s attention by just calling out “God!” as if we had to wake Him up or get His attention like when Elijah taunted the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel when calling out to their god!!! "Shout louder!" he said. "Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened." . . . But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention.1 Kings 18:27-29
Why did Jesus tell us to use the plural pronoun “our” when addressing God? Why did He introduce this prayer “Our Father”?
Was it because his disciples asked Him, “Teach us to pray” Luke 11:1, so Jesus gave them a corporate or group prayer they could pray out loud each week when they got together for an hour long worship service?
Some people think that the Lord’s Prayer has the plural pronoun “our” because it should only be prayed corporately.
All these views are interesting, but notice who it is teaching the disciples how to pray: it’s Jesus. He taught us to pray “Our Father.” Those who heard what Jesus said realized that He was inviting them to join with Him in prayer. He meant for us to pray with Him.
When I was in college, I had an old blue station wagon that I affectionately named Henry. It was my car. I sold it for $300. Lannette however had a brand new 1976 Mustang, she named it Cho Cho Sun and it was sweet! It was her car. However, when we got married in 1979, her sweet Mustang now became our sweet Mustang. It now belonged to both of us, even though she bought it.
When we pray “Our Father” it means that the relationship that Jesus has with the father, we now have with Him as well. The relationship that once just belonged to Him, now also belongs to us and He comes with us, when we go to the Father. And the reason He comes with me is because I now have access to the God the Father through Jesus the Son. Heb.6:19-20 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf.
When we come to God praying “Our Father” it is like saying; “We –Jesus and I—are coming to you in prayer.” Because He is the way and the truth and the life and No one comes to the Father except through Him. John 14:6
Jesus told His disciples in John 14:13 I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. So most of our prayers end with the conclusion, “In Jesus Name”.
Though we do not end the Lord’s Prayer this way, we are beginning it in this way. When we pray as Jesus taught us to pray, “Our Father” we are coming with Him to God just as the concluding phrase “In Jesus Name” means that we have come to the Father through Jesus. Both of these phrases mean our prayer is based on Jesus righteousness or right standing with God, and not our own. Why, because we only have access to the Father through Jesus the Son?
The Bible records many prayers and gives many ways to approach God, using many different titles. But the Lord’s Prayer is the greatest prayer because it is taught to us by the greatest person, for the greatest range of prayers through the greatest title given to the Lord God Almighty, “Our Father”.
This week I encourage you to linger a little longer at the beginning of this prayer and spend some time talking to you Dad!
To help you with this, we’ve provided a little Bible study to help you develop a closer relationship with your Heavenly Father.
