July 7th, 2024
When Jesus taught us to pray, he taught us to address his Father as our Father. The address is an affirmation of our identity in Christ. We can pray “our Father” because the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is also our Father. The Apostle Paul declares, “for you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’ The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.” (Rom 8:15-16)
Addressing God as “our Father” is also a reminder of our communion with one another in Christ. He is our Father because he is Jesus’s Father and my Father, but he is also our Father because he is your Father and my Father. We are brothers and sisters in Christ. Even when I am alone, I pray “our Father,” which reminds me that I belong to Christ and his body.
Praying “our Father” is an affirmation of God’s love for those who belong to his Son. As the Apostle John declares, “Behold what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called the children of God; and so we are” (1 John 3:1). We see our Father’s love in the parable of the lost sons (Luke 15:11-32). The father in that story has two lost sons. He goes out in grace to both sons. He goes out to his younger son, embraces him, and brings him home. He goes out to his older son, entreats him, and when his son resists, he reminds him, “Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours” (Luke 15:31).
Given the grace and love of our heavenly Father, we don’t need to pray like pagans, thinking we need to twist his arm to hear us, “for your Father knows what you need before you ask him” (Matt 6:8). On the contrary, let us pray with confidence:
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” (Matt 7:7-11)
And whenever we pray, remember, “the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.” (Rom 8:26-27)
Brothers and sisters, let us pray to our Father in heaven, for we are dearly loved children of God. Our Father is listening. He knows what we need. He will give good things to those who ask him. Let’s cry out, “Abba! Father!” knowing the Spirit is interceding for us according to the will of God.