One of the many ways Jesus built relationships with his disciples was to teach them how to pray. When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray, he responded with what we call “The Lord’s Prayer”. Spoken by congregations around the world every Sunday, it’s become so familiar to most of us that we know it by heart.
Luke 11:2-4~ And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.
Jesus instructed his disciples to begin their prayer with “our Father”. For believers today this doesn’t seem like that big of a deal, but for Jews in those times, this.was.HUGE. What has now become a vain repetition was once a radical petition! So what is the significance of praying “our father” in the Lord’s prayer? It reveals your identity and your inheritance!
Praying ‘Our Father’ in the Lord’s Prayer Reveals Your Identity
God was known as a father to his people Israel in the Old Testament, and there are a few verses that speak to his fatherhood. But according to some scholars, Jesus was the very first Jew on record to address God as Father. In fact, it was his favorite title to speak of God, using it almost 200 times in the gospels!
Calling God his Father showed the intimate knowledge and relationship Jesus had with Him. He was declaring himself to be the Son of God. When Jesus instructs his disciples to pray to “Our Father”, he’s making God accessible and revealing to them their identity as children of God. He’s identifying with them as brothers and sisters and drawing them into the throne room.
Galatians 4:4-6~ But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.
Praying “Our Father” in the Lord’s Prayer Reveals Your Inheritance
When we believe the gospel we are adopted out of the devil’s family into the family of God. We are translated from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light. (1Pet. 2:9) We become joint-heirs with Christ and enjoy all of the privileges of our new position as daughters of God. (Rom. 8:17)
One of those privileges is a personal and intimate relationship with the God of all Creation. He is now our Father and we are his beloved child.(John 1:12, Rom. 8:14, 1John 3:1-2) Our Father loves to hear our prayers, petitions, and praises!
All of this was incomprehensible for the Jews of the time. Their culture and traditions made God inaccessible. He was addressed as the Almighty, Jehovah, LORD, and more, but Father was not on their tongues. Hearing Jesus speak of God this way enraged them. They viewed it as disrespectful and blasphemy. In fact, it’s one of the reasons they wanted to kill him.
John 5:18~ Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.
Our Father is Perfect
The next time you recite the Lord’s prayer, consider the wondrous fact that you are in a conversation with your perfect Heavenly Father. He delights in you, and his ear is attentive to your words.
You may have been abandoned, ignored, or abused by your earthly father, but you are accepted, adored, and adopted by your Heavenly Father through faith in his Son Jesus. He loves you with an unconditional, inconceivable, eternal love. Your identity and inheritance come from your relationship with your Father in Heaven, not in anything or anyone else. Revel in that truth!
John 1:12~ But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.
Pray With Confidence
If you would like to grow in your prayer life, then check out Pray with Confidence. It’s a website to help women overcome prayer obstacles, and I am one of the 30 monthly contributors. Here are two articles I’ve written:
2 Things to Remember to Find Peace in Chaos
19 Bible Verses that Reveal the Will of God
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It’s always so helpful to go back and dig into the culture at the time the Bible was written! Thanks for this. It’s true we often take so much of what we read in the scriptures for granted, but don’t have a clue about why it caused such a stir. This was great. Thanks!
Absolutely! There’s so much more to learn. I feel like a barely scratched the surface. I know there’s more goodies to find! Thanks for reading! Blessings! 🙂
Everything changes when we finally discover that God is not only Jehovah but also Abba, our Dad. Thank you for such a beautiful article.
So true! Thank you for reading and commenting I appreciate it! 🙂
Really enjoyed this! Great reminder and ALWAYS love reading about knowing God as our dad as Jesus did. From slaves to friends hallelujah. Thanks for inspiring!
I’m glad it was a blessing to ya! Thanks for reading and commenting! 🙂
My prayer life, and my life in general, is built on this premise of God as our father. Jesus knew Him far more intimately than I ever will, but I pray consistently that I will know Him more, simply because a daughter loves and wants to know her father. Thanks!
I pray the same! Thank you for reading and commenting! 🙂
Thanks for those insights. I had not heard before about how radical it was for the Jews to hear Jesus call God “Father.” Your post is timely because I’m on a quest to focus on the first and greatest commandment to love the Lord our God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength–which, I think, is something we can and should do every day of our lives. What a joy!
Amen!! 🙂
My relationship with my Daddy went to a whole other level when I started seeing and relating to Him as my Father. It took a little while to get there because I was comparing Him to my earthly father. So thankful that He pulled me out of the darkness and into His marvelous light! Blessings to you! Donna
Blessings to you too Donna, thank you! 😊
Good stuff! How can we not delve deep into the Lord’s prayer? After all, this was the Son of God teaching us how to address the Father! It’s not a “now I lay me down to sleep” recitation but rather an intimate look at who God is and what our relationship to Him should be. It’s reverence, worship, surrender, thanksgiving, petition, and giving God glory…… a pattern of prayer. Oh how I love it and how I love the Lord who taught it to me. Thank you for this one!
I thought of you when I was writing it! I know it’s not a vain repetition for you, but a hearfelt conversation with our Father. I want to dig deeper into the rest of it!
My relationship with the Lord became significantly more intimate when I first embraced the truth of being a daughter & God being my Father–my Abba, my Daddy. Thank you for this wonderful post.
It’s wonderful isn’t it? The love he has for us to call us his!
This is a really beautiful post! A relationship with the Father is such a powerful thing, and it’s one of the things that means the very most to me in this whole world. I loved your take on the Lord’s Prayer because all too often it becomes so common (and sometimes meaningless!)–it’s really important to remember where it came from and the points Jesus was trying to teach. Well said!
Praise the Lord, I’m glad it was a blessing to you! I love digging into the Jewish heritage to get a better understanding of the scriptures. It really brings to life the words of Jesus! Thanks for reading and commenting, I appreciate your feedback! 🙂