"In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name." Matthew 6:9
The Lord's Prayer is perhaps the most misused prayer in all the world. People recite its words -- sometimes repeatedly -- with little or no thought as to what the prayer really asks of God. Instead of being a sincere prayer of the heart, it is often only empty words uttered from the lips.
When we remember that Jesus tells us, when we pray, to "not use vain repetitions as the heathen do" (Matt. 6:7), we would do well to consider the meaning of the Lord's Prayer and take the time to pray through it with our hearts and minds and not just recite its words thoughtlessly.
We pray to "our Father in heaven."
What a privilege it is for us to address the Almighty God, Maker of heaven and earth, as "our Father"! But that is what He is to us -- our Father. Not only did He create each and every one of us, but He also redeemed each and every one of us from our own sin and rebellion by sending His only-begotten Son to fulfill all righteousness for us and to suffer and die for all our sins.
As believers in Christ Jesus, we sinners have the privilege of addressing God as "our Father" and can be assured that He has forgiven us and will both hear and answer our prayers for Jesus' sake.
The Bible tells us in Galatians 3:26-27: "For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ."
Hebrews 10:19-22 says, "Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water."
In 1 John 5:13-15, we also read: "These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God. Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him."
Because Christ Jesus suffered and died upon the cross for the sins of all and then rose again and ascended to the right hand of God the Father to intercede for us with His blood and be our Advocate before the Father, we can come boldly before the holy LORD God and He will hear us!
Is any petition too large when coming before the Maker of all things? Is any request too small for a God who has given such great attention to even the most minute detail?
What a privilege we have to be able to call God, the Maker of heaven and earth, our Father! And we can call Him just that and know that He, as our loving Father in heaven, will hear and answer all our prayers for the sake of His Son, Christ Jesus, who suffered and died for all our sins and rose again.
Dear Father in heaven, we thank You for Your love and mercy toward us and for the gift of Your Son to redeem us and make us Your own children through faith in Him. We thank You for the privilege of calling You "our Father" and for Your promise to hear and answer our prayers for Jesus' sake. In His name, we pray. Amen.
[Devotion by Randy Moll. Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.]
Religion on 05/06/2020