MY DADDY

"Our Father in heaven…"  Matthew 6:9

         Greetings in the name of the Lord!  Another blessed day in the Lord.  Praise His name for He is worthy of our praise.  I pray that Lord will use my effort to bless each of you reading this blog and those you will share it with and that it will bring honor and glory to God.

         It was my intent to move onto the next part of the Lord’s Prayer to continue this series, but I really feel that I have not covered the first part enough.  “Our Father in heaven,” (Matthew 6:9 NIV) is therefore, our Daddy who hears our prayers.

         I do not know your earthly relationship with your dad.  I have a close relationship with mine, so I will base this on my experience.  My daddy is a strong and stoic man.  I have always felt safe in his presence, I always felt loved, and yet I always had a reverent fear of my dad.  I was not afraid of him; I had a respectful fear.  But I always felt he would provide for me, he would protect me, he would take care of me.  Our Father in heaven has made these promises and more.  In our Father’s perfection these are perfectly done on a cosmic scale.

         I want to list out the names of God, which are also some of God’s attributes.  These are the names of the God who hears our prayer:

El Shaddai:  Lord God Almighty

El Elyon: The Most High God

Adonai:  Lord, Master

Yahweh: Lord, Jehovah

Jehovah Nissi: The Lord my banner

Jehovah-Raah:  The Lord my Shepherd

Jehovah Rapha:  I am the Lord who heals

Jehovah Shammah:  The Lord is there

Jehovah Tsidkenu:  The Lord our righteousness

Jehovah Mekoddishkem:  The Lord who sanctifies you

Jehovah Jireh:  The Lord will provide

Jehovah Shalom:  The Lord is peace

Jehovah Sabaoth:  The Lord of hosts

El Olam:  The everlasting God

Elohim:  God

Qanna:  Jealous

         The names alone are worth a study, but I wanted to illustrate that this is who you are talking with in prayer.  So when you say “Our Father in heaven” what you are saying is something like this:  Our Father the Lord God Almighty, the most High God, Lord and Master, Lord my Banner (of victory) and Shepherd who heals, the Lord who is there, my righteousness, my sanctifier, Everlasting God, Jealous God who provides, who gives peace, the Lord of hosts in heaven, Hallowed be Your Name…

         This is only a glimpse of our Father--only some of His attributes.  He is the Creator of all things.  He is my Daddy who hears me.

God bless

OUR FATHER

"Our Father in heaven,..."  Matthew 6:9

            Greetings in the name of the Lord!  This is the day that the Lord has made and I will be glad in it!  God is great.  I pray this finds everyone in good health and spirit.  I pray that these efforts are a blessing to you and that they are for God’s glory and your good.

            This week I will begin to break down the “Lord’s Prayer”.  The opening of this prayer is of the utmost importance.  Without the opening there is no point, there is no prayer!  Without God we might as well not waste our time.  Sure we can pray to the sky, the moon, the sun, and etc., it has been done by many civilizations over the last few thousand years.  Ironically they are all historical societies no longer in existence.  Knowing who our prayer is addressed to and that who He is is the entire point!  “Our Father Who is in Heaven.” (Matt 6:9).  This is it, the big time!

            Look at that!  The privilege and blessing of prayer is we get to go straight to the top.  We get to take our petitions, concerns, fears, and worries directly to the Creator of the Universe.  Jesus Christ and His loving sacrifice opens up a direct line of communication between you and God.  Let that sink in for a moment.  Chew on that. 

            People file requests to visit the White House.  There are limitations to where a tourist can go inside the Vatican.  Try getting into Buckingham Palace for some chat time with the Queen.  These are just humans in a position of authority.  You have a direct line to the Authority.  If that does not get you excited, then you need to check your pulse.  Above all presidents, kings, queens, emperors, popes, bishops, and prime ministers there stands the One True God!  And you get to talk with Him whenever you want.  You get unlimited access to the Father, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, three hundred sixty-five days a year.

            Last thing I want to let sink in is the word “Father” in this verse.  Max Lucado says it clearly when he quotes Joachim Jeremias “More specifically, our ‘Abba in heaven.”  Abba is an intimate, tender, folksy, pedestrian term, the warmest of the Aramaic words for ‘father.”[1]  That is Daddy!  Not only do you have a direct line of communication to the Creator of all things, but you have a relationship with Him that is so intimate that you get to call Him Daddy!

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[1] Lucado, Max. before amen: The Power of a Simple Prayer. 2014. Nashville. Thomas Nelson. 13

TEACH US TO PRAY

"In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.  Your kingdom come.  Your will be done.  On earth as it is in heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread.  And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.  And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.  For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen."  Matthew 6:9-13 NKJV.

I love the fact that the Apostles, who were witnesses to hearings, resurrections of the dead, the expelling of demons and much more while they walked with Jesus, asked Him for one thing..."Lord, teach us to pray..." (Luke 11:1 NIV).  It was not teach us how to do the things you do, those miracles on display.  It was not show me how to walk on water!  It was teach me to pray.  I think those guys were on to something.  Jesus did all these powerful miracles before thousands of witnesses, yet the Apostle asked Jesus to teach them to pray.

What I love even more is Jesus’ reply to this request.  There was no condemnation, no judgement, no derogatory statements.  Jesus did not say “Don’t you fools know anything?”  or anything to that affect.  Keep in mind Jesus did rebuke and instruct his disciples throughout their time together.  “you of little faith?” (Matthew 6:30; 8:26; 14:31; 16:8; 17:20 NIV) and in other Gospels as well.  So it was not uncommon for Jesus to start a lesson with a rebuke.  But not this time!  Not this request!  No, “He said to them, ‘When you pray, say:

‘Father,

Hallowed be your name,

Your kingdom come.

Give us each day our daily bread.

Forgive us our sins,

For we also forgive everyone who sins against us.

And lead us not into temptation.’”

Not only did Jesus not give them a hard time, but gave them a phenomenal model for prayer.  It is a prayer that has everything a prayer needs.  It honors God the Father; it asks God’s will be done; it asks for His word each day as well as His provision; it asks for our sins to be forgiven and to allow us to forgive others; and asks to help us avoid temptation.  I would like to explore this prayer further in the next blog.

God bless.