This, then, is how you should pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Matt 6:9 (NIV)
THE LORD’S PRAYER – PART 1
Jesus isn’t giving just giving us a ‘Prayer Script’ here – something we recite without thinking or meaning… He wants us to understand what we’re praying and who we are praying to…
Our Father: these two words tell an incredible story.
Father – God is our Dad. Not a dictator, or a CEO, or a policeman or Judge… He’s not the crazy uncle or distant brother that most families have… He is our Father. And we are His children. Family. A father provides, protects, teaches, comforts, strengthens, imparts wisdom, shares moments, walks, hopes, dreams, is always there… for us, His children. We are the focus of His affections and the recipients of His legacy. Divinely connected through the blood of Christ for all eternity.
Our – He’s not just MY father or YOUR father, He is our Father and we are brothers and sisters; family. We are in this together. Never alone. Without sounding cliched, we are part of a brotherhood/sisterhood where we spur each other on in this crazy messy, beautiful life. Side by side, community, famiglia.
We don’t pray to a stone cold God, silent and austere. We are part of a heavenly family. Living, breathing, moving, fluid: real and tangible. Our Father is both Lord and Saviour, friend and King. And this family goes beyond our blood ties uniting us in spirit and hope. The blood of Jesus doesn’t just connect us with God, it connects us with each other.
When we open our hearts and mouths to pray, our Father hears us and our brothers and sisters are with us. Together. A collective voice, one heart and the same hope joining us across time, cultures and continents. So while prayer is an intimate conversation we have with God, it’s part of a bigger story weaved through the past, present and future. Lives joined together by the grace of God, embraced by the Father’s love.
Pray as if you are an individual, loved by an amazing Father and part of an incredible family. Indeed, you are.