Our Abba Father

Our Abba Father

Scripture:

 “This, then, is how you should pray: “‘Our Father in heaven ……” Matthew 6:9

Observation:

Following His teaching on prayer, our Lord now gives us the great Lord’s prayer, which has been prayed and recited by millions of Christians through the ages. However, it is not beneficial to just keep praying this prayer by memory, without appreciation of what the prayer really means as many do. In saying “in this manner, pray”, or “this is how you should pray”, our Lord was showing us key areas and priorities in prayer that we would do very well to take note of, even as we pray.

Firstly, the Lord teaches us to pray “Our”. With this mentality, we are to pray not only for ourselves, for no man is an island. Instead, we should pray with the mindset that we are one as part of God’s great family, with fellow brothers and sisters who likewise call God Father.

In praying Father, or Abba, we are reminded of that close personal relationship we have with our Heavenly God, and that He has called us to be His children. The emotion and posture when we call God Abba has great bearing on the effectiveness and faith in our prayer. We have a wonderful, loving Daddy in Heaven! How marvelous indeed!

Then, we are reminded that God our Father is in Heaven, and even as we reflect on that, we remember that Heaven is our true home. We are but sojourners and travelers on this temporary earth. To be with our Father in Heaven, is where we want to be and where we are destined to be one day.

Application:

Meditate on the words Our Father, who art in Heaven. In “Our”, remember that we are not alone, but we are part of God’s great big family and we have many brothers and sisters in Christ all over the world. We are to remember them, to bless them as we pray, for we are all in the same family. In thinking of “Father”, “Abba”, imagine the most wonderful father you have ever seen with his son or daughter and know that our Abba in Heaven loves us much, much more. Thank our Abba Father for His great love. In thinking of Heaven, thank God that He has prepared a wonderful, heavenly home for us.

Prayer:

Bless thee, dear Father in Heaven, for Your great and perfect love for us. We thank You, Father, that you called us to be Your sons, Your daughters. Teach me to love my fellow brothers and sisters, from every tribe and tongue and nation. Teach me to know You more and more. Bless You, Father, for You have freely given us all things, and taught us wisdom and peace. We thank you, Father, for the great, heavenly place You have prepared for us. Lead us, Lord, we pray, in the way everlasting. May Your name be praised forever. In Jesus name, Amen.