The Lord’s Prayer
“I am going to call my mom.” I probably said this phrase a few thousand times during my first four months living away from home. Everything felt new and intimidating while starting a new life in a new apartment with a new job 700 miles from home. It’s almost embarrassing, but I would dial my mother’s number a few times a day. Whenever I was cooking a recipe, making a doctor’s appointment, feeling homesick, or figuring out how to fold a fitted sheet, she was my immediate contact. It turns out she didn’t know how to fold a fitted sheet either, but hearing her voice still made me feel better. Whenever we are overwhelmed, we can find comfort in our family. That is why the introduction of the Lord’s Prayer is so significant.
“Our father…” It’s just two words, but this line is packed with power. Jesus encouraged us to pray to God like we would talk to our own parent. Just like I’d call my mother for guidance, we should come to God for parental guidance. While the address “God the Father” seems second nature in Christian culture, this concept was groundbreaking in the early first century. God was seldom addressed as a parent in the Old Testament traditions. With these two words, Jesus presented a new paradigm in prayer. We aren’t just servants of God; we are sons and daughters of God. I understand that the word “father” carries a lot of baggage. It’s foolish to assume that everyone has a father figure who can hold a “world’s best dad” mug without any irony. Maybe your father was overly harsh. Maybe your dad never understood you. Maybe your father wasn’t even there in the first place. Your parents are human, which means that they have inevitably let you down, maybe in bigger ways than you’d like to admit. This is why Jesus attaches God’s identity as a father to His sovereignty in heaven. “Our Father in heaven” means that God is both personally involved in your life and powerfully in control over the whole universe. God is personal, powerful, and perfect. He’s a good dad. He’s the perfect dad.
When you pray, speak personally. Discuss life with God the same way you would on a phone call with your parent. Whether your problems are massive or minuscule, you can bring them to God. He’s got the whole world in His hands, but he can hold your hand at the same time.