When Jesus showed us how to pray, this is how he started. Why start with these words? Let’s find out:
Our
This prayer is meant to be prayed together. Get one or two or three believing friends and pray together. Pray for each other and with each other.
Even when you’re alone and praying to God, you’re not praying alone. Let your believing friends know what you’re praying about.
And even if nobody else knows, you’re not the only one who’s lifting requests up to God. And God wants to hear your request. He listens to everything that we all say to him
Father
What’s the perfect father? What’s he like, what does he do?
A friend said it’s hard to talk about God as their father, because they don’t have a good father figure. I realized I have a pretty good father. But no matter how good or bad you’re earthly father is, you’re heavenly father is perfect.
So, what qualities do you expect a perfect father to have? That’s the Father we’re talking to.
Who is in heaven
I expect the perfect father to be near, to be available, to be around. But when we say “our Father in heaven”, God sounds so far away. He’s actually much closer!
The original word is “the heavens”. That means everywhere above the ground. Where God’s throne is, that’s one heaven. Another heaven is space, home to the sun, moon and stars. And where clouds float and birds fly, that’s a heaven too.
God is in all those places, all the heavens.
When we’re walking through a cloud we call it fog. Birds land on the ground all the time, sometimes very close to us.
That’s how close God is, as close as the air around you.
That’s why Jesus says we can pray in the inner room.
Pray to your Father in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you. – Matthew 6:6, NET2
Jesus’ follower Paul even told a bunch of people — non-believers! — that God is closer than you think. “God… is not far from each one of us.” Acts 17:27, NET2
To summarize, Jesus tells us that when we pray:
- We are praying to our God
- God is the perfect father
- God is nearby and he is listening to our prayers.
God is listening. So, what should we say? Jesus tells us in the next part
NET2: The NET Bible (Second Edition). Biblical Studies Press, 2019, Thomas Nelson
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