Jesus said, "This is how you should pray: "Father, may Your name be kept holy. May Your Kingdom come soon. Luke 11:2
In 2005, a scandal broke out in the White House. Former President George W. Bush had invited the Women's Lacrosse team from Northwestern University to meet with him after they won the NCAA National Championship. The players arrived and took a group photo together, complete with the President of the United States and a couple of Lacrosse sticks. The controversy erupted when the press got ahold of the picture and saw many of the women were wearing beach flip-flops to the White House. Usually when you meet the President of the United States, custom demands that you clean up a bit and put on your best clothes, out of respect for the office and position. This fashion faux pas caused a small uproar.
In prayer, it is important for us to note that we are not talking to the President of the United States or even our buddy, we are talking to the God of the Universe. We are talking to the One who put every star into place, the One who knows every human being intimately, down to the very number of hairs on their head. When we pray, we are coming before the Highest King who loves us personally. We should approach Him with reverence.
But what if that King was also your dad? Jesus knew God not just as the Divine Creator, but also as His Father. He knew the power of coming to God with both reverence and innocence. Jesus taught the disciples to approach God with the name "Father," which in Aramaic would have been closest to the word, "Daddy." Jesus was using this loving term of endearment to teach the disciples that prayer was like a child crawling up into the lap of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. We approach the Lord with reverence and awe, but also with a heart that knows our Father loves us. Our confidence is that He has a much better plan than we could ever dream or imagine for our lives, and prayer is our opportunity to lean upon Him as our King and Dad.
When you imagine God as your King and Daddy, it should remind you that you are never alone. There is no place where you can go that He is not right beside you. When you pray, it is important that you imagine God is right there with you, sitting with you, walking beside you, and leading the way. Take some time to journal and to think about what it means that prayer is the opportunity to come before God with both the familiarity of a father and the reverence for a king. How would it change the way you approach God if you got yourself in the right mindset before you pray?
Read Isaiah 40:21-31 (NLT)
Haven’t you heard? Don’t you understand? Are you deaf to the words of God—the words he gave before the world began? Are you so ignorant?God sits above the circle of the earth. The people below seem like grasshoppers to him!He spreads out the heavens like a curtain and makes his tent from them.He judges the great people of the world and brings them all to nothing.They hardly get started, barely taking root, when he blows on them and they wither. The wind carries them off like chaff.
“To whom will you compare me? Who is my equal?” asks the Holy One.
Look up into the heavens. Who created all the stars?He brings them out like an army, one after another, calling each by its name.Because of his great power and incomparable strength, not a single one is missing.O Jacob, how can you say the Lord does not see your troubles? O Israel, how can you say God ignores your rights?Have you never heard? Have you never understood?The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth.He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding.He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless.Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion.But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles.They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.
©2024 Sagebrush Church
