Our Father: Remember Who You're Praying To

Title: “OUR FATHER”

Matthew 6:9-13 Pray then like this:

“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.

Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts,as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

As we dive into this model for prayer that Jesus has given us, we’re just going to focus on two words of the prayer throughout this message.

OUR - The first word of Jesus’ model for prayer being “our” should put at the forefront of our minds that our prayer life is not exclusively about us….it is about us, and God desires one-on-one intimacy between us and Him, as we’ll see when we dig into what that word, “Father” means, but to simply focus on ourselves is a mindset that pulls us away from God, and subsequently pulls us away from the will of God and away from the great benefits, like the joy God, and the peace of God, that come from walking intimately with Him.

FATHER - The second thing that I want us to look at tonight, which will be the crux of this message, and I believe it’s the most important word in this prayer - is FATHER. As we look into what that word means for us, we’re going to either learn for the first time or we’re going to remind ourselves of what we’ve already learned – and that’s who we are praying to. Knowing the will and the character and the heart of who we are praying to will shape our prayer life in a major way… When we understand who our Father is and who we are to him, our prayer life changes, and as a result, our intimacy with God changes, and subsequently, our direction in life changes.

OUR

Okay, so we are studying the Lord’s Prayer, the model that Jesus gave for us to pray effectively to our Father. And it’s interesting that the church has made it the “Lord’s Prayer” because this is how we, as followers of Christ, should pray… so a better name for this prayer would probably be the “Disciples’ Prayer”. But whatever we want to call this prayer, this is the prayer that Jesus gave us as the singular best model to approach our Father… And the very first word of that prayer is “OUR”.

So we know that Jesus is God, the Holy Spirit is God, and our Father in heaven is God, and the Father, Son, and Spirit will always be in agreement with one another. And knowing the truth from 2 Timothy 3:16 that ALL scripture is breathed out by God, we know that every word of the Bible is from God. And the more we study God’s Word, the more we see crossover and the reinforcement of ideas that God has been communicating since the beginning of time

I say all that to remind us that Jesus beginning this prayer with the word “OUR” is profound but it is not a new idea…because God has always been about “US” over “just ME”. From the nation of Israel in the Old Testament to the church age that we’re in now, He has always been about prioritizing the collective over prioritizing our own needs, wants, and desires. All the way back in Exodus 20, God lets His people know what’s most important to Him by giving them the 10 commandments – and the first 4 of those commandments are about loving our Father, and the last 6 are about loving others, or keeping others in mind as we walk through this life.

Then in the New Testament, when Jesus is sent by the Father, the foundation of His ministry is this teaching that echoes what God has been saying for thousands of years: In Matthew 22:37-40 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.’

Everything we are called to do in life is boiled down to this: we are to love God and to love others. And Jesus says keeping His commandments is synonymous with loving Him, so keeping others in the forefront of our minds IS not only loving them, but it's also loving God. God’s Word shows us that we should do that through how we live and what we do – through our actions… and I don’t know if you’ve thought about it this way, but prayer is an action. When we pray, we are taking action to call on God to put things in motion. So Jesus intentionally begins this “Lord’s Prayer” with the word “OUR”, showing us that when we pray, we should pray with others in mind.

So, what does that look like, practically? Well, if you’re like me, if you were to have God print you out a report of all the prayers you’ve prayed in the last week, and HE divided them up: prayers about me vs. prayers about others, there’s a good chance that the list of prayers would lean heavily toward the “ME” category… meaning that when we go to the Lord in prayer, our most frequent requests have to do with our own personal needs, and our own personal concerns, and our own personal worries.

Couple of things we need to understand: First, let me make clear that God does want us to pray for ourselves… He does want us to take every concern to Him. Philippians 4:6 says to pray about everything. And in the Greek, that word everything means everything. But when we look at the great commandment Jesus gave us, to love your neighbor as yourself, and we connect it to this word “OUR” in His instruction of prayer, Jesus is telling us that we should pray for others the way we pray for ourselves. If we pay attention to what Jesus said, He didn’t just say that we should love others and think about others often. What He said was we should love others and think about others the same way we love ourselves..the same way we think about ourselves. We should have a heart for the anxieties that our friends face, we should have a heart for the prodigal child of that family that we know, we should have a heart for the health problems that people we know are experiencing (that thank God we don’t have to experience them), we should have a heart for the pain, needs, and struggles of others even if we only see them from a distance. And that heart for others, Jesus is showing us, should be directly applied to our prayer life.

Whatever we’re facing on an individual level, whatever we’re up against, we should always bring those needs to God, yes, but we should also, regardless of circumstance, have a heart to pray for others. The more time you spend in the word of God, the more you’ll see the importance of praying for others. Moses prayed for the Isrealites, despite their disobedience, so God had mercy on them. Jesus, before He was crucified, prayed for His disciples, and God kept them and protected them and sanctified them and worked through them. Paul, if you look at his letters, was constantly praying for the churches he was writing to.. And God worked through those prayers to build the kingdom through those churches. Job lost everything, was as low as you can possibly imagine, and the Bible says that he prayed for his friends, and then God restored everything to him and then some.

I know it’s just one three-letter word there that Jesus starts this prayer with, but it is incredibly important and should shape our prayer life. Our prayer life is not exclusively about the individual… it has to be about others. OUR is a word that connects us all, that links us to a commonality. This is OUR church - all in this room are linked by the commonality of The Way Church.

And what links us all as the recipients of the teaching of Jesus’ prayer is the second word, FATHER. He is OUR FATHER.

FATHER - The One We Pray To

Romans 8:15 For you (y’all) did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you (y’all) have received the Spirit of adoption as sons and daughters, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”

You hear me reference this verse a lot – because it’s one of the most important verses in the Bible in determining what our identity is in this world. This is the gospel.. That while we were still sinners, not only did Christ die for us, but our heavenly Father chose us - chose us to be called His sons and daughters. The Bible says that we have received the Spirit of adoption, meaning that God has graced us with His Spirit that dwells within us, and He’s adopted us into His royal family. By grace, through faith, we have been saved, and we have been adopted. We get to call the sovereign ruler of the universe our Father. And in our common 2024 American language, that word “Father” sounds a little formal…that formality is not the intent of Paul in Romans, and it’s not the intent of Jesus in Matthew 6.

Greek: πατήρ (patēr). n. masc. father, forefather. Literally someone’s male parent.

Aramaic: Ἀββά (Abba): n. Father. Used in prayer and communion with God

Why is this important? This is important because Jesus spoke Aramaic, most Jews in this region at this time spoke Aramaic, as did many gentiles… And the word “Abba”, an Aramaic word, is added to a Greek text, to let us readers of the Word know that the word Paul is using here and the word that Jesus is using in Matthew 6, is so much more than a formal title. It is the most intimate name that could be associated with the title of Father.

English Equivalent: Dad, Daddy, Papa (not a formal title, but a relational title)

That’s who Jesus is telling us to pray to - Our heavenly Father. I want to approach God like Luke approaches me when I get home from work – and he runs to me and says, “DADDY!”, I want to approach God the way Luke approaches me when he falls on the sidewalk and skins up his knees…with tears in his eyes he comes running to his DADDY. And His Word is showing us that that’s how God wants us to approach Him.

The fact that the title of Father that Jesus is communicating here is more of a relational title than a formal or positional title is showing us that our Father who we pray to is as accessible as the most loving human parent that we can imagine.

So when we think about who we’re praying to as Father, our minds likely make a connection to an example of a human, earthly father. And maybe the example that you have is a great one, maybe it’s a terrible one, maybe it’s somewhere in between…regardless of what kind of earthly father comes to mind when you hear that word, here’s what we have to understand:

“God is not a reflection of your earthly father; He’s the perfection of what it means to be Father.”

That means that if you have a terrible example of an earthly father, this is great news for you…and if you have the best example in this room of an earthly father, this is still great news for you.

The purpose of studying the Lord’s Prayer, the reason we’re doing a deep dive into Jesus’ instruction, is so we can develop a deeper prayer life and in turn cultivate a more intimate relationship with God - which he reeealy wants with us. I think that one essential component in developing that intimacy is knowing who we’re praying to. WE HAVE TO KNOW WHO WE’RE PRAYING TO. AND SO WE DON’T FORGET, WE HAVE TO CONSTANTLY REMIND OURSELVES WHO WE’RE PRAYING TO. So let’s see what God’s Word says about who we pray to.

We pray to a perfect Father.

E. Matthew 5:48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

I. We are called to strive for holiness here in this life, but the best earthly father you can imagine falls well short of the standard of God the Father.

A. We should keep in mind when we pray that we are praying to an all-knowing, all-seeing, all-present God who has existed in perfection since the beginning but still wanted communion with us, wanted a relationship with us. And all of His other characteristics are founded in His holiness and perfection.

We pray to a loving, compassionate Father.

E. 1 John 3:1 See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.

We are able to be called children of God — we have been adopted into His royal family – strictly because of His love and not based on anything we could ever do.

Luke 15:20 And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.

I. I messed up; my dad is gonna kill me. VS I messed up; I better call my dad.

A. Our first response in time of failure, in time of need, should be to run to the Father - run to a Father who runs to us. And when we feel unworthy to approach Him, we need to remind ourselves that our ability to run to Him is not based on anything we have done or could ever do; it’s based on His love and His grace.

We pray to a Father who provides.

E. Matthew 7:11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him?

Matthew 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

I. God knows exactly what we need, and He will provide what we need. The desire of God is that we come to Him with our request for what we need, that we seek Him for what we need.

A. The provision of God, as these verses show, is directly connected to seeking God. Pray for what you need. Seeking Him first begins with prayer. When you pray, you can pray with confidence that you’re petitioning a God who provides.

We pray to a Father who guides and protects.

E. Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

Psalm 91:1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”

I. We serve a God who lives outside of time and space. Our Father lives in eternity. He knows the end from the beginning and the beginning from the end. He knows every detail of this world, and He knows every detail of your journey. He knows every step that you’ll take on this path of life. He can see what we can’t, and the Bible says that He is a refuge and fortress that protects His children.

A. So our job isn’t to predict every step of this journey we’re on in life. Our job is to rest in His protection and to trust Him to lead us and guide us where we should go. The Bible says that if we do that, then He takes care of the rest. That’s what it means to have a Father who guides and protects.

We pray to a Father who disciplines.

E. Hebrews 12:5 And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?,“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. 6 For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”

I. A Father who wants what’s best for us. Our Father’s heart is to keep us humble but not to humiliate us. His heart is not to punish us but to correct us. And we NEED correction.

Think about this example..if Haley and I just let Luke wake up and do whatever he wants every day, do you think he’d make it? Absolutely not. The other day, I caught him going for the kitchen knives.

Isaiah 55:8-9 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

When you compare me and Luke, I’m obviously much more knowledgeable, I’m much wiser than my 2-year-old son. If there’s a mile of wisdom that separates me and Luke, there’s a billion light years of wisdom that separate me and God.

A. So what does that mean for my prayer life? It means that I should constantly pray for correction, I should pray that God steer my back to where I need to be when I’m missing the mark. Thank God we pray to a Father who disciplines.

We pray to a forgiving Father.

E. Psalm 103:12 As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.

Isaiah 43:25 I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.

I. Isa 43:25 - God said He blots out our transgressions for His sake, meaning that there is no motivation for His forgiveness that’s tied to anything good we could do - it’s simply by His mercy and grace. And it says that He will not remember our sins. That means that if we are in Christ, if Jesus is our Lord and Savior, then when our Father looks at us, He doesn’t see our sins, our failures, and mistakes, and shortcomings. He sees His child, and He looks upon us with Love, Mercy, and Grace.

Good earthly parents, we love our kids so much… but I guarantee that we can look at that child that we love so dearly, and if we think about it, we can recount at least an instance or two when they messed up…and of course there were consequences..maybe it caused us pain.. And if you can’t remember any of those instances about your own kids, then I bet your parents can remember some of your shortcomings, some of your mistakes.

The Bible says that when God looks at us, that’s not what He sees. Our sins had greater consequences for God than they could have ever had for our earthly parents. Our sins are what put Jesus, His only son, on the cross. But even still, our Father says that He will not remember them.

A. The Father we pray to is a Father that sees us as a child to be loved and nurtured, not someone who sees us as a failure to be condemned.

We pray to an accessible Father.

E. Hebrews 4:16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

I. Next to all the incredible characteristics of our God, our FATHER, this is the characteristic that is most important to us, as His children. We pray to a perfect, loving, compassionate, providing, protective, disciplinary, forgiving Father. And what makes all of those characteristics even more powerful is that He is available..He is close. He is accessible to us anytime, anywhere..like a cell signal that always has 5 bars.

A. So what do we do with this knowledge? WE RUN TO HIM. We run to Him when we’re happy, like my son does when I get home from work. We run to Him when we’re hurt, like Luke runs to me when he gets a boo boo. We run to Him first, with good news or bad.. We run to Him first when we are desperate for help or we’re just desperate to praise Him. And the way we do that is in PRAYER. We approach the God of the universe as our closest companion in the world…because He is. He will never leave us nor forsake us.

So the exhortation for you tonight is this..pray to your Father often, and when you do, cry out to Him as the intimate close companion that He is. Call Him Abba, call Him Daddy, call Him whatever you want. Just make sure that when you do, you’re calling on the one who is always with you, He’s always for you, and He’s always closer than anyone in this world could ever be.

REMEMBER WHO YOU’RE PRAYING TO