The Introduction: Our Father In Heaven
Sermon
What's That Supposed To Mean?
Using The Catechism In The 21st Century
Object:
The Lord's Prayer -- The Introduction
Our Father who art in heaven. What does this mean? God would by these words tenderly invite us to believe that He is our true Father, and that we are His true children, so that we may with all boldness and confidence ask Him as dear children ask their dear father.
The word "father" brings up mixed feelings among many people. Some people have good feelings. They think fondly about their fathers, like the family vacations their fathers took them on or the other fun things they remember doing with their dads. Some have bad feelings. They remember being beaten, yelled at, abused, neglected, or even abandoned. It seems risky that God would reveal Himself to us as a father. Those who have had bad fathers might be afraid of God if He is a father. And those who have had good fathers might think that if God is a father, that means always having fun with Him and having good times. When Jesus teaches us to pray, however, He tells us that God is different than any father you or I might know. Jesus said, "When you pray, pray like this, 'Our Father, who art in heaven.' " Jesus tells us that we have a heavenly Father. While it is good to know that God is our Father, the really good news is found in knowing that He is our Father in heaven.
The Lord Jesus tells us two things that are different about our heavenly Father than about earthly fathers: our heavenly Father sees what is done in secret and He knows what we need before we ask Him. Some of us had dads who had eyes in the backs of their heads. Our heavenly Father sees better than that! He sees what we do in private, behind closed doors. Some of us have had fathers who gave us gifts on our birthdays or at Christmas that were just what we wanted, but only after we begged and begged and begged for them. Our heavenly Father knows what we need before we ask Him -- always, and He always gets it right. He searches our hearts with his Holy Spirit so that He knows what we need better than we know. The Father who sees what happens in secret also knows what we need before we can ask Him.
The idea that God sees what we do in secret can be scary. Many of us have done things hoping that our fathers would never find out. Yet there is a Father who sees what we do in secret. If what He sees is sin, we have reason to fear. But Jesus tells us that the heavenly Father is not snooping in on our lives to catch us doing wrong. He can't catch us doing anything wrong. That's because Jesus forgives what we do faster than we can do it. As long as we are trusting Jesus to forgive our sins, our heavenly Father will only see good and faithful children. So he is not snooping around looking for secret sin. Instead, our heavenly Father watches us closely to catch us doing something good in secret. Those bedtime prayers, those silent prayers we pray before starting a tough job, catch God's eye. He keeps track of each of them and rewards them as acts of great service. How much more can we be confident that our heavenly Father will take notice of other acts of service done in His name!
The idea that God knows what we need before we can ask might tempt us to think, "Why bother asking?" But remember, it is not the asking that gets us what we need. We are going to get what we need whether we ask for it or not. God sends sun to shine on the good and bad and rain to fall on the righteous and unrighteous. This is the Father who sent His only begotten Son Jesus into human flesh to bear our sin and be our Savior, long before we knew or cared about being saved. He didn't wait for our prayers before He would save us. Prayer, then, is something that happens after we get what we need. Asking is faith in action. When we ask somebody for something, it's because we believe he can help us and might want to. In a greater way, we can confidently ask our heavenly Father for things because He delights in being asked and enjoys watching us enjoy His answers.
When we pray, it is like a little child climbing up into the lap of his dad. Nobody else has to see that. Dad is Dad, even when no one else is around. The child doesn't have to wait until a crowd of people is around before he can say, "O Dad, please give ear unto my request and harken to my needs. Send me food and clothing and protect me from harm." The child just climbs up into Dad's lap and looks into Dad's eyes. Most children learn to trust Dad -- even if Dad makes mistakes. How much more can we come before our heavenly Father trusting His goodness and love! Indeed, we can come to Him with boldness and confidence. The sky is the limit, because that is where our heavenly Father lives and works.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, help us always believe that we have a Father in heaven who pays close attention to us so that we get the good things He wants us to have. Help us love Him dearly so we can enjoy His love for us more than ever before. Amen.
Our Father who art in heaven. What does this mean? God would by these words tenderly invite us to believe that He is our true Father, and that we are His true children, so that we may with all boldness and confidence ask Him as dear children ask their dear father.
The word "father" brings up mixed feelings among many people. Some people have good feelings. They think fondly about their fathers, like the family vacations their fathers took them on or the other fun things they remember doing with their dads. Some have bad feelings. They remember being beaten, yelled at, abused, neglected, or even abandoned. It seems risky that God would reveal Himself to us as a father. Those who have had bad fathers might be afraid of God if He is a father. And those who have had good fathers might think that if God is a father, that means always having fun with Him and having good times. When Jesus teaches us to pray, however, He tells us that God is different than any father you or I might know. Jesus said, "When you pray, pray like this, 'Our Father, who art in heaven.' " Jesus tells us that we have a heavenly Father. While it is good to know that God is our Father, the really good news is found in knowing that He is our Father in heaven.
The Lord Jesus tells us two things that are different about our heavenly Father than about earthly fathers: our heavenly Father sees what is done in secret and He knows what we need before we ask Him. Some of us had dads who had eyes in the backs of their heads. Our heavenly Father sees better than that! He sees what we do in private, behind closed doors. Some of us have had fathers who gave us gifts on our birthdays or at Christmas that were just what we wanted, but only after we begged and begged and begged for them. Our heavenly Father knows what we need before we ask Him -- always, and He always gets it right. He searches our hearts with his Holy Spirit so that He knows what we need better than we know. The Father who sees what happens in secret also knows what we need before we can ask Him.
The idea that God sees what we do in secret can be scary. Many of us have done things hoping that our fathers would never find out. Yet there is a Father who sees what we do in secret. If what He sees is sin, we have reason to fear. But Jesus tells us that the heavenly Father is not snooping in on our lives to catch us doing wrong. He can't catch us doing anything wrong. That's because Jesus forgives what we do faster than we can do it. As long as we are trusting Jesus to forgive our sins, our heavenly Father will only see good and faithful children. So he is not snooping around looking for secret sin. Instead, our heavenly Father watches us closely to catch us doing something good in secret. Those bedtime prayers, those silent prayers we pray before starting a tough job, catch God's eye. He keeps track of each of them and rewards them as acts of great service. How much more can we be confident that our heavenly Father will take notice of other acts of service done in His name!
The idea that God knows what we need before we can ask might tempt us to think, "Why bother asking?" But remember, it is not the asking that gets us what we need. We are going to get what we need whether we ask for it or not. God sends sun to shine on the good and bad and rain to fall on the righteous and unrighteous. This is the Father who sent His only begotten Son Jesus into human flesh to bear our sin and be our Savior, long before we knew or cared about being saved. He didn't wait for our prayers before He would save us. Prayer, then, is something that happens after we get what we need. Asking is faith in action. When we ask somebody for something, it's because we believe he can help us and might want to. In a greater way, we can confidently ask our heavenly Father for things because He delights in being asked and enjoys watching us enjoy His answers.
When we pray, it is like a little child climbing up into the lap of his dad. Nobody else has to see that. Dad is Dad, even when no one else is around. The child doesn't have to wait until a crowd of people is around before he can say, "O Dad, please give ear unto my request and harken to my needs. Send me food and clothing and protect me from harm." The child just climbs up into Dad's lap and looks into Dad's eyes. Most children learn to trust Dad -- even if Dad makes mistakes. How much more can we come before our heavenly Father trusting His goodness and love! Indeed, we can come to Him with boldness and confidence. The sky is the limit, because that is where our heavenly Father lives and works.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, help us always believe that we have a Father in heaven who pays close attention to us so that we get the good things He wants us to have. Help us love Him dearly so we can enjoy His love for us more than ever before. Amen.
