"God’s Paternity, Our Unity" Scripture: Romans 8:14-17
Pastor Bob Leroe, Cliftondale Congregational Church, Saugus, Massachusetts
Two guys were talking and one of them made a comment about prayer. The other scoffed: "If you’re so religious, let’s hear you quote the Lord’s Prayer. I bet you ten dollars you don’t know it." His friend responded, "Yes I do: ’Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep’." The other friend said, "Wow-I didn’t think you knew it!" and handed him a ten dollar bill.
Notice that this model for all prayer begins with God. It starts with reverential worship. So often we rush into prayer with our list of things-we begin with what we want. We need to take some time to give God the adoration and praise He deserves. The word worship means "worth-ship", i.e. God is worthy, deserving of our praise. Prayer trains us to focus on God alone, and shows us that there is more reality than what we can see.
By specifying, "…who art in heaven", we express the supremacy of our Father, surrounded by the angelic host. This places our prayer in the context of worship and adoration; it also identifies our true home. We become so used to and preoccupied with the concerns of our human existence that we sometimes fail to realize that we’re temporary residents of this planet. When we pray, we’re calling home! We don’t know much about heaven, but we know our Father is preparing us for this place. Heaven may seem like a far-away place right now, yet God is both there and with us. Who is closest to God? Anyone who prays; prayer is as close as we can get; it’s the next best thing to being there!
When we pray the Lord’s Prayer, we show solidarity with our fellow Christians. The opening word, "our", shows that we have a connection not only to God but to others. This prayer unites all Christians, expressing a profound unity within the fellowship of all believers, regardless of denomination. It makes us realize that in prayer we are not alone. All over the world this Lord’s Day believers are praying this prayer. We are one with the Community of Faith, with all who trust in Jesus.
The word "Father" says a lot about our relationship to God. Prior to Jesus’ coming, most people wouldn’t presume to address God as their "Father"; Jesus changed all that. Jesus startled people by repeatedly calling God His Father. The only time He didn’t was upon the cross, when he prayed Psalm 22-"My God, why have You forsaken me?" In the Old Testament God is spoken of as our Father, but there are no examples of anyone praying to God using this word. To address God as Father seemed too familiar. It is through the work of Christ that we are privileged to call God our Father. He is not remote-He is with us.
A secular philosopher posed an important question: "Is the universe friendly?" We who know God as our Father know that He is a loving Lord. We presume to talk to God on the basis of this relationship. Those who don’t pray are attempting to live and find meaning in life apart from God. Philosophy often teaches that God is detached, remote, unfeeling and uninvolved with human issues and concerns. Yet those who pray the Lord’s Prayer know Him as a loving, involved Father.
As God’s children, we know we don’t need to address God as our "Boss". Neither is He our dictator or a harsh judge. "Father" is a family word. It is a specific title-we do not raise our prayers to some anonymous God, some vague "higher power" or spiritual force of our own imaginations. Our trust is not in "fate" or "nature". Also, we talk directly to God-not to saints or angels. God as our "Father" implies a close, intimate relationship of trust. Paul describes our position as members of God’s family in his letter to the Galatians:
"You are all children of God through faith in Jesus Christ…because you have become His children, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into your hearts and now you can call God, ’Abba, Father’ (3:26, 4:6)."
In Romans, Paul explains that we’ve been "adopted" into God’s family, and we’ve received "the Spirit of sonship", allowing us to "share His treasures" (8:14-17). Jesus is our adoption agent.
John exclaims in his first epistle, "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called the children of God! And that is what we are!" (I John 3:1).
Just because God is our Father does not mean that we are free to be overly casual with Him. Just as we’re expected to honor and respect our earthly parents, we’re to approach God with reverence. Paul says we can call God ’Abba, Father’. I heard of a minister visiting Israel who heard a child running through Ben Gurion Airport shouting "Abba, Abba, Abba!" He was calling for his Daddy. The word "Abba" can be translated "Daddy", but it was used by both young and adult children in Israel as a common form of address. My point is, we should feel comfortable in God’s presence, but that doesn’t warrant being nonchalant. Some people refer to God as "the Man upstairs". We need to be reminded that God is our Friend but He’s not our "good buddy." When I served in the Army I felt comfortable when I sat down with my commander in his office, but I didn’t call him by his first name, nor did I put my feet on his coffee table!
For some people, the concept of God as Father has been damaged and distorted by a bad experience of fatherhood, characterized by rejection, abandonment or abuse. God is all that a father ought to be. Some of us, like the prodigal son (Luke 15) have been blessed with generous loving fathers (Although the prodigal had a compassionate father, he didn’t appreciate him!). For those who’ve had abusive fathers, God wants to be the father they never had. As Psalm 68 proclaims, God is "a father to the fatherless" (vs 5). We can trust God-He truly understands and loves us. God does not possess the weaknesses, failings and inconsistencies of our human fathers.
Because God is identified as our Father, this explains our motive to pray in the first place. A common objection to prayer is this-since God already knows our needs, why do we need to pray? We don’t pray in order to inform an ignorant God or badger a reluctant God. We pray because we have a family relationship. We’re members of the family. We need to talk to God and He is pleased when we do so. Our Father wants to be asked for what He longs to give. Our prayers, in turn, prepare us to receive what God wishes to give. Sometimes we simply need to talk, to unburden ourselves in prayer to the Father who always has time for us.
Early on in this prayer we call on God, saying "Thy Kingdom come". It was common in the ancient Middle East for kings to be called the "father" of their people. In a similar way, George Washington is called the "father of our country". When we call God Father we identify ourselves as children of the King, and we are confessing that He is our sovereign Lord. God is our Father in an infinitely richer sense, far greater than any earthly father or human king. And so in this opening statement we find both family and Kingdom imagery.
Since we are invited to address God as "our Father", this means that we who pray this prayer are brothers and sisters. The Lord’s Prayer breaks down all social, ethnic, economic and denominational distinctions. The early Christian church consisted of Jewish and Gentile believers. The New Testament clearly states that the barriers between these two groups have been torn down, that we are now members of one family.
The Lord’s Prayer gives us an outward focus. Our prayers are oftentimes selfish, self-centered. It’s perfectly fine to offer God our personal needs, but God wants us to pray with the needs of others in mind as well. By beginning with the word "our", we’re reminded that we identify ourselves as part of the community of faith, the "Body of Christ", I Cor 12. There Paul states that "we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body." Are we concerned about others? If you maintain a prayer list, determine how many items are for you, and how much you pray for others. "Intercessory prayer" is where we intercede, we pray for the needs of others.
John assures us in the opening chapter of his Gospel, "To all who receive Him, to those who believe in His name, He gives the right to become children of God" (vs 12). We receive a new life in Christ and a new identity. We’ve been rejoicing this week with a family in our church who’ve adopted a baby boy. Just as that child is a new member of a loving family, when we trust in Christ we become members of His family with the right to call God our Father. The Lord’s Prayer helps us to find our way back home.
Prayer: Loving Father, help us to be Your loyal children, and cause us to reach out to others in our family of faith-to bear one another’s burdens, to rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. Grant us consistency in prayer, and teach us to be more effective in our prayer-life. For the glory of our Savior we pray, Amen.
Thought for the church bulletin: "Prayer is the child’s helpless cry to the Father’s attentive ear, His loving heart, and His strong arm."
