The Family Prayer to our Father, God
Matthew 6:9 “After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name.”
Here Jesus is teaching His disciples how to pray. Showing them God, in a most tender aspect: Our Father.
Since He is God, He is Almighty. We do not come to One who can do nothing; but One who will see His Will done.
Since He is our Father, He looks on us in Christ, and He is concerned for our well-being more than we are.
We are to come as sons and daughters to God, our Father; for Christ Jesus has given all the born again ones, a place in the family of God. We are joint-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17), and have received the Spirit of Adoption. (Romans 8:15-16)
As God is our Father, there is that special love relationship.
Jude 20-21 “But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,
Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.”
Keep yourselves in the love of God, in other words:
Walk in the sunshine of His love.
When we pray “Our Father which art in heaven”, we know that the Great God is ready to give us an audience.
This raises our eyes to see Him above, and it raises our hearts from earth to heaven’s court.
We come before Him with our requests in full assurance that He will hear. That we can pour out our hearts before Him.
Hebrews 4:16 “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”
It is to a Divine Person we come.
One who has our best interests at heart.
And He, through Christ Jesus, has invited us to come, and come boldly, to His throne.
Boldly means that without fear we come close to God.
When we pray “Our Father which art in heaven”; we realize how elevated, and blessed we are, by His grace, given us. How much we have, because of Christ Jesus, our Savior.
We also see that we are a member of a family. Fellow Christians are our Brothers and Sister in Christ. For it is to “Our Father” we pray, and we are told we should love them, and pray for them.
He is in heaven, directing all things on earth. Nothing takes Him by surprise, and He has an answer for every situation.
Psalm 115:3, 16 “But our God is in the heavens: He hath done whatsoever He hath pleased.
The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lords: but the earth hath He given to the children of men.”
And we should pray for the glory of God’s Name. “Hallowed be Thy Name.”
Revelation 4:11 “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.”
The glory of God is the ultimate end of everything.
Psalm 115:1 “Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto Thy name give glory, for Thy mercy, and for Thy truth’s sake.”
We are to seek the glory of God in every prayer and act. His Holiness is a beauty which makes the glory of the sun and stars, pale in comparison.
Imagine a world full of His Holiness (as it will be one day): full of compassion, and goodness. Full of joy and peace.
Sin has brought all the evils, sickness, and death with it.
But God’s Holiness has redeemed us from sin by His sending His son to die for our sins, and taking all the penalty of them from us.
Colossians 1:12-14 “Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:
Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son.
In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:”
How easy it should be for us, as His beloved children, to pray and seek the glory of His Name, here on earth and in our lives. “Let Thy Name be magnified.”
Preaching, Teaching, and Notes 