I Belong to Abba

Friday, May 24, 2013        Luke 11:2-4

I Belong to Abba

The more the disciples were around Jesus the more they realized his life of prayer was like the air he breathed, the bread he ate. One day they were bold enough to ask Jesus, “Teach us to pray.” They were totally astounded with Jesus’ response. Jesus told them to begin their prayer with, “Father.” The Hebrews so revered God they would not speak or write God’s name. When writing God’s name they used four consonants; YHWH, which is rendered LORD in English translations of the Old Testament. Over time other people inserted vowels so as to pronounce the name of God, Yahweh. For Jesus’ disciples, the thought that they could address God, the LORD, as Father was beyond belief.

But Jesus wasn’t through teaching the disciples about the intimacy of God’s relationship with them, and us. In the Garden of Gethsemane, they heard Jesus call out to God, “Abba Father” (Mark 14:36). Twice the Apostle Paul teaches us that we too can pray, “Abba Father.” (Romans 8:15, Galatians 4:6) In a scene from the popular TV show NCIS, the character Ziva, an Israeli woman was frantically looking for her father whom she feared was injured. “Abba, Abba” she repeatedly called out. In Hebrew this word of endearment means Daddy. So it is today, and so it was when Jesus prayed to God, Abba Father.

Over the years, my prayer life has become much less structured. I don’t always begin with a formal salutation. Often I begin my prayers before meals with, “Thank you Father for the gift of this day.” I don’t often have defined beginnings and ends to my prayers. My prayers are more of an awareness of the presence of God as I am in conversation with Him. As I enter into my communion with God, I sometimes begin with, “Abba, I belong to you.”

I believe it is God’s grand design that every child would be raised in the tenderness of a father’s love. Sin ruptured that design and children who have experienced the unconditional tenderness of their father’s love are way too few and far between. Even so, things that are seemingly impossible for our human experience are indeed possible for God. God has redeemed us; we have been adopted by God. “And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father” (Galatians 4:4-6, Romans 8:15-17).

“Abba, I belong to you” contains just seven syllables and saying this phrase is as natural as breathing. Try it. Breathe in and as you exhale say, “Abba, I belong to you.” Now, begin to pray this way several times each day. As you do, it is quite possible you will find yourself translating the Hebrew into your personal affirmation of your truest identity, “I’m Daddy’s child.”

Sē’lah

<><  <><  <><  <><

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  In addition to this BLOG they are distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com. The Kindle version will follow soon.

·        The second edition First Think – Then Pray has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.