Our Father in Heaven

Meditations for Ragamuffins

May 7, 2024

Our Father in Heaven

“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name . . .”

Matthew 6:9 NIV

The next six meditations will be on the Lord’s Prayer. It has been my experience that many Christian congregations do not include the Lord’s Prayer in their worship services each week. When Cheryl and I connected with an Anglican congregation four years ago during the covid pandemic, we observed they not only recited the Lord’s prayer in their worship services, but they also recited the Lord’s prayer at the conclusion of Sunday School class and their weekly Bible study class. I believe this is good liturgical practice. I also believe the words of this prayer are some of the most radical words spoken by Jesus. In this and the following five meditations, I want to plumb the depths of this amazing gift Jesus has given to us.

Jesus began with what must have seemed like contradictory statements to his first disciples. His first sentence affirmed the holiness of God’s name. This is something his disciples could appreciate because 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 to render the name of God, YAHWEH. This word was later transliterated into Jehovah. So, the disciples would have expected Jesus to affirm the holiness of God’s name, even though they never wrote or spoke His name. But Jesus astonished the disciples by referring to God as “our Father.” Jesus personalized God, from being a distant power to a close, loving parent. It is one thing to believe in the God who created heaven and earth, it is another to believe that this God is your Heavenly Father who you trust with the care of your life. Jesus was calling his disciples to follow him into a close, personal, trusting relationship with their Heavenly Father, a relationship that would shape and transform every aspect of their lives.

The psalmist looked into the night sky and saw the work of God’s fingers, the moon, and the stars that God set in place. The psalmist then asked, “What are mere mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should care for them?” (Psalm 8:3-4). Jesus answers the question for the psalmist and for you and me. Humans are loved and adored by the God who hung the moon and the stars.

My Takeaway: The desire of God’s heart is that we would know Him as our Father in heaven. The greatest affirmation of the holiness of God’s name is when His children call Him, Father, or better yet, as the Apostle Paul teaches us in Romans 8:15,

“Now we call him, “Abba, Father.”” 

Sē’lah

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(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.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2024 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.