The Attentive Father

“When you pray, say: 'Father, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come.’”—Luke 11:2

Prayer is essential to our spiritual lives. Like a dolphin ascending to the surface in order to get oxygen, we go to our knees in prayer. How does our prayer begin? It begins with an acknowledgement of Whom we are praying to. As Jesus said, “Father, hallowed be Your name.” There are two aspects of addressing God as Father. The first aspect carries with it the recognition that God is Father, in other words, God is the Creator, Ruler and Sovereign of all creation (Ephesians 3:15). Jesus recognized this when He said “Father,” an implicit acknowledgement that God the Father was and is the Father of us all (Ephesians 4:6).

The second aspect of His addressing God as Father is more personal in quality. While God is the Father of us all, He is the spiritual Father to all believers. Through Christ, we have been brought into the Father’s presence (Ephesians 2:18), and by our faith in Him, we are now His children (Galatians 3:26), adopted into His family (Romans 8:15), and given the right and privilege to approach Him (John 1:12). Think about this: we can now approach God the Father, and His ear is attentive to our prayer, as an earthly father to his child. He is ready and willing to listen to our heart cries.

My son is only a week and a half old. When I started to write this, he was in his little bouncer sleeping. That is, until about 20 minutes ago, when he awoke with a start. His cry pierced the silence of my evening and I dropped everything to attend to Him. I love him and want to do everything I can for him. He is my son. And he is helpless. He needs my loving attention and I want to give it. God is the same way with us. He adopts each of us as His child, and He is attentive to our cries and our prayers.

My brother or sister, don’t hesitate to cry out to God our Father. If you have placed your faith and trust in Him, you are His child and His ear is attentive to your cries, your prayers, and your tears. Don’t let this world fog your faith. Go to Him and pour out your heart, in the knowledge and promise that He is, and always will be, the God who hears. Amen.