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We continue our Red Letter MonDays with the opening phrase of the Lord’s Prayer.


“Our Father in heaven…”
– Jesus, The Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9) 

In the Old Testament, God promised the Jewish people, through the prophets, that He would one day establish His kingdom on earth. He also claimed He would be a “Father” to Israel. By the time of Jesus, those promises seemed distant and impossible. The Jews were suffering under foreign rule, facing exploitation by godless dictators. Instead of seeing God’s promises to vindicate His people fulfilled, they saw themselves as helpless orphans, jilted by the One they had believed to be their Father.             

We often undergo similar periods of doubt and pain. The daily newspaper brings word of terrorism, suffering, starvation, injustice, persecution, sin, and immorality. We, as Christians, know that God has promised to raise the dead and reward the righteous in the future. We cling to hope in the coming new heaven and new earth. But that day seems so far away, and thus we cry out like those in Jesus’ day, “Where are You, God? What has happened to Your promises? Are You still our Father?”                        

Jesus instructs us to begin our prayers by acknowledging God as Father. In other words, He claims, “The day is here, My friends. You can call God your Father again because the dawn of hope is arising! You are not orphans! You have not been abandoned!” The first words of The Lord’s Prayer connect us to God’s kingdom plan and purpose. They imply that we are God’s children. 

The “our” reminds us that we’re not alone. We’re not to go to God, declaring “My Father in heaven.” When we say “our,” we bear in mind the community in which we take part as believers.  Christians are the people of God, those through whom God is at work to further His kingdom. Beginning our prayers with “Our Father” involves much more than intimacy with God. It conveys the weighty responsibility of living as His children.

 

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