Approaching God through prayer can be a very intimidating thing. After all, He is the creator of the universe. More powerful than any government or military leader, yet He came to earth as a common man with an uncommon mission.
As Jesus gave a pattern to pray, He began with how to address God. Anytime we have a conversation, how we start it is very important. Many times we will open with small talk or cut right to the chase. Jesus cuts right to the chase when praying. He gets right to the proper way we are to address God, boldly and respectfully.
Matthew 6:9 begins, "This then is how you should pray, Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name." As the disciples heard this I can imagine that their response would have been directly opposite from ours. For almost a generation the emphasis in church has been on the personal relationship with God. The message can become so personal, like He is our buddy that we hang out with regularly that we lose not only the "Hallowed be your name" part, but also the importance of the "Our Father" part. The disciples probably would have practiced the reverence toward God in such a way that the personal family address would have seemed very shocking. There is something essential to be taken from both as we explore what Jesus meant through His opener in prayer. He is not simply our "buddy" nor is He so distant that we cannot approach Him at all. Take time befor we continue to examine what your view of God is. How do you approach the God of the universe? Is it formal? Is it casual? Is it personal? And how does He want to be addressed?
...to be continued.
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