God’s perfect Love

I am so honored to spend the next few minutes with you as we explore the miracle of the Lord’s Prayer. 

Early this morning, my phone rang and it was my son! My heart was filled with love and anticipation as soon as I saw his name pop up on the screen of my phone. I didn’t even know what he wanted to talk about but I was excited just to hear from him. The simple words, “Hi Dad!” overwhelmed me. We begin the Lord’s Prayer with similar words- “Our Father”. 

When we pray, we begin with addressing God, because it’s a conversation. Just like you start an email or a phone call with “Hi, my friend” or “Hey Grant”, Jesus begins by addressing His Father. The name shows the closeness and intimacy of the relationship. He starts with a term of endearment – Father, Dad, Poppa, Abba.

My wife Laurel and I are getting ready for our first grandchild! A topic around our home has been what name we want to be called as we prepare to become a Grandpa and Grandma for the first time. The truth is our grandbaby girl is going to call us whatever she decides or whatever she can pronounce, but that hasn’t stopped us! We want a special term of endearment. Why? Because we are dreaming that the relationship with our granddaughter will be special, one of a kind, and precious. 

friend, no matter what kind of a relationship you had with your earthly father, you have a Heavenly Father that loves you in a precious and special way. His love for you is miraculous! Take a moment, and just let that sink into your heart – God, your Father, loves you!

We jumped straight to the second word of the prayer, but the first one is crucial...Our.  We have a Father who longs to talk to us. There is something sacred about the fact that we can approach God together and that He can hear each of our precious and individual voices. When I approach God our Father, his response is never, “What do you want?”. No, when I pray “Our Father”, I am reminded that God hears me and that I am precious. I also remember that God, our Father, has a limitless capacity to hear all my brothers and sisters as well.

God is listening intently to you right now. You have His undivided attention, so with the beauty of this opening phrase, join me as we pray:

“Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.” (Matthew 6:9-13, NKJV) 

You are a miracle!