I tossed and turned on my bed. My heart was troubled and my mind disturbed. I was deliberating a decision that could set my life on a whole new course. In this scary time, I found myself praying: Lord, teach me how to pray!
The disciples made a similar request to Jesus (though for a different reason). Jesus’ answer is recorded for us in Luke 11:2-4.
It never fails to amaze me that Jesus taught us to address God as Father. He could have picked “Lord” or “Almighty God,” but He didn’t. This is significant. The term “Father” contains the intimacy and love found in a personal relationship with the Sovereign Creator of the universe.
Of this reality Martyn Lloyd-Jones said, “If you should ask me to state in one phrase what I regard as the greatest defect in most Christian lives, I would say that it is our failure to know God as our Father as we should know Him. . . . Ah yes, we say; we do know that and believe it. But do we know it in our daily life and living? Is it something of which we are always conscious? If only we got hold of this, we could smile in the face of every possibility and eventuality that lies ahead of us.”
Jesus gave us an illustration to help us know our Father better (Luke 11:11-13). In essence, He said, “Whatever is for your spiritual benefit, your heavenly Father will surely give you.” As I continued to deliberate over my big decision, I’m glad that I could commune with my Father and seek His heart and wisdom.
So, as His child who desires to love Him, I pray that His name may be praised, His interest be advanced, and His will be done!
NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: 1 Samuel 17:1-31
More:
Read Matthew 6:9-13 for the longer version of the Lord’s Prayer.
Next:
How will the Lord’s Prayer guide you in your prayers as you go through troubling times? What does it mean for you to know God as your heavenly Father?
Gary Shultz on March 27, 2014 at 5:44 am
So true, Abba / Father. What a relationship.
Tom Felten on March 27, 2014 at 10:48 am
Poh Fang, yes it’s so vital for us to truly know our heavenly Father. At times, I admit, I forget what He has done and His faithfulness to me and love for me. May I not take for granted who He is today! And may I always remember the reality of His power and presence in my life.
Kathy @ In Quiet Places on March 27, 2014 at 1:45 pm
I am still trying to learn how to reconcile that a holy, almighty God would invite me to come into a relationship where He is Father.
daisymarygoldr on March 29, 2014 at 3:34 pm
Failure to know God as Father is because a person is not born of His Spirit. I have heard Pastors beat it into people’s heads that “God loves you, you are His child” and yet they ask desperately, “How can I know that I am truly a child of God?”
Knowledge of the filial relationship with parents is not acquired by learning. It is inborn instinct that enables the infant to recognize his mother. In my biological family, my siblings and I enjoy a living relationship with our parents and personally experience their loving care for us to this day. No one has to convince the other of our parents’ goodness and love.
Similarly, those who are born of God’s Spirit need not be told or taught about how to know our Heavenly Father. All who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God (Romans 8:14). The test of paternity is in our obedience to His Spirit’s leading.
To possess God’s very own personal presence is a blessed privilege.
Sometimes when sleep eludes, I am too distressed even to pray. But then I recall how in the past the Lord had led me through turns that had twisted my life into a worrisome wreck. In troubling times, when I remember His unfailing love for me, my soul is comforted. I experience peace in knowing that surely the Lord has not guided me in vain to leave me in the middle of a mind-boggling maze.
God’s peaceful presence helps me stay calm and continue to trust Him for everything. My confidence is emboldened in Christ… thus far the Lord has helped me and His grace will surely see me through, till the very end. This is how the Father’s Spirit living in me communes with my spirit even during the night seasons.
What if someone prays the whole night and still nothing seems to work? James says, you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. And in Luke 11: 13, Jesus is giving us this promise: God the Father gives the Holy Spirit to all those who ask Him.
Winn Collier on March 30, 2014 at 8:07 pm
“Father” is a word of such nearness and tenderness, isn’t it?
Regina Franklin on March 30, 2014 at 8:31 pm
Dear Poh Fang–thank you for your honesty in sharing your heart. God is not taken aback by our questions. Sometimes, we forget the pain that others carry because of broken relationships with their earthly fathers.
Christ came to restore us as sons and daughters, and in the process, He renews our understanding of that Father relationship, especially where there has been great heartache. Yes, there may be nights we toss and turn but we take great hope in the presence of God that is our peace, even when the answer tarries.
Daniel on March 31, 2014 at 6:03 pm
Our sermon this past weekend at church was also about our Father and how we may base our relationship with our heavenly Father on the way we experienced our relationship with our earthly father.
daisymarygoldr on April 2, 2014 at 3:24 pm
Daniel, don’t buy that lie. Ask the person who gave the sermon for scripture reference. No one can provide one because there is none.
This concept that broken relationships with an abusive or absent earthly father affects a person’s relationship with God the Father is not taught in the Bible but in psychology books. It is a false teaching that deceives people into pursuing a personal relationship with God without having been born of Him.
Our understanding of God is not based on our experience with own earthly father. My own father did not have any relationship with his father and yet he enjoys an intimate relationship with God. And my personal relationship with God is far richer, deeper, fuller and more meaningful in every sense when compared to the relationship I have with my earthly father.
Human fathers are not a perfect picture of our Heavenly Father. In fact Jesus called them evil/sinful people (Luke 11:13). There is no parallel to the Fatherhood of God. It cannot be explained but can only be experienced by each and every child of God within whom His Spirit lives.
Daniel on April 4, 2014 at 12:00 pm
Thanks for your concern daisymarygoldr. I was generalizing the sermon so sorry if you misinterpret what I said. The sermon was not based on psychology. I will refrain from posting from now on and just enjoy Poh Fang’s posts for what they are.