More on Prayer

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 Jesus begins his prayer in Luke 11 by calling on His Father.  By telling us to do the same, we are given the privilege of being children of God!  We are granted this special relationship and we are granted access to a Holy God by virtue of this adopted status.  

For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.  Romans 8:15 KJV

Similar to our word for "Daddy" we see the warm, comforting, loving side of God in Luke 11 as well as Romans 8.  Perfectly balancing this (so we don't forget the majesty of the one we are approaching) Jesus follows "Our Father" with " in Heaven."  This reminds us that He is the Ruler of the Universe!  There is always an element of awe, gratitude and humility when we remember who we are in comparison to Him. 

 This privilege to call the Almighty "Father" is reserved for those of us who have received His free gift of salvation through Jesus.  And what an honor to be allowed that intimate, warm relationship with the holy, just and all-powerful Maker of the Universe!  We can confidently approach Him and address Him as Father, because Jesus instructs us to do!

This relationship status grants us access to the throne room at any time!  To the new Jewish believers in the 1st century AD, this was a foreign and new concept.  Relying on the Levitical priests to intercede limited access to God's presence.  Hebrews tells us that there is a new and better way now:

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh and since we have a great priest over the house of God let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith...  Hebrews 10:19-22a  ESV

We can approach our Holy Father boldly! With confidence! He will carry out His will regarding our requests (more on that soon!), but we have free access to His presence and His ear is open to our requests based on our status of sonship ( and daughters!) with God through adoption, which we inherit upon placing our faith in THE SON, Jesus Christ.  

 (I absolutely LOVE the book of Hebrews, by the way!)

As we enter the presence of our Maker in prayer, remember that He is our Abba, Father In Heaven!

** I am reading through a 30-day devotional on the Lord's Prayer so these thoughts are based on my meditations as I read this.  Here is the link to the devotional if you would like to have your own (it is available as a free pdf): https://www.reviveourhearts.com/articles/lords-prayer-30-day-devotional/

💓 Heather Sparks

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