Our Father: The Person
Matthew 6:9,
I heard Alistair Begg say,
“Pray then like this: Our Father in heaven hallowed be your name.”
(And I don't think He's telling us that we always have to pray exactly like this, but these should be the principles that shape our prayer. It doesn't mean we can't pray like this, but we don't have to feel obligated to always pray word for word.)
I heard Alistair Begg say,
"Father is not a metaphor. It was in the Old Testament. God is our Father. He is a Father, He's a metaphor, a shepherd is a metaphor, a rock is a metaphor, but Father is not a metaphor. We are now His children, we are the sons of God,"
That's true. Every Christian, every Christian can say, “God is my Father.” It's likened to the greatest blessing of soteriology. The greatest blessing, the highest blessing is adoption. We are the sons of God. We can call God ‘Abba,’ just like Jesus could, ‘Abba, Father,’ or ‘Dearest Father.’ And then Jesus, in this same sermon, the Sermon on the Mount, I think He develops the concept of Fatherhood. He tells us He’s a perfect Father and also that He loves to give good gifts to His children.
Every Christian believes that when they pray, they are praying to a real person; not a thing, not a force. That might be the greatest distinctive between Christianity and every other religion in the world. We believe in a face-to-face dealing with an infinite person by prayer who we know as Father. And so we can use that personal name, Father, with confidence and assurance. And to add to that personal dimension when it comes to prayer, we should remember that we pray to a three-person God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And we use affectionate language. We know He loves us; He shows us His kindness, compassion every day of our lives, but we also can say we love Him.
And we pray to a God we know who is a living person, who thinks (a person to be a person has to be able to think), speaks and listens. And to help maintain and cultivate intimate prayer fellowship with God, the Bible uses what is called anthropomorphic language, which means we describe God in human terms. Does He have physical eyes? No, God is a spirit. Does He have physical ears? No. Does God have a physical face? No, God is spirit. But anthropomorphic language is used to help us think of God as a person who is near, dear, loving, caring. And let me just mention five divine body parts or specifics of anthropomorphic language that is applied to God.
Every Christian believes that when they pray, they are praying to a real person; not a thing, not a force. That might be the greatest distinctive between Christianity and every other religion in the world. We believe in a face-to-face dealing with an infinite person by prayer who we know as Father. And so we can use that personal name, Father, with confidence and assurance. And to add to that personal dimension when it comes to prayer, we should remember that we pray to a three-person God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And we use affectionate language. We know He loves us; He shows us His kindness, compassion every day of our lives, but we also can say we love Him.
And we pray to a God we know who is a living person, who thinks (a person to be a person has to be able to think), speaks and listens. And to help maintain and cultivate intimate prayer fellowship with God, the Bible uses what is called anthropomorphic language, which means we describe God in human terms. Does He have physical eyes? No, God is a spirit. Does He have physical ears? No. Does God have a physical face? No, God is spirit. But anthropomorphic language is used to help us think of God as a person who is near, dear, loving, caring. And let me just mention five divine body parts or specifics of anthropomorphic language that is applied to God.
God's Face
The Bible says God has a face. Exodus 33, Moses spoke to God face to face, which emphasizes intimacy, transparency, a person to person relationship. It was even used as a friendship relationship, as a friend speaks to a friend, person to person, face to face. That's the first body image.
God's Mouth
God has a mouth. We are told God speaks. Scripture is God breathed. It actually has been called the mouth of God. Isn't that why we come to church Sunday after Sunday to hear the voice of God?
God's Ears
He has ears. Psalm 34, “His ears are open to our cries.” Psalm 130, “Hear my voice, let your ears attend to my cry for mercy.” Now His ears are different from our ears. He always listens, He's a perfect listener, He's never deaf to our cries, He never ignores our sighs, He never forgets our prayers. But again, God, the God we worship, is a living person, as real as real can be. He's our Father. And again, He doesn't have a body like you and me, but that anthropomorphic language is used to help us understand just how real and personal God is.
God's Eyes
He has eyes. Psalm 32, “My eyes are upon you.” Psalm 34, “The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous.” Psalm 139, “He knows my uprising, my down sitting; He knows my thoughts afar off.” Both His eyes and His ears tell us that God is everywhere present and He is what we call omnipresent. He sees everything, He hears everything.
God's Hand
The final body part God's Word uses to help us understand God is real, He's a person, He has an arm, a hand. 1 Peter 5:6, “Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God.” John 10, “My Father who has given them to Me is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.” Acts 11, “And the hand of the Lord was with them, and the great number who believed turned to the Lord.” And we can say every day of our lives that God's hand of providence is controlling every situation, every event, from the least to the greatest.
And that should give us confidence, Brethren, when we come to prayer. We can go to God in terms of His ear, in terms of His eye, in terms of His hand. We could even ask God to speak to us in terms of His mouth. But we are coming to a God who is personal, real, and who's always, always willing to help us. He desires to bless us more than you desire to bless yourself. And He gives us what we need when we ask according to His will and ultimately for His glory and for our good. We can be confident that He will hear and answer those prayers.
And that should give us confidence, Brethren, when we come to prayer. We can go to God in terms of His ear, in terms of His eye, in terms of His hand. We could even ask God to speak to us in terms of His mouth. But we are coming to a God who is personal, real, and who's always, always willing to help us. He desires to bless us more than you desire to bless yourself. And He gives us what we need when we ask according to His will and ultimately for His glory and for our good. We can be confident that He will hear and answer those prayers.
Posted in Pastor Devotional