Matt.6:9 – Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Our Father in heaven, this is the beginning of every prayer. I have boldness to come into the presence of the Lord simply because I am His son. Once, I was a child of darkness but by the power of the blood of the Son of God I have been purchased, He sent the Spirit of His Son into my heart so that I can call the Lord, Abba, Father.
Beginning my times of prayer calling out to my Father in heaven brings me into this sweet place of intimacy. We were once far off from God but now we have been brought near by the blood of the precious Son of God, so near that we are also sons. This is the very foundation of our prayer and worship life, intimacy with God. In this place of intimacy I find healing from all of the scars from the past as well as a new identity. If I am truly His son then I will find my purpose in life as well as protection and provision wherever this journey leads. Here is how Matthew Henry describes this spiritual truth.
“He is our Father, and we must continually call him so. Nothing is more pleasing to God or pleasant to ourselves than to call God Father. In prayer, Christ generally called God Father. If he is our Father, he will pity us in our weaknesses, will spare us, will make the best of our actions even though they are defective, and will deny us nothing good for us. When we come repenting of our sins, we must look to God as a Father, as the prodigal son did, as a loving, gracious, and reconciled Father in Christ.”
Henry mentions two things about approaching God as Father that really speaks to me. First he describes the goodness of the Lord. In this place of intimacy the goodness of God becomes real and precious to us. If He is good and I am His son then He will not withhold anything from me. Next, Henry describes how he understand and pities us in our weaknesses. He is long suffering and as David said, “His mercies are everlasting”. In prayer I bring my weaknesses to the Lord and He strengthens me. In my weaknesses His strength is revealed. So today I will turn again to my Father and find grace to help in my time of need.
