ABBA FATHER

ABBA FATHER

Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.”Galatians 4:6

This is a powerfully descriptive verse, Paul shows the effect The Holy Spirit has in our prayer life. Not just in intercession, like in ROMANS 8:26, but also in the very basic type of prayer, intimacy and fellowship with the Father. This verse teaches us that the Holy Spirit cries out through us on our behalf. The prayer is a cry for a relationship with our Father in heaven. Actually, the word Paul used here for calls out is the word which means to croak or scream. It is the word used for the cry of an animal or a raven. Our heart longs for intimacy with God, the Holy Spirit within in us makes this connection for us. Here is how Martin Luther describes this verse.

“Paul could have said, “God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who prays, ‘Abba, Father.'” But he purposely says “calls out,” to indicate the anguish of the Christian who is still weak and needs to grow in the faith. In the middle of trials and conflicts, it’s difficult to call out to God, and it takes a lot of effort to cling to God’s Word. At those times, we cannot perceive Christ. Our hearts don’t feel his presence and his help during the attack. During the attack, we feel the power of sin, the weakness of our bodies, and our doubt. We experience the flaming arrows of the devil and the terrors of death. We feel the wrath and judgment of God. All this raises very powerful and horrible shouts against us so that there does not appear to be anything left but despair and eternal death. However, in the middle of these terrors of the law, the thundering of sin, the shaking of death, and the roar of the devil, the Holy Spirit in our hearts begins to call out, “Abba! Father!” And his cry is much stronger and drowns out the powerful and horrible shouts of the law, sin, death, and the devil. It penetrates through the clouds and heaven and reaches up to the ears of God.

Are you going through a difficult time in your life? Maybe you feel as if you were abandoned or even orphaned. Jesus actually addressed this in His teaching about the Holy Spirit. He said He would not leave us as orphans, He would send the Holy Spirit to us. He will never leave one of His sons or daughters alone, the Comforter will come and cry out through you when you are too weak to cry out for yourself.
Some have described this current generation as the “fatherless generation”. Maybe that’s the way you feel. Look to The Lord, the Holy Spirit will call out for you and through you. What will He call out? “Abba Father”.