The Lord's Prayer RevisitedSample

Recognizing God

In Luke 11:2, Jesus establishes, first and foremost, to whom we are praying.

Notice, in this verse, He doesn’t say “My Father,” but rather “Our Father.” This is important. Indeed, Jesus was and is the Only Begotten Son of the Father, but the spiritual adoption we experience when we accept Christ and become co-heirs in His Kingdom establishes God’s paternity over our very souls. (Romans 8:15)

The very next thing Jesus emphasizes is the holiness of the One to whom we are praying. God’s name is described, in the original Greek, as “hallowed,” meaning blessed, sacred, revered and respected above all other names. This “hallowed” status is affirmed repeatedly in both the Old (1 Samuel 2:2; Isaiah 6:3) and New Testaments. (1 Peter 1:16)

When we pray, we must do so in recognition of just how awesome God, Our Father is. Our prayers allow us to approach the very throne of the Most High: Creator of the entire universe! (Hebrews 11:3) That is huge! What’s more, this “hallowed,” all-powerful God of ours is actually listening to our prayers. (2 Chronicles 7:14) That knowledge should serve to both awe and humble us.