The Lord's Prayer: The PatternSample

It All Starts with the Father

Perhaps you’re proud of your family name. Perhaps you want nothing to do with your father or your family, and you wish you had a different surname. As believers in Jesus, we live in the wondrous reality that we have been surnamed by our Heavenly Father. He has invited us into His family. We belong. And we can approach Him directly in prayer.

Matthew 6:9 reads, "Pray then like this: 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your Name.”’ The prayer Jesus teaches His disciples is a prayer in plural form: Our Father… give us this day our daily bread… forgive us our debts. Praying "Our Father" reminds us that our lives are part of a bigger narrative in which we find greater significance than if we were living just for ourselves. Paul builds on this idea in his letter to the Ephesians: "This is the reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named." (Ephesians 3:14–15) God originates every human life and every family on Earth. And because of what Jesus did for you on the cross, God has adopted you into His royal, eternal family. By praying "Our Father," Jesus establishes for us inclusivity in God’s family and intimacy with the Father.

The word Father in Hebrew carries the connotation of source or origin. Jesus found His source of life in prayer with the Father. He then expressed that life through the good works He carried out each day. Throughout the Gospels, we see Jesus praying to His Father, then working powerfully in the world. He connected to the divine power of His caring, consistent, competent God before doing things in the natural, and we can follow His example. Also, God is not just "Our Father." He’s "Our Father who is in heaven." Jesus draws attention to our habit of living and praying only from our earthly perspective. It’s worth considering what your prayers would sound like if you prayed for the eternal significance of your current situations, relationships, and challenges.

Next, in teaching the disciples a pattern of prayer, Jesus reminds them of the holiness of the Father. The Message paraphrases the first words of Jesus’ prayer as, "Our Father in heaven, reveal who You are." When you live in such a way that your life revolves around the glory of God, you recognize Him as the authority and wisdom that is above the authority and wisdom of the world. What’s more, praying the words, "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your Name," is a profound statement of your identity. You’re not just recognizing who God is. You’re affirming who you are: His child. May you know that when you lay the grid of these simple words–"Our Father in heaven"–over your conversations with God, you’re saying yes to who you are in His eyes.