Prayer

I began a new series on prayer at CCV yesterday. I was thinking again this morning about how Jesus encourages us to begin our prayer time by saying “Our Father” and how the word He used for father is Abba which = daddy. Jesus is wanting us to see that there is something very relational and very intimate and very childlike about prayer. It is kids coming to their daddy. Childlike faith and child like approach are so important in coming to God. Kids are awesome because they just say what is on their minds, they are not pretentious, kids who know that they are loved are not afraid to approach dad. Kids who are secure in their fathers love, believe that He can do anything and meet any need. Oh how I need to become more childlike in my prayer time. 

The Problem: Anytime I teach about the fatherhood of God, I always have a couple of people who come up to me and tell me that they have the hardest time thinking of God as their father, and especially as daddy, because their earthly dad was such a horrible person, who abused, or abandoned, or radically hurt them and their families. I always have a few people who share this with me and probably a lot more who walk away thinking that. For everyone who struggles in that way, I encourage you in this: Do not judge God by your earthly father, judge your earthly father by your Heavenly Father. 

Let what the Bible says about God as our Father be the standard whereby every other father is judged! And I would add this: Write down on a piece of paper everything that you would have liked your dad to be that he wasn’t and then realize your heavenly father is 10,000 times that and more. 

Precious people don’t run from the Fatherhood of God, embrace it, rest in it, learn to enjoy it. Learning to come to God as daddy could be a life changing part of your walk with Him!