"Our Father"

Calling the God who created the universes, flooded the earth, parted the Red Sea, and commands the nations and their armies Dad, is not normal. Unless you are his son. It is far too easy to take the Lord's Prayers opening statement for granted. The way that Jesus is proposing we speak to God is not only unorthodox, its illogical and is not an assumption the average person should just make.

For the Christian man prayer is a gift, a gift that was purchased by Jesus, and only by Jesus. We can call and think of God as our Father, and thus speak to Him as our Father because we do so through His person and work.  Because Jesus is "the Son of God (person) who takes away the sin of the earth (work)" we can not only approach God in prayer but do so with the confidence and expectation of a son.

To say "Our/My Father" is to know that your sins have been taken by Christ and have been nailed to the cross with Him, taking with them all shame, guilt, judgement and wrath. That the favour and blessing that God the Father feels towards His perfectly obedient and loving Son is now given to you along with Jesus' accomplished righteousness. The only way a man can rightly call God Father is by doing it in and through Jesus, the only Son of God. To do so in any other way would be as implausible as Burt Reynolds calling me Dad. It's just not possible.

Knowing why you can call God Father is the first and essential step needed to understand how to pray.

This blog is part of a series written by Pastor Ryan specifically for men. Check back in a couple weeks for part 3...