Jesus began teaching us how to pray. He began Our Father, who art in heaven. Why remind ourselves of where God is? Of course, Hes in heaven. Ill tell you why: every mention of heaven does these things: 1- It reminds us of the creative power of God (Gen 1) 2- It reminds us how the elements demonstrate His power and mercy (Ex 9, Ex 10, Ps 76:8, Ps 77:18) 3- It reminds us of His ownership of all things (Deut 10:14, I Chron 29:11) 4- It reminds us of His omnipotence (Josh 10:13, I Sam 2:10) 5- It reminds us of His omnipresence (I Kings 8:27, Ps 139:8) 6- It reminds us of the mercy of God (Ps 103:11) 7- It reminds us of His sovereignty (Ps 135:6) 8- It reminds us of His immutability (Matt 5:18, 24:35) 9- It reminds us of His coming in clouds of glory (I Th 4:16) 10- It reminds us of the place He is preparing for us (Rev 21:3) So we are to always pray Our Father who art in heaven not because the words get Gods attention, but because the words remind us that all of Gods attributes issue forth from His heavenly throne and all of Gods word reminds us that heaven is His home, and one day, if we trust in Christ, it shall be ours, as well. We are to understand that hallowed be thy name means just that. It means that Gods name is an expression of all of His nature. His name is holy. His name is truth. His name is grace. His name is: Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Those words penetrate our hearts with a renewed understanding that He is supreme, He is perfect comfort, He is omnipotent, He is eternal, He is perfect peace. Every name assigned to God in Scripture reveals some aspect of His nature. And until we learn to pray by invoking those names, we will miss a vital ingredient in the process of beholding Him in all His glory. Hallowed be thy name. What an awesome example Jesus set for us by simply teaching us how to address God.
Posted on: Thu, 18 Dec 2014 10:07:23 +0000
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