Beginning the Lord’s Prayer

In September and October, we are exploring the Lord’s Prayer — the prayer Jesus taught his disciples when they asked, “Teach us to pray.” It appears in both Matthew and Luke, but Matthew’s version most closely resembles the form we pray today. Each week, we will reflect on one part of this prayer and a corresponding Scripture passage.

Today, as we focus on the opening line — “Our Father in heaven” — we also consider Paul’s words in Romans 8, where he describes our relationship with God as beloved children.

Romans 8:14-17
For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God… When we cry, “Abba! Father!” it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs — heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ…

The Power of a Name

What we call someone shapes how we see them — and how we see ourselves in relation to them. Jesus could have chosen many titles for God, but he told us to begin prayer with “Our Father.”

The word “Our” reminds us that prayer is communal, not individualistic. We come before God not just as isolated believers, but as part of a larger family of faith. And “in heaven” reminds us that God is near and present but also transcendent, with a perspective far beyond our own.

But the most powerful word here — and perhaps the most complicated — is “Father.”

Understanding “Father” in Its Original Context

The word “Father” carries different meanings for each of us. Some have known loving, supportive fathers; others have experienced absence, anger, or abuse. To understand Jesus’ use of the term, we must first consider how “father” functioned in the ancient Near East.

In that patriarchal society, fathers owned land and held power. They bore the responsibility of protecting and providing for their families, ensuring their survival and future. This is the image Jesus invites us to embrace: not a distant authority figure, but a faithful protector and provider.

God is not literally male, and scripture uses maternal imagery for God too — like a mother who will not forget her child (Isaiah 49:15) or a hen gathering her chicks (Luke 13:34). These images reveal God’s nurturing heart.

The Tenderness of “Abba”

Jesus didn’t just call God “Father” — he called God “Abba”, an intimate term more like “Dad.” Paul encourages believers to use the same word, reminding us that our relationship with God is deeply personal.

When we pray “Father,” we are invited to picture:

• A father who runs down the road to embrace his wayward child.
• A father who carries his children in his arms.
• A father who, like Joseph, sacrifices reputation to do what is loving and right.

This is the kind of Father to whom we pray — one who claims us, loves us, and makes us heirs of eternal life.

Changing How We See God — and Ourselves

Our image of God shapes our identity and how we live. One man named Robert shared that he grew up seeing God as distant and disinterested — like a cold figure in a stained-glass window. But through his recovery journey in Alcoholics Anonymous, he encountered a God who was patient, loving, and forgiving. That shift changed his life. He became a hospital volunteer and an AA sponsor, embodying the love he had come to know.

When Jesus taught his disciples to pray “Our Father,” he was inviting them to see God — and themselves — differently. To know God not as distant or disapproving, but as loving and near. To see themselves not as failures or outsiders, but as beloved children and heirs.

That new way of seeing changes everything.