Letting God be your Father

““This, then, is how you should pray:

“‘Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name . . .”

Matthew 6:9 (NIV)

The Lord’s prayer is a mode of prayer for us to follow. But, we should specifically focus on seeing God as our heavenly father. Jesus knows how we see God will affect every area of our lives. If we have misconceptions about God, and what He is really like, we will tend to worry about things we should not worry about. We will feel guilty about things that God never intended for us to feel guilty about. Our understanding of God will ultimately determine our happiness and joy. 

Jesus came to earth to show us who God is and what He is really like. Here is a breakdown to remember for the word F - A - T - H - E - R:

Father - If we are going to be fathered, we need to feel just how much he loves and cares for us. We need to feel his compassion toward us.

Accept - We have to move toward accepting His unconditional love. It doesn’t matter what we have done. If we think about the worst thing we ever have done or will do, Jesus saw that and still chose to lay down His life for us. 

Tell Him - Tell Him our needs. God knows our needs before we ask Him. There is no greater privilege as a father than for one of their children to ask them for help. God wants more than anything to be let in. 

Heed His Guidance - Do what God says. We can trust God when he gives us an authoritative command. He comes from a place of love when He tells us to do something.

Enjoy His Presence - Enjoy that we have a heavenly father. Feel His care and compassion for you. God wants to be close. He wants to be near.

Rejoice in His Reward - If God is for you, then no one or nothing can be against you. He wants to reward us in this life, and He wants to reward us in all of eternity.

Sometimes God is more interested in our character than our comfort. God is a perfect father, and when we allow Him to father us, sometimes it hurts before it helps. But, He can be trusted, and He is worthy of our trust. He is worthy of us following his lead.

God wants us to let Him father us. The cry of our Father’s heart in heaven is to open our hearts and let Him be our Father.