God’s Paternity and Position in Prayer

Michael Cloete

Malelane Bible Church

The Model Prayer • Sermon • Submitted 5 years ago • Presented 5 years ago • 46:19

Matthew 6:9

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Introduction

Last week we began a short study on the subject of prayer. As we consider this subject of prayer, I’ve chosen to do so by taking a look at what is commonly referred to as “The Lord’s Prayer.” Last week was an “introductory” look at prayer. We considered things such as “WHAT IS PRAYER”, “WHY DO WE PRAY” and also “HOW SHOULD WE APPROACH PRAYER”.

This week we are going to start our look at “The Lord’s Prayer” itself. As we do that, I’d like us to recall the fact that this is a prayer that Jesus taught to His disciples when one of them asked Him to “teach us how to pray” (Luke 11). As such, we need to realise and keep in mind that this prayer is a “Model Prayer.”

Being a “Model Prayer”, we should realise that this is not so much a prayer to be used to repeat after Jesus over and over again (although saying the prayer as is, is certainly acceptable) but rather it is a prayer that should be used to guide us in terms of the structure that may be wisely applied as we bring our petitions before God. It is in this model prayer that Jesus teaches His disciples the FRAMEWORK for their prayers going forward. And He has graciously left us with that framework, as recorded in Matthew’s and Luke’s Gospels, so that we may be guided in our own prayers.

With that in mind, today we are going to be considering just the first line of the model prayer: “OUR FATHER IN HEAVEN”. In this first line of the prayer, we see who it is that we are addressing as we come to prayer, and also where He is positioned.

We will thus consider this opening line under 2 main headings:

1) God’s Paternity in Prayer

2) God’s Position in Prayer

As we do this, I’d like us to keep in mind that if we fail to properly comprehend WHO IT IS that we address in prayer, it will dramatically affect our attitude with which we approach prayer, and also our expectations of what God would choose to do through prayer.

We MUST get this right!

1) God’s Paternity in Prayer

The “Paternity” of God speaks of Him being a “father.” Christ teaches His disciples that when they come to pray to God, they should address Him as “Our Father.”

Perhaps we are so familiar with the term, and so used to calling God “our Father” that the significance of the phrase is in fact lost on us. But we must realise that there are significant implications for us as we address God as our Father.

As we consider this manner of addressing God as our Father, I want to point out 4 important aspects that we should keep in mind as we address God as our Father.

1.1) God’s Paternity is Christ-Centred

As we think about ourselves addressing God as our Father, we need to remember that this is only possible in its truest sense because Jesus Christ was the only begotten of God. I say “in its truest sense” because in a very broad sense, people tend to consider themselves and ALL people as sons/daughters of God. In that very broad sense, the prophet Malachi asks the question in Malachi 2:10:

“Have we not all one Father? Did not one God create us?”

There is that very broad sense in which all created people can speak of God as “Father.” But that is not the typical and more narrow sense in which God is usually referred to as Father, and specifically I don’t believe that this was how Jesus intended His disciples to be addressing and referring to God when they prayed to Him. Truly speaking, there are two groups of people in the world: Those who are truly of God their Father in heaven, and those who are of their father, the devil (John 8:44).

What’s interesting and important to realise is that Jews didn’t personally refer to God as their father. They only did this in a nationalistic sense: God was the Father of Israel. R.C. Sproul writes this:

“Joachim Jeremias, the German New Testament scholar has done research on the prayers of the ancient Israelite people, and it is his conclusion that there is not a single example anywhere in extant Jewish literature, including the Old Testament, the Talmud, the Targums, and so on until the tenth century A.D. where a Jewish person addresses God directly as “Father.” That is, it simply wasn’t done. People would speak of the fatherhood of God among the Jewish people, but no one would address Him directly as, ‘Father.’ Jeremias says you don’t find it until the tenth century A.D. in Italy. Yet in the New Testament we have the record of a Jew, a Jewish Rabbi, who has many many prayers recorded for posterity, and that in every prayer that he prayed, save one, He directly addressed God as ‘Father.’ And that is Jesus of Nazareth.”

In fact, to drive this very important point home, recall the words in John 5:18 –

“For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but He was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.”

Jesus Christ came into the world and claimed to be the very Son of God, which in the minds of the Jewish people was nothing short of blasphemy.

Psalm 2 is a Psalm which speaks about the Lord Jesus Christ, and it says in verse 7:

“I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord: He said to Me, ‘You are my Son, Today I have begotten You.”

The word “begotten” does not mean that Jesus was created! In that well-known hymn, ‘O Come Let Us Adore Him’, we are reminded in one line that Christ was “Begotten not created.” In John 3:16, if you read it in the KJV or NASB, you will find that it says that “God so loved the world, that He gave his only Begotten Son…”

The word in the Greek speaks of “the only one of its kind within a specific relationship” or simply of being “unique in kind.” There is NO OTHER SON OF GOD!

In the opening chapter of the book of Hebrews, the writer boldly declares how far exalted the Son is in comparison even to the angels. He asks the question in Hebrews 1:5,

For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son; today I have become your Father”? Or again, “I will be his Father, and he will be my Son”?

And then in verse 6,

And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him.”

Indeed, Jesus Christ is the One and only Son of God. He was the One who was with God in the beginning, and who WAS God in the beginning (John 1:1).

That then leads us to the consideration that we are sons and daughters of God, and we call on Him as our Father, only when and because we are in relationship with the Father through the only Begotten Son Jesus Christ. In John 14:21, Jesus says,

Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.”

In the book of Hebrews the writer speaks beautifully of the way that has been opened up for us by the blood of Christ so that we may enter the very presence of God. Hebrews 10:19-22…

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.

It is through the blood of Christ that we have this way opened up for us. It is through the sonship of Christ that we are able to call on God as our Father, as we are in Christ. Paul says it these words to the Galatian believers in Galatians 4:4-5…

But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.

Dear brothers and sisters, as we come before God and call on Him as our Father, first and foremost we must remember that it is because of the work of Christ, from His incarnation, through to His crucifixion, His burial, His resurrection, and then His exaltation to the right hand of the Father, that we may approach God as our Father. As we consider these amazing truths, we must agree with the Apostle John, and he says in 1 John 3:1-3…

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.

Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son. We are sons and daughters that have been adopted into the family of God through Christ. As such, every time we call on God as our Father we must do so with deep thankfulness because it reminds of the work of our Saviour on our behalf.

1.2) God’s Paternity is Hope-Giving

When we come to our heavenly Father in prayer, we should do so in much joyful anticipation because of what it means to call on a Father. There is relationship that we have with God, and that relationship is pictured for us as a Father-child relationship, wherein we may benefit from all of the privileges of being a child of that Father. What are some of these privileges?

1.2.1) Our Father Loves Us

If there is one thing that any good Father does, it is to love His children dearly. And while there may be very poor earthly fathers, let us remain assured that our heavenly Father is perfect in every way, and He loves His children deeply. God is deeply concerned for the well-being of His children. In Psalm 103:12-14, we read,

As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.

Our Father loves us deeply, and He has compassion on us because he understands our frailties and our weaknesses. He is patient with us, as He tenderly nurtures and cares for us in our spiritual growth. He longs that we may grow and mature, that we may become wise and live holy lives. But He understands that this is a process. He’s a loving Father.

The words of a hymn speak well to this:

1. The tender love a father has for all his children dear Such love the Lord bestows on them who worship him in fear. 4. Unchanging is the love of God from age to age the same displayed to all who do his will and reverence his name.

As we pray to our Father through Christ, we may know that we come to One who loves us with a deep and tender love; a perfect and a pure love, that always seeks to bring what is best to His children.

1.2.2) Our Father Provides for Us

Any parent will know and understand that one of the key responsibilities that we have for our children is to provide for them. We even read Paul’s words that if a man does not provide for his own family, he has denied the faith, and is worse than an unbeliever (1 Tim. 5:8). If a man is so obligated to provide for his family, will not Almighty God, our loving heavenly Father, richly provide us with everything that we need?

Psalm 111:4-5…

He has caused his wonders to be remembered; the Lord is gracious and compassionate. He provides food for those who fear him; he remembers his covenant forever.

It is because God is such a gracious and loving heavenly Father, and because He as our Father is a perfect Father, that He will provide us with every need that we may have. It is thus that Jesus commanded His disciples in Matthew 6:31-32…

So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.

Friends, for us to worry about our food and clothing as children of Almighty God, is to say to our Father that we do not trust His love for us, or we do not trust in His ability to provide. But the truth is that our Father really does love us more perfectly than any earthly Father could, and furthermore His provisions and ability to supply us with our every need is far beyond measure. He owns the cattle on a thousand hills. It all belongs to God – everything!!! What need is there to fear and fret?

This is a most beautiful truth! Our loving heavenly Father provides for us. Not just the temporary, vanishing physical provisions. But every spiritual provision so that we may be thoroughly equipped for the work that He desires to do in and through us for the glory of His name! As you march homeward, heavenward, are you trusting in your Almighty heavenly Father to richly provide you with every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus, as He has promised to do.

We are so quick to say that we cannot do something, we don’t have the power to do good, to overcome sin, to please the Lord in our lives, to carry out those commands to show love and care and hospitality to others… That’s not true friends!!! What God commands us to do, he will provide the resources for. And He has no shortage!!!

Matthew 7:7-11…

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. “Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

Oh, that we would come before our heavenly Father expectantly, knowing that He is a loving Father that provides for His children!!!

1.2.3) Our Father Guides us

In Jeremiah 31:9, God said that he would provide guidance to His people Israel, because He was a father to the nation.

They will come with weeping; they will pray as I bring them back. I will lead them beside streams of water on a level path where they will not stumble, because I am Israel’s father, and Ephraim is my firstborn son.

The Scriptures speak often of the people of God being His sheep, and Him being their great shepherd. As a Father to us, as we are adopted into His family, these words take on great significance. Psalm 23:3…

He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

And in Psalm 25:5, the Psalmist writes:

Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.

If God is our loving heavenly Father, then He will provide us with guidance and understanding in this life, and in this world. And let me add to that, He has given us His perfectly revealed will, in the Scriptures, so that we may walk in the paths that He would have us walk in. He has given us sufficient to know and be able to live in a way that pleases Him and brings Him glory – and that is truly what this life is about.

Our heavenly Father guides us.

1.2.4) Our Father Disciplines Us

Possibly this is one of the lesser liked truths concerning a father – that they bring discipline. But we know, dear friends, that discipline is intended to keep us on paths that lead to life, rather than those that lead to death. When we understand that discipline is life-giving, then the pain that we feel through such discipline is appreciated. Proverbs 3:12 says…

The Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.

Our heavenly Father takes delight in us as His children. He loves us so tenderly and dearly, His affections for us as His children are so high, that He lovingly and graciously ensures that we walk on paths that lead to life.

Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness.

What a great privilege and honour to bow our knees before our heavenly Father, knowing that as we approach Him in prayer, we approach one who loves us deeply, and cares to bring us loving discipline and correction when we need it in life. Oh, how we fail to see this, and we grumble and complain, and we think that God has forsaken us and that He surely cannot love us. Our sinful hearts and minds are led to all manner of ill-deduced conclusions as we consider our circumstances.

Let us remember this – God is a loving Father who carefully, very carefully and graciously, and necessarily disciplines us only for our good!!

1.2.5) Our Father is Near to Us

If there is one thing that we cannot handle in life, it is isolation. Absolute isolation. And if there is one thing that discourages us in our lives when things do not appear to be going well, then it is the fact that there is no one near us who can help us.

But that is never the case with the child of God. God is near. He is close at hand. He is intimately involved in the lives of His children – each one – as He cares for them. Psalm 68:5-6…

A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families, he leads forth the prisoners with singing; but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.

God is not the God of the deists, who say that He set the world in motion, and then disappeared off into the distance, to get away from all of the chaos in the world. No!! God is a God who is near!! Psalm 34:18…

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

God loves to be near His people, and to be a Father to those who are in distress. And dear friends, if you have responded to the Gospel, then you are one of those who was in distress because of your own sin before a Holy God! And yet God, being rich in love and in mercy, saved you. He drew near to you. He made you alive in Christ Jesus!

It is in light of this wonderful truth that Paul writes to the Philippian believers in the context of telling them to pray, in Philippians 4:4-6…

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

The Lord is near. He is not a distant Father. He is not a Father that is away from you, carrying on His business, busy with His own interests, unable to come and spend time with you, and lend a listening ear to you in your troubles. He is near. Psalm 46:1-3…

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.

Brothers and Sisters – those who along with me have been adopted into God’s family through Jesus our Lord – our Father is near to us. Our Father disciplines us for our good, that we may have life. Our Father guides us. Our Father provides for us. Our Father loves us.

When you bow your knees to our Father in heaven, is this the picture that you have? Is this the hope that you have when you pray?

1.3) God’s Paternity Calls for Honour

The great texts in Scripture which speak of the honour that is due to earthly fathers by their children is instructive to us in terms of how we should relate to our heavenly Father. If it is good and fitting for children to honour their earthly fathers, how much more so us as believers our heavenly Father?

A.W. Pink writes this:

As His children we must ‘honor’ Him…be in subjection to Him, delight in Him, and strive in all things to please Him.

1.4) God’s Paternity Means we are Family

In the individualistic world that we live in, it’s easy to see prayer as what we do individually before God, rather than corporately before God. It is common that people make prayer about bringing their personal needs before God, rather than the needs of people before God.

John Onwuchekwa writes in his book on Prayer,

Prayer was never meant to be a merely personal exercise with personal benefits, but a discipline that reminds us how we’re personally responsible for others. This means that every time we pray, we should actively reject an individualistic mindset. We’re not just individuals in relationship with God, but we are part of a community of people who have the same access to God. Prayer is a collective exercise. (p. 41)

As we look at the way in which the Lord taught His disciples to pray, we must notice that He did not say that they should pray, “MY Father in heaven.” Furthermore, when the prayer reaches that section where petitions are brought to the Father, all of those are corporate petitions, for a group of people, rather than for individuals.

Give us today our daily bread.

Forgive us our debts.

Lead us not into temptation.

We must ask ourselves if we see prayer first and foremost as that which we do as a family, calling upon our heavenly Father. Do we see and understand the priority that prayer must have for us as a people of God? This idea that prayer is a corporate matter should radically impact us as a community. We need to move beyond the idea that we are known as individuals who pray, to where we are known corporately as a praying people.

Onwuchekwa goes on to write:

Jesus sets the priority and agenda for our prayers. As churches come together and pray in line with the Lord’s Prayer, we’re reminded of this shared desire: for the King of kings to come and rule. It helps us to stop jockeying for position, but instead to plead for God to take his rightful position in our church and the world. It recalibrates our compasses and synchronizes our watches, so that we’re all headed in the same direction. It brings unity. It reminds us that no matter our circumstance—rich or poor, old or young, married or single, majority or minority—we all need the same thing: God’s precious presence. (pp.52-54)

Church family, we must be a people who are praying together. That should take place regularly in our corporate worship – meaningful, urgent, humble prayer. That God would work in our midst, and that we – first as a body, and only then individually - would be shining lights in this dark world!

2) God’s Position in Prayer

If the paternity of God in prayer speaks of the nearness and dearness of God to us as we pray, God’s position in prayer speaks to His transcendence – the fact that God is high and exalted in the heavens.

I really loved the way that A.W. Pink stated this in his book on the Lord’s Prayer:

What a blessed balance this gives to the previous phrase. If that tells us of God’s goodness and grace, this speaks of His greatness and majesty. If that teaches us of the nearness and dearness of His relationship to us, this announces His infinite elevation above us. If the words “Our Father” inspire confidence and love, then the words “which art in heaven” should fill us with humility and awe. These are the two things that should ever occupy our minds and engage our hearts: the first without the second tends toward unholy familiarity; the second without the first produces coldness and dread.

As we briefly consider this important truth, I would like to point out 3 things that this truth of God’s position does for us as we come to prayer.

2.1) It Lifts our Eyes in Reverent Awe

The words of Solomon in Ecclesiastes 5:2 are fitting here:

Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few.

Whenever we approach prayer, it should be done with holy awe and reverence for the Almighty. Yes, we are not kept far away from God, so that we feel distant and removed. God is our loving Father. But He is also Almighty and exalted, and it is a holy privilege that we may come before Him and enter into His presence and talk to Him.

In speaking of this holy reverence, and the appropriate kind of fear with which we are to approach God as we pray, I find Tim Keller’s description helpful.

What, then, should a Christian be afraid of regarding God? Think of it like this. Imagine that you suddenly are introduced to some person you have always admired enormously—perhaps someone you have hero-worshipped. You reach out to shake her hand and suddenly it hits you. You can’t believe you are actually meeting her. You discover to your embarrassment that you are trembling and sweating, and when you try to speak, you are out of breath. What is going on? You are not afraid of being hurt, or punished. Rather, you are genuinely afraid of doing something stupid or saying something that is inappropriate to the person and the occasion. Your joyful admiration has a fearful aspect to it. You are in awe, and therefore you don’t want to mess up.

He then goes on to say this:

Because of unutterable love and joy in God, we tremble with the privilege of being in his presence and with an intense longing to honor him when we are there. We are deeply afraid of grieving him… The very fact that we have access to God’s attention and presence should concentrate the thoughts and elevate the heart.

Dear friends, what a blessed privilege we have of coming before the Almighty.

2.2) It Rejoices our Hearts in God’s Glorious Power

As human parents, we know that our great love for our children would lead us to great lengths to protect them and provide for them, but we know our own limitations. The most terrible feeling for any human parent is the sense of helplessness that comes over you when you cannot help your child in a desperate situation.

As children of our heavenly Father, I would suggest to you that it would be little comfort to us if God loved us immensely, but was powerless to act; to save; to protect. How pitiful, how hopeless we would be.

But the reality is, in the words of Psalm 115:3…

Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him.

There is no limit on the power of our God. There is nothing that is beyond His abilities. There is nothing that we ask Him to do for us that He is unable to do for want of power. He is more than able.

And because we know that God is able, our hearts rejoice. We know that God is perfectly able to bring to pass all that He has promised! Listen to the words of Romans 4:18-21, which speak of the great faith that Abraham had in God, and the reason for that great faith:

Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.

Our God has the power to do what he has promised. And so when we pray, we may pray with confidence as we pray according to Scripture and the will of God, that He has great power to answer.

2.3) It Focuses our Minds on Future Glory

When we pray, and we speak to our Father in heaven, we are reminded that this place is not our final resting place. This is not our home. We are citizens of another kingdom. We are sojourners in this world. We are longing for our eternal home. We are longing to be with our Saviour Jesus Christ.

1 Peter 1:3-5…

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.

We look forward to the great and final salvation that God is going to bring about. Our Father is in heaven – Christ has gone to prepare a place for us who belong to Him. Are you one of those for whom Jesus is preparing a place?

Application and Conclusion

Much has already been said. What is critical for us to understand and remember at this point is that when we come before God in prayer, we need to be conscious of what we are saying. We need to be conscious of the One before whom we bend our knees and pray.

We may pray to “our Father” – the one who deeply loves us and cares for us. We pray to the One who is near us, the One who cares for us.

But also pray to our Father “in heaven” – the One who has all authority and power, and the One who is worthy of our praise and thanksgiving.

My encouragement to you in closing, is that when you pray, you would be careful to think upon these things as you pray to Him. That you would not pray mindlessly, or pray in a manner that treats God as one who must serve you. Rather, may you pray with deep gratitude, with deep humility, calling on the exalted One who loves you!