03/14/2026
How do you refer to God? Do you call Him Holy God, Heavenly God, The Great I Am, Abba, or maybe Lord? I’ll bet that more often than not you call Him Father. As I was reading a devotional message by Pastor Andrew Murray one morning, he revealed something about the Lord’s Prayer that had previously escaped me... When Jesus taught His disciples to pray in this way it was the first time that they had referred to God as their Father. The wonder of this moment had never dawned on me, and it brought tears to my eyes.
“After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.”
Matthew 6:9-13 KJV
If you are adopted, or have a stepparent by remarriage following a divorce or the death of a parent then perhaps you can probably recall the first time you called that new parent mother, or father. It is an occasion that isn’t trivial and marks a point in your relationship at which you are acknowledging the role this person now plays, and what they have come to mean to you. Likewise, your being called son or daughter by them goes hand in hand with this. Of all the name changes in the Bible, our referring to God as Father is the most dramatic, redefining, and personally moving.
As Christians today, and especially those of us born into Christian households, we refer to God as Father without much thought. We are like natural born children who know Him easily by this title... this name... but for the disciples calling Him Father was a momentous occasion! It was probably frightening because as Jews they revered God to the point where they wouldn’t even say his name, or write the word G-d. Yet here was Jesus teaching them to not just say His name, but to call Him Father. In our modern-day comfort with God and His relationship with us we read right past this part of the prayer as if we were reading “Dear Sir” at the beginning of a letter, but how incredibly significant it is that we can call the God of all creation our Father.
Prior to Jesus there was only one person referred to as the Son of God and that was Adam. In lineages, his father was referred to as God Himself...
“Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God.”
Luke 3:38 KJV
But when Jesus was born He became the first and only begotten Son of God.
“Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel.”
John 1:49 KJV
So, when Jesus taught the Lord’s Prayer it was a momentous occasion. It was saying out loud that God was the disciple’s Father too. It was the acknowledgement that they were adopted as sons through Jesus Christ. The power of this might escape us today because we have a different understanding of our relationship with God, but to these men just saying this could bring God’s wrath down upon them... unless He allowed it, and it was true.
This makes it very important that we understand who Jesus is, and it was equally important that the disciples understood who He was as well. Jesus quizzed them regarding who He was, listen...
“And he saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Peter answereth and saith unto him, Thou art the Christ.”
Mark 8:29 KJV
Mary was told who Jesus was prior to His birth, but the disciples didn’t have an angel appear to them and reaffirm the role of Jesus, so they had to first acknowledge Him as the Christ and then come to know Him as the Son of God.
“And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.”
Luke 1:35 KJV
Finally all the pieces were in place, and the disciples knew Jesus as the Christ, and the Son of God, but it wasn’t until they were taught the Lord’s Prayer that they were told to refer to God as their Father, but even in this prayer they were told to refer to Him as “Our” Father, the Father of Jesus, and of us... all of us. So, we pray appropriately in the plural.
“After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.”
Matthew 6:9 KJV
There had certainly been prior biblical references to God as a Father figure, but nothing as specific and personal as this. In this sense we take on the adopted right to call God our Father. How amazing that privilege is, how intense in love and relationship this becomes. We are heirs and joint heirs with Jesus... sons and daughters of God.
So, as we recite and pray the Lord’s Prayer, let’s remember the significance of those two opening words “Our Father”.
“The knowledge of God’s Father-love is the first and simplest — but also the last and highest — lesson in the school of prayer. It is in personal relationship to the living God and fellowship with Him that prayer begins.” - Andrew Murray
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for knowing me as your son, and I thank you for allowing me to call you my Father. You have redeemed me through your begotten Son Jesus Christ, and through Him have claimed me as your child too. The thought of this thrills my very soul and fills me with joy and celebration. Though I have done nothing to deserve this adoption, you have found grace within yourself to love me as your child, and Father, I love you with all my heart as well. There is nothing that can separate us, nor negate the fact that I am your child, and you are my Father. By your Word and your promise, I am now a child in your house, and you are my eternal Father, and the Lord of my life. Praised be your name, and as I pray, I know that you will hear me calling out to you, “Our Father”, as I reach out to you in heaven. Father, you will hear me worshiping you and beckoning you to come and be with me so that I might do your will and ask that you provide for me. Forgive me my sins Father God and lead me away from those things that might tempt me. Help me as I forgive others, then, as your child, hear me pray that you protect us from all evil and keep us safe in your arms forever. You are great in my eyes. You are the Lord and Master of my house... you are my eternal and Heavenly Father. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you who loves me, and has known me as your son from the moment of all creation. Holy are you who has humbled me in this blessing and in the knowledge of your Fatherhood forevermore.
“he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.”
Ephesians 1:5-6 ESV
Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Amen!
Rich Forbes