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On Sunday night we began a new series on prayer, using the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6:5-15 as a framework for our exploration. I’ve spoken on prayer many times now, but this time around I wanted to avoid getting into the theological/academic questions surrounding prayer and just look at what it was Jesus was teaching when he spoke these words to his disciples.

The sort of questions I’m avoiding are things like, “If God knows everything, why do we have to pray?” It is good to ask these  questions, and searching for the answers makes prayer, and faith, more fulfilling. But for the purpose of this series, I’m assuming prayer is something we are required to do because Jesus himself prayed and he taught others to do the same. If it was essential for Jesus, it must be for us.

On Sunday night i concentrated on the first four words of the Lord’s prayer; Our Father in heaven.

Given the paragraph that comes immediately before the Lord’s prayer, it seems strange that the first word of the prayer is ‘Our’. Jesus has just described prayer as an action where you disappear into a private place in your home, where nobody can see or hear you, and where it can be just you and God. You would expect a prayer in this setting to begin with a personal address to God, but the word ‘our’ acknowledges that even when we are alone, we are still part of the Body of Christ. Faith is expressed the community of people known as God’s. So we are a group, owned by God.

There are many instances where more personal expressions of prayer are recorded in the Bible, with Jesus’ “My God, my God…” from the cross being the most well known. But in this teaching about prayer, Jesus seems to make the point that prayer is a community task, and the community is owned by God. We don’t engage in new age spirituality or post modern belief that constructs faith as a personal possession that can be manipulated and changed. Together, we are part of something much bigger than ourselves.

The next word of the prayer has been a stumbling block for many when it comes to prayer. Calling God ‘father’ is an impossibility for anyone who has had bad experiences with their own father. “If God is anything like my old man, then I don’t want anything to do with him…” is something I’ve heard a few times now. But in context, I think we can move beyond the word itself to see what Jesus was getting across.

The Jews had an instruction book called the Talmud, which outlined the rules for living as a Jew. The instructions for Jewish fathers were quite specific - teach your kids the Torah (things of faith), teach your kids a trade (the things of education/work), and teach your kids how to swim (be involved in their upbringing). Addressing God as ‘father’ thus meant an acknowledgement that God was involved in every part of life.

You might choose to use a different name for God, but I think it’s helpful to use a name that reminds us of the action of God in every part of life. “Living God, “Loving God”, “Creator God” and so on are all fine to use. I guess the good old “Dear God” is fine too, but to me it seems a little bit limp without some sort of expression that describes how God is involved in our lives.

The final part of the first line is “in heaven”. At first glance, it seems to run counter with what we’ve just said about God being involved in life. “In heaven” makes God seem distant and far away, not involved in anything we are doing on a day to day basis. But we are always in danger of thinking of God as part of creation when we only think in terms of our daily lives. The reality is that God is not part of creation but is THE creator. God is far more than we can see, feel, taste and touch, and can’t be limited to our experience of life. Addressing God ‘in heaven’ reminds us that this is the same God that reaches out to embrace us, his creation, and be involved in our lives as individuals and as a community.

The more I think abut it, the more I’m amazed at the profound truth that is contained in the first four words of this prayer. I’m also convicted about my own prayer life and how much I take for granted how I address God - I know we talk of the relationship with God as important, but after looking at this part of Scripture, something doesn’t seem right about viewing God just as one of my mates. God is so much more than that…

Anyway, we will continue to look at the Lord’s prayer next week and tackle “hallowed be your name”. What does ‘hallowed’ mean afterall. And what exactly is God’s name?

Feel free to leave any of your own thoughts or questions in the comments section below!