Pray Like This

“Pray like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy.’” Matthew 6:9

You can spot them right away. Watch their eyes. They are in the stands of football games. They are in the audience at the school play. They walk the sidelines of neighborhood soccer games and, practically hidden, are often the proudest person at a wedding. If their child is involved, you can pick out a father anywhere.

They are the first to applaud the touchdown. The standing ovation starts at their seat. They beam as little feet meet the soccer ball for the first time, and weep when their daughter says “I do” to the man they fear is taking their place. Jesus said that even as evil as we are, Fathers know now to give good gifts to their children.

It was because of my father that I became a Boy Scout. Having been an Eagle Scout himself, he wanted the same for his boys. Though I didn’t rise as high in the ranks, it was because of Dad that I learned the knots, went on camping trips and bedecked my sash with merit badges.

Besides the call of God, I am probably in the ministry because of my father. I do not know it was a supernatural gleam or a young child’s untainted imagination, but I could swear I saw a glow around my father’s head as he preached. I saw him laugh it up with teenagers and sit beside an invalid’s bed. I probably would have been less likely to hear God’s call if I hadn’t seen my father’s sheer joy in ministry.

It is true; Dad and I didn’t always get along well. He was stubborn; and I rarely won an argument. He was miserly. When the family went to McDonald’s Dad paid for hamburgers. If we wanted cheese, we had to pay for that ourselves. He even taught me to shower, working from my head down. That way, he instructed, I could use the suds from washing my hair for the rest of the shower. Yes, he was indeed a child of the Great Depression.

He has been gone for five years now. Both parents left this world far too early; Mom at 52, and Dad barely 70. And, I miss him. Mom was my confidante, but, the older I get, the more I see how much my father’s dreams shaped many of my own.

As well-intentioned as most parents are, they are never perfect representatives of God. Dad was stubborn, and my God seemed to never give ear to my opinions or needs. Dad was tight-fisted, and my God seemed to give all the joy and approval to people around me. I settled for second-hand blessings just like the second-hand cars our family always drove.

But Jesus, coming from the Father-God’s own heart, teaches us to see God as the Perfect Parent. He is not stubborn, but He is holy. I used to emphasize the “holy” bit, sort of tossing “Father” aside as if, well, that’s what you call “God”. “Father” held little comfort, emotion or strong-love in my mind as far as God was concerned.

Don’t misunderstand; I know very well that God loves us deeply. I can teach right along with the best of them about the transforming view that Jesus brought us about God. To call Him “Father” was ground breaking. But, I knew it all the same way I know my next door neighbor’s dad, not my own Father.

Jesus wants us to know something extraordinary. He wants us to know that the God who is holy is also our Father. To give serious thought to God at all, we must reason that He is somehow, totally other-than-us. He is beyond. He is ineffable. His name, given to Moses was unspoken by the Jews. It is a name so enigmatic that people still fill volumes describing what “I am that I am” means. That is the God we know must exist. Anything less would not be God.

So, the transforming thought that Jesus brings is that the Almighty, Indescribable, Unapproachable, Sinless, Pure, All-Knowing Creator-Of-All-That-is-and-Ever-Will-Be is also our Father. No, He is closer even than that. After 2000 years, “Father” has become religious. Priests are called “Father”. Jesus wants us to call Him, “Abba”: “Daddy”, or “Papa-God”.

This is not mere word play. Jesus is speaking reality. He is telling us who God truly is. He has come from the Father to show us the Father. He is the very image of God. We must begin with “Our Father” or we will never experience the flood of love He offers.

Whether you had the perfect dad who bought you two scoops of ice cream when you asked for only one, or you had no father at all; there is One Perfect Father of all. Jesus Christ has been “the Son” from all eternity. He and His Father enjoy eternal intimate sharing of love and joy. In one sentence, Jesus offers the same relationship He has with Father-God, to us.