Description
Prayer, simply put, is talking to God. It is irreducibly relational.
It’s personal—he is the Absolute Person, and we are derivative persons, fashioned in his image.
In a sense, prayer is as basic as persons relating to each other, conversing, interacting, but with this significant caveat: in this relationship, we don’t chat as peers.
He is Creator, and we are creatures.
He is the great Lord, and we are his happy servants.
Prayer, for the Christian, is not merely talking to God, but responding to the One who has initiated toward us. He has spoken first. This is not a conversation we start, but a relationship into which we’ve been drawn.
Fathers (v.2-4; 11-13)
In this text we have two kinds of fathers –
a. Heavenly Father
i. Perfect – “Hallowed be your name” – Worthy of Your Adoration
ii. Powerful – “Your kingdom come” – Demands your submission
iii. Provider – “give us each day the bread we need”
iv. Pardoner of Sins – “forgive us our sin”
v. Protector – “lead us not into temptation”
vi. Personally present –
1. His Son to redeem us (Matt.1:21; John 1:1-14)
2. His Spirit to seal us for our inheritance
b. Earthly Father (v.11)
i. Providers
ii. Protectors
iii. Perfect not - "father among... you who are evil"
To understand the implications of these, listen to this sermon.