“After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.” Matthew 6:9.

In the beginning God created both male and female. Genesis 1:27 states “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” These two were the first humans and from them procreation began. After Adam and Eve creation, all other humans come through the birth process.

While our parentage is a fact, the process of life did not originate with Adam and Eve! Our Creator and God is “Our Father.” He alone created life. . . “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” Genesis 2:7

One birth process is physical, and our creation is spiritual. It is truth that we are human flesh.  “Every drop of blood in an infant’s body is the contribution of the male parent,”- M. R. De Haan, M.D; but our essence or being is derived from a living soul that comes first from God; without the soul the body has no life . . . God is our Creator, source of life and lover of our souls-in and through Him we have our being, we belong to Him!

Therefore, we can surmise that when the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray in Matthew chapter 6, that He began the prayer with “Our Father.” The disciples were having a paradigm shift, they knew God as Jehovah only, now they would be able to understand God from the prospective of a loving and gracious father as well.

My Friends…because God is “our Father” we have by His grace:

1. Access to Him – “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:” John 1:12. Only the high priest entered the Holy of Holies in the Old Testament. They did it once a year on Yom Kippur, to offer an atonement for the sins of the people, but because the ultimate and Highest Priest paid the price for our sins on the cross…and there is no other-Jesus Christ our Lord, we have access to God!
2. An intimate relationship with God – “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.” James 4:8. We are not only able to come boldly before the throne of grace, but God also wants us to cast all our cares on Him by sharing  our most intricate thoughts of our hearts, our joys. And even our fears and worries with Him.
3. Identity in God – we are His beloved children, every born-again believer, bare His name! “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.” Because our identify is with God and He is our father, we can rest assured that He will take care of us, because we belong to him. Our identity is sealed in Him and we are children of the one and only living God!

Let us find peace, joy, and love in the amazing grace of God. We have access, intimacy and identify in and through Him alone, and have been given the privilege to call Him “abba” Our Father which art is heaven, the Almighty Creator, Provider, Protector, Divine Leader, Forgiver and, Elohim- Eternal in the Heavens…the true and living God! Hallelujah!

Blessings and peace be with you now and forever!