Some of my Christian friends like to start praying by calling God “Father,†and they aren’t the first! When Jesus’ disciples asked Him how to pray, He taught them a prayer that many Christians have since memorized (Matthew 6:9-13; Luke 11:1-4). This prayer begins by calling God “our Father.†Isn’t it amazing that when Jesus came, He revealed the kind of relationship God wants to have with us? Not only is God the Creator and Supreme Ruler of everything, God also desires close relationship with us—that’s why He sent His Son, Jesus. He wants to adopt us as His very own kids.
When Jesus prayed, sometimes He called God “Abba” (Mark 14:36), which is an Aramaic word that Jewish people (both children and adults) used for their fathers. We don’t have a word quite like this in English, because “Abba” has connotations of both intimacy and respect. Later in the Bible, Paul says that we who have put our trust in Jesus can also call God “Abba” (Romans 8:14-17).
Some people at my church call God Abba, and others call Him Papa or Daddy. Calling God our dad makes sense when we remember how Jesus said that the faith God desires is like the faith of a little child (Matthew 18:3; Mark 10:14; Luke 18:17). When you think about it, we humans are so much smaller and less powerful and less intelligent than God, but He is so tenderhearted toward us, like a loving parent toward their small children. We depend on God for all of our needs, even more than an infant depends on their parents—every breath we breathe is a gift from God. The beautiful part of this is we don’t need to be embarrassed about feeling young or small with Him (1 Kings 3:7-9). He already knows us completely, and He wants us to be His. That’s why He sent His Son, Jesus, to provide us with forgiveness and adoption into God’s family (Galatians 4:5; Ephesians 1:5).
As His adopted kids, we can come to God with confidence, knowing that He always wants us to come to Him (Ephesians 3:12; Hebrews 4:16). • Hannah Howe
• If you could talk to God about anything, knowing that He’s just so happy you are with Him, what would you talk to Him about?
So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.†Romans 8:15 (NLT)
Read Verses:
John 1:1-14; John 15:9-21; Acts 17:27; Romans 8:31-39
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