According to Scripture, there are two fathers and two kinds of children. God is the heavenly Father. This father is perfect and seeks the good of his children even when he disciplines them. Those who have the right to call him Father are those who are born again through faith in Jesus Christ. As a new creation, saved by grace through faith, the children of God delight in Him and cry out, “Abba, Father”! They follow God’s will and obey his commands. The other father is the devil. He is the father of those who want to carry out his evil plans. He is called the father of lies. This father is deceitful, enslaves his children, and leads them to destruction. There is no affection in this relationship but only fear.
“By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.”
– 1 John 3:10 (ESV)
The Lord’s Prayer assumes that the petitioner has a relationship with the Father. This prayer is not for the benefit of the entire human race. It is of no benefit to those who do not believe. They are only empty words if uttered by one whose heart is not ruled by Jesus Christ. The Lord’s Prayer is exclusively for the children of God.
When Jesus taught this prayer, he was making a radical departure from the religious tradition of that time. To refer to God as father was offensive, especially to the Jews. They threatened to take his life. They did not know him despite all the miracles Jesus had done. Jesus healed a paralyzed man beside the pool and yet they were angry at him for healing on a Sabbath.
“This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.”
-John 5:18 (ESV)
This was all according to the purpose and will of the Father to the praise of his glorious grace. Through Jesus, we enjoy the blessing of adoption as sons and daughters of the Almighty God. It is by the grace of God, that we can address him as Father in prayer.
So as we pray to the heavenly Father, let us remember that this privilege came at a great cost to himself. It truly is love so amazing.
“See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are….”
- 1 John 3:1 (ESV)
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