Westhill Community Church

Sunday 17^th January 2021

The Lord’s Prayer – He is Our Father

Reading: Romans 8: 9-17

For the next couple of months in our Sunday morning worship we will be focussing on the Lord’s Prayer. This prayer used to be committed to memory by every person raised in the UK. I well remember finishing every day at primary school reciting the Lord’s Prayer together, 65 years ago. The words we learned were from the mid seventeenth century. You’ll see them on the screen, but if you are from my generation you won’t need to see them in order to recite the prayer.

Our Father, which art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come.
Thy will be done in earth,
As it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive them that trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
The power, and the glory,
For ever and ever.
Amen.

The question is always asked, did Jesus intend for us to recite this same prayer time and again, or was it instead meant to be just an example, a template? Those asking this question often quote Jesus’ introduction to this prayer, in which he said, “When you pray do not use vain repetitions.” Are our frequent recitations of this prayer merely vain repetitions? They could be, of course, if we recite this prayer carelessly or thoughtlessly, or if we imagine that somehow the words have some extraordinarily powerful effect in and of themselves, much like an incantation. But I am quite sure Jesus was well aware that his apostles would teach this prayer to others, even as he had taught it to them, and so it would become imbedded in the liturgies and traditions of the church through ensuing generations. He expressed no concern about this prospect. Nevertheless he did express one concern. We must not just recite this prayer and not mean it. That part about forgiveness, he said, make sure that your heart is genuinely in line. Don’t ask for one thing and yet practice something entirely different. A sentiment underlined by Charles Kingsley in his imaginative children’s book “The Water Babies,” by means of the characters Mrs. Doasyouwouldbedoneby and Mrs. Bedonebyasyoudid.

Now this morning we are going to consider the very first phrase in this prayer: “Our Father, who’s abode is in heaven.”  There are three things in particular that Jesus encourages us to think about in these first few words: (1) The One to whom we pray (2) the place of His abode (3) the relationship we have with Him.

(1) The One to Whom we pray

Firstly: the One to whom we pray. We are to direct our prayers to Almighty God. The One Creator and Sustainer of the universe. The One who works all things according to His own will and pleasure. When we pray we have a direct line to the One at the very top.

Now if we are honest our natural reaction to this is uncertainty, if not incredulity. Can we honestly expect the Ruler of all things to pay the slightest attention to our insignificant wants and desires? After all, what hope would we have of communicating directly with an important person occupying a more lowly position. Suppose, for example, I wanted to ask one of the most powerful people on the planet to do something for me? Out of interest I Googled the question “Who is the most powerful person in the world?” Up came a list of the top 50 people, listed in order of power. It’s probably a waste of time trying to contact those near the top. In any event I don’t speak Chinese or Russian. But number 12 on the list; that looks promising – a UK politician. No, not female – it’s our very own Prime Minister, Boris! So I carried on with Google, and discovered that the Prime Minister’s Office has its own web pages on the gov.uk website. And, joy of joys, half-way down the home page is a link saying “Contact the Prime Minister’s Office.” That’s a good start. It turns out that the means of contact is an email form. You’re limited to 1000 characters, but that’s ok – well over 100 words. And there’s a guarantee, too:

“Whilst all emails are read and carefully considered, I regret it is not possible to provide an individual response to all queries that are received. Where appropriate, your email will be forwarded to the Government Department with responsibility for the matters you raise.”

It’s doubtful you’ll get a personal reply, but an official, somewhere, will consider the matter you raise – if it’s appropriate, that is.

Now compare that to what Jesus taught his disciples.

“In that day you will no longer ask me anything. Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.” (John 16: 23-24)

“Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” (Matt 18: 19-20)

When we pray in Jesus’ name our prayers are not siphoned off to some obscure heavenly official who might get round to considering them if they think it’s worth it. We communicate directly with Almighty God himself. That is what Jesus taught us.

Now a consequence of this wonderful truth is that if we pray to God in the name of Jesus we do not have to ask lesser individuals to intercede on our behalf. I am not talking about asking other Christians we know to pray with us, or for us. The Bible encourages such fellowship in prayer. Rather I am talking about the practice of praying to angels or to departed saints, asking them to intercede with God on our behalf. Now I fear that some evangelical Christians have sometimes been overly judgemental about such praying. It is certainly not my intention to criticise those who feel they need to do this. The fact is, of course, that the Bible frequently speaks of occasions when God’s people have had conversations with angels, and even with dead saints. Abraham, Lot, Moses, Joshua, Gideon, Daniel, Zachariah, Mary, Peter, John – all had conversations with angels, often involving requests. Jesus spoke with the deceased Moses and Elijah on the mountain of Transfiguration. However, none of these could be considered as examples of prayer. If you are inclined to pray to angels or deceased saints I would encourage you to ask yourself these three questions. Firstly, is it necessary? Christ himself is our great high priest, and he has opened the way for us to enter the holy of holies by his shed blood. No-one else, neither angel nor saint is able to intercede more effectively on our behalf, or persuade God to look upon us with greater love. Secondly, do I really doubt that Christ is sufficient? Heb 7 v 25 says, “Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.” Thirdly, does the Bible encourage me to do this? As far as I can remember, the only occasion in Scripture of someone praying to a dead saint was when Saul asked the deceased prophet Samuel for guidance, through a spiritual medium at Endor (1 Sam 28). Sadly, this encounter ended tragically for Saul.

(2) The place of His abode

Jesus told us to address our prayers directly to Almighty God, but he also encouraged us to specifically refer to the place of His abode – heaven itself. I wonder why he did this?  Perhaps partly it was to leave no misunderstanding as to the One to whom the prayer was being addressed. The Greeks and the Romans were pantheistic, allowing for many lesser gods in their philosophy. But the Jews worshipped One God only, Jehovah, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And this God was repeatedly described as the “God of Heaven.” So Rahab, of Jericho fame, declared to the two Israeli spies, “For the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below” (Joshua 2: 11). And so also Daniel said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “There is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries” (Daniel 2: 28).

Above all heaven is understood to be God’s dwelling place; Even though He is everywhere present, heaven is His special abode, the location of His throne, and the place from which His authority is exercised and His will is decreed. Solomon, in his great prayer of dedication when the first temple was completed, repeatedly expressed this desire: “When people come to this place in their need and pray to You, then hear from Heaven, Your dwelling place, and act” (1 Kings 8).

So when we pray we are not ultimately addressing one who is with us in our place of need (although he is indeed with us, as Jesus repeatedly taught).

When we pray, “Father, Who art in heaven” we are lifting our eyes from our immediate needs, from the circumstances that surround us, from the limitations of our present situation, to the place where God dwells in majesty and glory, to the place from which His authority is exercised, to the throne from which He decrees action. Hebrews 4: 16 says, “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

There is a wonderful picture of the throne of grace in the book of Esther in the Old Testament. Esther, the new wife of the Persian king Xerxes, desired to speak with the king on the delicate matter of saving her own people from extermination. The problem was that nobody could approach the king without being invited, on pain of death. Only if the king extended his royal sceptre to the intruder would they be spared. The story tells how Esther requested all her people to pray for three days and nights, and then of her entrance to the throne room uninvited. We read that king Xerxes was so delighted when he saw Esther enter, he extended the sceptre towards her, and said:

“What is it, Queen Esther? What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be given you.” (Esther 5:3)

So Esther received mercy and found grace to help her in her time of need, because she was loved by the king.

(3) The relationship we have with Him

Esther’s relationship with the king made all the difference between experiencing execution or receiving half the kingdom. And similarly the mercy and grace we receive from God is determined by our relationship with Him. In the opening words of the Lord’s Prayer Jesus encourages us to address God as our Father. Not Jehovah, not Almighty God, not Holy One, not Lord of all – all of which would be perfectly correct – but Father.

The apostle John said,

“To all who received him [Jesus], to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God – children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” (John 1: 12-13)

There is a sense that God is the Father of all mankind, because He created us. But this is not the kind of fatherhood that John speaks of, nor, I am sure, the kind that Jesus was referring to. God becomes our Father in a very special sense when we put our faith in Jesus and respond to his call to follow him. Jesus called it being born again, being born of the Spirit of God, and receiving eternal life from God. For such people God is indeed their Father, and they are His beloved children.

In our Bible reading this morning we read,

“The Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’ The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.” (Romans 8: 15-16)

The place you occupy as one of God’s beloved children is breath-taking. Jesus said no-one can snatch you from the Father’s hand. Paul said that the Father, who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for you – will also, along with him, graciously give you all things.

And here is what Jesus said about our position when praying to our heavenly Father.

“In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.” (John 16: 26-27)

You need to read that two or three times to get the implication of what Jesus said. It’s not that God will answer our prayers out of love for Jesus, and because Jesus asks him to. These things are true, of course, wonderfully true. But Jesus says God our Father will answer our prayers because he loves us. You who love Jesus and put your trust in him, Father God loves you. He is going to answer your prayers, not just because Jesus asks him to, but because he loves you.

No-one can enter God’s throne room uninvited, except the children he loves. And to them he holds out the golden sceptre of mercy and grace, and says,

“What is it, my child? What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be given you.” (Esther 5:3)

Because he loves you!

Steve Townsend