Our Father

Today we begin our series on the Lord's Prayer. Thank you for joining me live in Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia. There are a bit more than one million people in Fulton County. The Atlanta metro area contains, oh, consists of around 6 million.

The population of the state of Georgia is 10 and a half million. The USA has 330 million inhabitants. The population of Earth is something around seven and three-quarter billion people. I am one of seven and three-quarter billion.

If you look at a picture of the planet Earth, you are a small, minuscule dot, dot on that planet. But if you compare the Earth to our sun, the Earth is just a small dot. And if you compare our sun to the Milky Way galaxy, it is just a speck. It's estimated that there are at least 100 billion or 200 billion galaxies.

I begin this way to say that I am a small dot on a small planet in a galaxy in an incredibly large universe. I am minuscule. In fact, all of us are when put in our cosmic place. Other words for minuscule: in cued my new to microscopic, or nanoscopic, or diminutive, or miniature, or infinitesimal, or teeny weeny.

Before you feel small and unimportant, because on a scale you could feel that way, I want to blow your mind. The God who created this great, vast universe watch you to call him Father. As you know, the Lord's Prayer begins with the words "Our Father." In the Bible you'll find this model prayer in Luke chapter 11 and in Matthew chapter 6.

Today I'll read from Matthew 6, and probably our study will mostly be there. Beginning in verse 5 of Matthew 6, Jesus said, "Whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But whenever you go pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees and secret will reward you.

"When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Pray then in this way." And then Jesus gives us the model prayer, and it begins with the two words "Our Father."

Just those two words deserve a lot of attention. Jesus taught us to call God our Father. Now, this was radical at the time. When Jesus walked to this planet, people didn't think of God as Father.

In the Old Testament, God had three primary names: Elohim, Yahweh, and Adonai. None of those names mean anything close to father. Now, in this prayer, Jesus tells his followers to call God Father. What Jesus is wanting us to do is to relate to God in a very intimate way.

When we pray, we should remember that we are his children, and we have access to the presence of God as his own children. God is our Father. As a father here on Earth, I love it when my children call me. It happens weekly. They have their own special ringtones, and I love it when I hear that they are calling.

We need to know that our heavenly Father loves it when he hears us calling. I would be so hurt if my children didn't call. Can you imagine how God feels about those who profess to be believers and do not ever call upon him in prayer? Jesus is letting us know here about a close relationship.

And I also love it when we as believers are reminded of our connection to one another. When we say "Our Father," we are family. If you're a believer, you are my brother or my sister in Christ. And when I'm aware of this, I tend to treat others better. I tend to not be so self-centered. I tend to look out for the needs of others.

Have you ever prayed and really done it just as a routine? I know the answer already. We all have been guilty of that at one time or another. If we truly realized who we were speaking to when we prayed, our prayers would be quite different.

Years ago, I was looking for a piece of woodworking equipment. We were living in Indiana at the time, and I found something in the classified ads. So this has been years ago. I remember it was raining. I was wearing blue jeans and a sweatshirt and a hat.

I drove to a farm, and there were some men that I had never met, and they were working on a piece of equipment. It was a grain elevator. They were beating on it, and it was not cooperating, so they were using some special words. They were cussing like sailors when suddenly one of them looked at me and said, "You aren't a preacher, are you?"

I laughed and told him who I was. That's been over 30 years ago, and I still remember. Why did I tell you that story? Sometimes we don't know who we are talking to. When you pray, you are talking to the King of kings and the Lord of lords, the creator of this vast universe, and he wants you to call him Father.

Pray with me. Father God, thank you for that relationship that you offer to us. Help us to realize that we are your children and you are our Father, and you love us and have wonderful things in store for us. Help us to look at our brothers and sisters in Christ in a different way, because we're all in this together.

Help us to call on you often in prayer, and teach us to pray, as the disciples asked that day when you taught them this prayer. We began with "Our Father," and we are thankful. In Jesus' name, amen. God bless. Thank you for joining me today.