Teach Us to Pray 2
On the Lord’s Prayer: Our Abba
The prayer Jesus taught (Matthew 6:9-15; Luke 11:1-4) opens with Our Father. It was the prayer Jesus prayed. The disciples observed and longed to pray like their Master. He obliged. It’s a prayer for a new Exodus of people in troubled times. Us. The tyrant, in this case was Rome, not Egypt.
What’s unique about this prayer? It invites us fellow disciples to share in the prayer-life of Jesus himself. To gain access into the divine life. There’s no more important invitation than this. Prayer becomes what God and we are doing together.
We see this togetherness in prayer when Abraham pled with God for the city of Sodom (Genesis 18:16-33). God had revealed to him that he will visit Sodom to see if the sin is grievous (v 17). Because Abraham was God’s friend, he’s told of the impending destruction. Friends tell each other what’s on their heart. Abraham negotiated with God (vv. 22-31). Eventually, a deal was struck. This prayer partnership in the work of God becomes a model for us.
In prayer we enter into the mysteries of Christ’s saving work, of our own calling, of the drama on this terrestrial ball. Christians are in Christ, immersed into Father, Son, and Spirit. We are grafted into the inner life of the Creator and Redeemer. We’re not spectators praying. We are doing the work of prayer with God.
So begins the most universally recognizable prayer: Abba. Our Abba who is in heaven. Interpretation: Father, always near us. The idea of heaven being “out there somewhere” is not in the Lord’s Prayer. He’s no absentee dad! Look at how he’s interacting with us: giving us daily bread, forgiving us, protecting us. Constant needs. Constant supply! Heaven is not God’s way of social distancing.
We conclude this from studying the prayers of Jesus throughout the Gospels, we conclude this: Abba was center stage for him. Praying to Abba showed his human attitude and relationship toward God. Jesus taught us not only about his own familial, intimate approach to the Creator, but also how we can share in it. God as father was not a new concept. Jesus grew up reading about it throughout the Scriptures. He grew up praying it. At age 12 he told his mother, “I must be about my Father’s business.” What’s new here? Jesus made God’s fatherhood front and central in his own spirituality. And with this he painted a bullseye on his chest (John 5:18)
Wrestling with God about real-life issues is crucial to our interactive experience with God. Imagine a friendship that never transcends the mundane. Imagine talking to your father this way: “Hi, how are you? Glad you’re here! Too bad the Cubs aren’t playing better. Isn’t Patrick Mahomes the bomb? What’s up? Pass the communion plate, will you!”
Real friends and beloved children have carte blanche access to “process” everything with Abba. Their private lives. Their business lives. They explore failure, challenges, and progress. They expose their deeply felt emotions. They listen intently, determined to respond. They sync their thoughts, from the core of their being. Hearts exposed! Upper most on Jesus’ heart? God’s kingdom, God’s will, the unity of earth and heaven. Top it off with provision, forgiveness, temptations, and evil’s defeat. It’s this kind of talking friend to friend, Father to Son, that deserves the title, the Lord’s Prayer.
Father always near us, always present, a breath away. Face to face. Friend to friend.
Our constant need, especially in these trying times is to breathe simple prayers throughout the day: Abba! Be near to me! Abba, can you hear me? Father help me! Father, we love you.
Barbara Streisand’s longing for her father in the movie Yentl. is expressed in the song, “Papa.” The lyrics could easily describe a prayerful expression of this first line of the Lord’s prayer. Have a listen! May her longing for her earthly father be ours for our Always Near One.