do we really know who we pray to?

How you think about God influences your relationship with him and what you ask of him.

When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, he opened his most famous prayer by saying, "our father in heaven…" What a beautiful reality!

This idea is rare in the Old Testament, though not unheard of (Israel, for instance, was talked about as God's metaphorical son a few times). But Jesus means this in a personal way, not just as a national identity conception.

Theologian and author N.T. Wright puts it this way in his book The Lord and His Prayer: Jesus shows that when we pray to God, it's not to a faceless, nameless, or disconnected entity but to the one true God that Jesus himself called his Father.

Jesus' relationship with his father was based on trust in the father's love for him. This might not be true for all of you about your own father, and I'm sorry. That isn’t what God wanted, and I can assure you He wants a chance to show you how much better of a father He is.

At Jesus’ baptism, God the Father spoke from heaven declaring his love for and pleasure in his son. Jesus began with his identity already rooted in God's love for him and it allowed him to walk with confidence and trust in God.

The question for us is, "do we really know who we pray to?"

What's amazing about our relationship with Jesus is that we gain access to this relationship. The author of Hebrews calls it being 'co-heirs with Christ,' meaning that every right and privilege that Jesus has because of how he submitted to God, we have access to.

Take a look at Ephesians 3:12. It’s part of a larger prayer Paul writes for a group of believers he was investing in. Reading the whole passage, we see Paul call God ‘Father’ and expound on that more – I promise, it’s worth a read!!

Ephesians 3:12-19 12 In him [Christ] and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. 

Because of Christ we can approach God, the creator and ruler of all things, with confidence and know that we will be accepted. But that’s not always how we feel.

I see in many of us a persistent fear that we’ll do something wrong and ruin our relationship with God. This is a shame.

While we do need to take care to avoid sin and put effort into our relationship with God, we don't need to worry that he will disown us. God genuinely loves us.

Because you trust in Jesus, God is your father and is working to shape you into the image of His son. When you pray, you are praying to your Father who loves you deeply.

Paul addresses God as the Father, just like Jesus did. This isn't reserved only for Jesus but is available to all who trust in him.

If you really know that God loves you, then you can trust him when you need something rather than relying on your own strength and efforts.

This leads us to approach prayer with boldness and confidence, and it leads us to pray with faith. This week, ask yourself: am I allowing God to be a good and gracious Father to me? Is there an area of life where I’ve allowed fear of failure to prevent me from coming boldly to God?