Our Father

April 28, 2019

Kicking off a new series called The Lord’s Prayer, Ben Stuart reminds us what it means to have God as our Father. We were built for proximity to God, and God wants us to be around Him! God, as our Father, shows us that He is strong, loving, and wise towards His children.

Key Takeaway

Our Father desires that we come to Him, not because He needs it, but because it's for our good. He is strong, loving, and wise. His character is what makes His Name hallowed, and set apart. Spend time with Him and soon it'll be your favorite place to be.

God is our Father. Prayer is one of the ways we develop a relationship with Him. It's about time and proximity.

Proximity becomes the priority. What's near to you will be shaped by you. There's a closeness, comfort, and confidence that it produced. Kids yearn to be close to their fathers.

In a study completed in 2019, 1/4 of adults say that they have no religious affiliation and most say they never pray. Not surprisingly, there has been a massive increase in anxiety and depression. Prayer has enormous benefits on many levels, but greatly on our physical bodies. People who pray have lower blood pressure and lower rates of depression and anxiety.

We're built for proximity to God.

We don't function right when we aren't close to Him. We're not who we're meant to be apart from Him.

How many prayers are stolen by social media? We used to linger and talk to God when we lay in bed at night, drove in the car, or walked around. Now, that has been replaced by constant comparison and negativity, and it's hurting us.

Jesus wants us to walk with the Father and be close with Him, just like He was.

Things NOT to do:

1) Don't make it a show. See Matthew 6:5

The issue isn't praying in public, the issue is the motive of wanting to be seen by others. It's a heartless exploitation rather than deeply wanting to know God. These people are using spirituality to prop up how they look in front of people. A modern translation of this verse could be: God doesn't mind if you post about going to church today, but if you do it for the post, you have received your reward in full. God desires honest pursuit. See Matthew 6:6

2) Don't try and manipulate.

Jesus warns against mindlessly speaking or using a bunch of words to try and sway God. See Matthew 6:7-8. Avoid trying over and over to get what you want. It's like when a child frantically asks their father over and over for a snack. It's an assault on his character. He knows what they need before they even ask.

Things TO do:

1) See God as a Father.

Intimacy with Him changes us. Nearness to Him is for our good. He doesn't want His children talking to Him because they have to or desperately claw at Him as if He isn't going to meet their needs.

The fatherless generation has a hard time with this, But God is the perfect Father. Fathers are meant to combine strength and love, power and legitimate concern. We all long for this. It makes us stable.

If we view God like that, our anxiety will decrease. We know He loves us and will meet our needs. We'd be less depressed because we know that God is committed to us. A reticence, or shyness, to come before God keeps us locked up in despair and doubt.

2) Spend time alone in silence with God.

A lot of people don't pray because they can't stand the silence. We feel guilty, so we don't want to be alone with God. This only happens when we don't know God's character. God hates what we do, but loves us, just like a dad. His character is that He is strong and loving; wrathful, but forgiving; righteous, but full of mercy to those who confess and forsake their sin.

God, as a Father, is strong enough to protect us. He loves us enough to want to. He's wise enough to know how. This is who He is and why Jesus tells us to "hallow" or "set apart", to believe in His Name, in His character. His character is true, good, and trustworthy. God doesn't need us to hallow His name, but it's good for us. He wants us to honor Him because we believe that His heart for us is good. He wants us to enjoy Him because being with Him is where we want to be. He delights in us.

The more you press into God, the more sure you'll find Him to be.

Prayer can out start awkward, but over time you'll start enjoying it. You'll want to find Him.

The comfort of the Father is for the children. Galatians 4:4-7 tells us we have been adopted as sons through Jesus. We have access to the Father! The love of the Father comes to us through His Son.

“

"We don't pray to inform God. We don't pray to instruct God. We pray to be intimate with God."

”

Discussion Questions

How has the principle of "proximity becomes priority" proven true in your life?
What were some of the benefits of prayer that Ben Stuart mentioned?
What steals our prayers? When was the last time you spent time, uninterrupted, Him?
Jesus would steal away to spend time with His Father. How could you incorporate this into your own life?
Read Matthew 6:5. What was God calling out?
In the following verse, what does Jesus reveal about prayer and the posture of the heart?
Ben Stuart gave an example of his kids incessantly and desperately asking for snacks. What did he say that said about his character? How do we do the same thing to God?
What were the three elements of God's character that caused us to hallow His name?
Do you find it hard to spend time in silence? Why or why not?
Read Galatians 4:4-7, if you are in Christ, what is your relationship to the Father?

Scripture References

“This, then, is how you should pray:

“ ‘Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come,

your will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts,

as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from the evil one.

’

4But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law,

5to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.

6Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “

Abba,

Father.”

7So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.

Giving to the Needy

“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

“So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.

But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,

so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Prayer

“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.

But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think 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.

“This, then, is how you should pray:

“ ‘Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come,

your will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts,

as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from the evil one.

’

For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

Fasting

“When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.

But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face,

so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Treasures in Heaven

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.

But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy,

your whole body will be full of light.

But if your eyes are unhealthy,

your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

Do Not Worry

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life

“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin.

Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.

If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?

So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’

For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

1One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”

2He said to them,

“When you pray, say:

“ ‘Father,

hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come.

Give us each day our daily bread.

Forgive us our sins,

for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.

And lead us not into temptation.

’ ”

5Then Jesus said to them,

“Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread;

a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’

And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’

I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity

he will surely get up and give you as much as you need.

“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

“Which of you fathers, if your son asks for

a fish, will give him a snake instead?

Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?

If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

16For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Ben Stuart

Ben Stuart is the pastor of Passion City Church D.C. Prior to joining Passion City Church, Ben served as the executive director of Breakaway Ministries on the campus of Texas A&M. He also earned a master’s degree in historical theology from Dallas Theological Seminary. He and his wife, Donna, live to inspire and equip people to walk with God for a lifetime.