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Jesus Called Him "Abba Father" 11/29/2007 7:35:26 AM
“When you pray…pray to your Father…” (Matt. 6:6). During the thirty-three years Jesus spent on this earth, He spent a lot of time praying to His Father, and He instructed us to do the same. Notice He didn’t tell us to pray to Him (Jesus); He told us to pray to the Father in His (Jesus’) name. There’s a difference, and sometimes we miss it.
I’m not saying we shouldn’t talk to Jesus. If we are born-again believers, it is only right and natural that we should want to converse with and express our undying gratitude to the One who opened the door to restore us to right relationship with the Father. But have you ever noticed how much easier it is to talk to and about Jesus than to and about the Father? Why is that?
I suppose it could be many reasons, but I have to believe that a lot of it comes from our lack of an unconditional love example from our earthly fathers. I was blessed to have a father who, though he wasn’t an admitted believer until the last week of his eighty-eight years, lived his life in such a way that I never doubted his love for me. I felt safe with my earthly father, even as I do now with my heavenly Father. At the same time, my dad taught me respect, and that has carried over into my relationship with the Father as well.
Not everyone has been as blessed as I in their relationships with their earthly fathers, and I believe that is often the root of the problem when it comes to Christians relating to the heavenly Father. They feel safer—more unconditionally loved and accepted—with Jesus, and so they talk almost exclusively to and about Him. Again, talking about Jesus should be the most natural thing for any believer to do, simply because His love for us is so evident in His sacrifice, and we so love Him in return. In fact, if you want to know who or what someone loves and worships above all else, listen to his or her conversation. We speak out of what we have stored up in our hearts. If it’s love for Jesus, then we will regularly speak about Him. The focus of our words represents the fullness of our hearts.
However, though it’s natural and right to talk about Jesus, the Scriptures clearly instruct us to speak/pray to the Father in Jesus’ name. The Holy Spirit inside us guides and encourages us to do so, and we clearly see the Trinity in that picture. But today, whether you’re writing, speaking, singing—or especially praying—pay attention to the focus of your words. Does the Father have His proper place in your words and in your heart?
A couple of days ago I read an email from a young man who had recently visited with his earthly father for the first in many years. It was a very positive experience for everyone involved, and this young man’s words were, “Spending time with my dad made me feel complete.” We’ve all heard of this God-shaped void inside of us, and we as believers know that it is God’s Spirit that fills that void and Jesus’ sacrifice that enables it to be so. But if we are leaving the Father out of that equation, the void is not yet filled. We need to regularly, lovingly, and intimately say with Jesus, “Abba Father,” for then, like the young man who was reunited with his father, we will truly be complete.
***Please take a moment to visit our new ministry site www.setfreetoday.com, where I serve as Spiritual Director. Come as you are…leave with a new beginning! And drop us a note or prayer request while you’re there.
