Lord's Prayer 1 Notes "Our Father"

Supplemental Notes to Teaching on-line

Prayers shape us. 

The practice of prayer is difficult. Most of us are told to pray at an early age. I remember our meal prayer: Bless us, O Lord, and these Thy gifts which we are about to receive, from Thy bounty, through Christ our Lord. Amen. No one ever explained to me what a bounty was (TV shows with bounty hunters only muddied the waters). In honesty, I do not think I was terribly curious about it. I was supposed to thank God for food and I did. I figured God liked hard to decipher wording, lots of adult prayers were confusing. Some were even a little terrifying. For example, Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep, if I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take. I had two take-aways from this nightly practice. One was my absolute dependence on God's mercy. The other was going to sleep was a dangerous thing, there seemed to be a good chance I wasn't waking up. Saying these prayers impacted my understanding of myself, my God, and my world.

"Our Father"

Our

The plural of the Greek ''ego" (I) In the sermon on the Mount Jesus uses the singular "your" in reference to the Father. In prayer we are part of a community. Even when alone, we pray corporately as the one Body of Christ--His church.

In John 20 Jesus tells Mary He must ascend (anabaino-go up) "To My Father and your (plural) Father, to My God and your (plural) God." Most scholars think He is contrasting His relationship with theirs. 

Here are important uses of term "Father" applied to God from Jewish Bible. In addition, I have included several New Testament verses. It is my hope this helps in deepening the 

Psalm 68:5 "Sing to God, chant hymns to His Name; extol Him who rides the clouds; the Lord is His name. Exult in His presence--the father of orphans, the champion of widows, God in His holy habitation. This was the first reference to Divine Fatherhood and it is telling that it is in relationship to the most helpless. If God is Father of all humanity, the revelation here is that it begins with the poorest of the poor.

Psalm 89 a prayer for the restoration of David's dynasty, which reflects God choosing and promising fidelity to David. God says (of David) "He shall say to Me, 'You are my father, my God, the rock of my deliverance.' [we did a reflection on Psalm 95:1-2 recently looking at 'rock']. The connection of YHWH's fatherhood to Messiah is foundational for Jesus' relationship. So the Father of the poorest of the poor is also the Father of the King as well!

Isaiah 9:6 part of the liturgical Christmas readings.

6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government will be upon his shoulder, and his name will be called "Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David, and over his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and for evermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.

The immediate reference is the birth of a prince and this is the throne name. Therefore, the focus is God, but Christian interpretation applies the reading to Jesus.

Malachi 2:10

One of my favorite prophetic books (not named Isaiah or Jeremiah), Malachi's prophecy is filled with dozens and dozens of questions. It is an invitation to to go deeper with God in conversation. Verse ten begins a reflection on Israel's embrace of idols, foreign gods, and leaving Jewish wives for pagan ones. Malachi (which literally means Messenger) asks, "Have we not all one Father? Did not one God create us? why do you break faith with one another, profaning the covennat of our ancestors?"  Here we see the covenant relationship in parent-child terms. Hundreds of times the word "father" is used in the phrase "God of our father/s" and refers to Abraham, or Jacob/Israel, or all three Patriarchs. There are many others attribuited to Solomon who calls to "the God of my father David."

In response to His Jewish adversaries, Jesus says, "If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now I am here. I did not come on My own, but He sent Me." [He goes on  to tell them that they are from their "father, the devil" and they embrace the devil's desires--murder and lies.] Those who are children of God are children of the truth. They believe Jesus, they trust Jesus and they love Jesus. (John 8:39-47)]

1 John 1:9 "Everyone who does not abide in the teaching of Christ, but goes beyond it, does not have God; whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son." Once again, from a slightly different angle, the reflection on truth, in this case overtly the teaching of Christ, determines one's relationship with God. Here we see the close relationship (Father and Son) is embodies in the word God.