In the Word: The Father’s Care

Welcome to Hope Mommies’ In the Word devotionals.  As we study God’s Word together, we encourage you to use the comments as a place to dialogue with us about what you are learning and share your answers to the questions below. We pray that you hearts will be encouraged as you dive in Scripture with us! 

“Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven” Matthew 6:9

READ:

The pattern of prayer that Jesus set for us in Matthew 6 begins with a declaration of God as Father. When we come before God in prayer, we pray not to an impersonal deity, but to the One who sent His only Son to die in our place so that He might adopt us into His very own family. We are approaching someone who is intimately connected with us. When we pray to God as our Father, we express our desire to come to Him as His children, knowing that because of His great love, He is eager to meet our every need and supply us with His eternal blessings, guiding and directing us in wisdom and compassion.

Jesus tells us that our Father desires to give good gifts to His children. But often, His gifts don’t appear good from our limited perspective. With our confined understanding, we don’t always know what actually is good. However, He calls us to trust Him, to believe that His heart’s desire is to give us exactly what we need—what He knows is best for us. God, our most wise Father, will always work on behalf of our eternal good and His glory. In the midst of the grief and fear you may be facing today, you can remain confident that your heavenly Father will be tender towards you. He longs to fulfill your greatest need—offering you more of Himself—if you will open your heart and hands to receive from Him.

The address to God, which Christ teaches us to use when we pray, doesn’t end simply with “our Father.” The two words that follow hold incredible meaning.

“Our Father in Heaven…”

Not only is God our loving Father, He is also sovereign, transcendent, and holy. These two qualities together—His tender care for His children, and His boundless, incomparable greatness—are the cornerstone upon which all of our prayers and petitions rest. Our Father in heaven is both high and lifted up, and ready to draw near to us. He is in control over the entire universe, and also cares about every detail of our lives.

When we link our Father with His throne in heaven, we come to the humbling awareness that this awesome God has not only bent down to deliver us from the curse of sin, but has also brought us into His own family, given Himself to us in love, and made all of the resources of heaven available to us as we place our trust in Him. God desires that you come to Him knowing that you are cared for and He is able.

REFLECT:

1. How does thinking of God as your Father give you confidence as you approach Him in prayer?
2. What is currently preventing you from recognizing the good gifts of God in your life?

- Ashlee

Hope Mom to Simeon and Odelle

Ashlee is the Editorial Coordinator for Hope Mommies and author of their I AM, Identity, and Sojourn Bible studies. She and her husband, Jesse, live in Milwaukee with their children—five on earth and two in heaven.