Hi, I am Joseph Mattera of Mattera Ministries International, you are listening to God Today. I am so excited to be with you today. I want to just talk to you a little bit about the Lord’s Prayer. The lord’s Prayer has been so profound and instrumental in shaping and framing the lives of christians for several thousand years now. Each phrase in the Lord’s Prayer is something we can live by. Something that can be a guidance for us. Something that can be a missional statement for each and every one of us.
It is no accident that when Jesus taught us the Lord’s Prayer, He started out by saying, “Our Father, who art in heaven.” The word “Father” is a word “Abba”, which means that God wants to be informal and intimate with us. He is not just some god or higher power, or some formal father. The word “Abba” would be something akin to “Papi” or “Daddy”, meaning that God doesn’t just love you, God likes you. God has an intimate understanding of who you are. He has an emotional connection to you. It is almost like He wants you to sit on His lap so He can hug you.
It is interesting that Jesus used the word “Abba”, an informal recognition of who God is. To the world he is God, He is the Creator. To us He is not just the creator, He is our Poppy, our Daddy. God wants to wrap His arms around you today. He wants to show you His love. Being rooted in that identity, having that understanding that you are a child of God is the first thing He wants you to understand, the first thing He wants you to know. That is why He started the Lord’s Prayer with “Our Father”. Even before He taught us about worship, even before He taught us about the Kingdom. He wanted us to be rooted in that love, rooted in that relationship, rooted in understanding and knowing that God is our Daddy.
Today, why don’t you let Him be your daddy. Let Him be somebody who can wrap His arms around you. Let Him be intimate with you. Let Him be somebody who can emotionally connect with you. Heal your broken heart. Heal you of that orphan spirit. Heal you of that spirit of rejection. He is a Father in heaven meaning He is the perfect Father. He will never let you down. He will never leave you or forsake you. He is different from every earthly father who ever lived. There is no perfect earthly father. That is why Jesus also called Him “Our Father” or “Our Abba”. Our Daddy who lives in heaven. He lives in heaven because He is the only perfect one. He is here to heal that broken heart today. Let Him do that. Let Him be the Father you never had. In Jesus’ name.