Praying to God as Our Father

Our Perfect Father in Heaven

None of us have perfect fathers. Some of us have never met our fathers, and others of us wish we never met them. Even those of us who had good, loving fathers know that our dads aren't perfect. Many of us have been wounded and hurt by our fathers, and struggle with the idea of God as “our Father in heaven” (Matt. 6:9). But Scripture is clear that God is utterly unique in the sense that he is a perfectly loving, caring, and holy Father in heaven (Ps. 68:5). God becomes our Father through faith in Jesus, forgiving our sins and adopting us as his children whom he loves and delights in: 

“See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.” (1 John 3:1) 

It is because Jesus has absorbed God's wrath against sin on the cross that we can be reconciled to God, with all of our sins forgiven, and have all of God's might and power aimed at our good rather than our destruction. Through faith in Jesus, we can truly approach the Sovereign Lord of creation as our loving Father in heaven. We become God's children by faith in Jesus, and receive his fatherly love and care. He knows our needs, cares for our struggles, delights to hear our prayers, and is committed to shaping us after the image of his son, Jesus. 

“He knows our needs, cares for our struggles, delights to hear our prayers, and is committed to shaping us after the image of his son, Jesus.”

3 Prayer Points 

Here are 3 ways that Scripture guides us in praying to God as our Father in Heaven: 

1. We pray in Jesus' name – We can only come to God as our Father through faith in his son, in the name of Jesus Christ (John 14:6)
2. We pray in the Spirit of adoption – The gospel assures as that we are not only forgiven of our sins through Jesus, but also adopted as God’s children so that we can truly cry out to him as our Father (John 1:12-13, Rom. 8:15-17)
3. We pray without fear of condemnation – As God’s adopted children, the scene of prayer is not a courtroom and judge, but a living room and Father, so we can be honest and open about our needs and struggles (Romans 8:1, 1 John 4:18)

“As God’s adopted children, the scene of prayer is not a courtroom and judge, but a living room and Father, so we can be honest and open about our needs and struggles.”