In the last blog post we were introduced briefly to the Lord’s Prayer, recognizing it as a model or pattern prayer that Jesus taught his disciples. Lesson 3 begins with “Focus on God,” the first of five Focus points identified in the Prayer.
Our Father
“Our Father who is in heaven, hallowed be Your name.” (Matthew 6:9)
How does the Lord’s prayer open? “Our Father.” Obviously, this assumes a relationship of Father and child. As stated before, this prayer is for Jesus’ disciples, those who follow him in faith and commitment as their Lord and Savior; those who have been born anew into the family of God by faith.
This is not an ordinary Father—child relationship though, for he is “Our Father who is in heaven.” And as such we are to acknowledge his worthiness to be worshiped. “Hallowed be Your name.”
Asking Questions
Since Jesus made such bold statements about exalting God, it is incumbent upon us to ask some pertinent questions:
To whom do we pray?
Who is our focus in Prayer?
Who is this God?
What is he like?
What does he do?
Finding the Answers
We not only ask these questions, but turn right back to Scripture to answer them. This is exactly what Lesson 3 leads us to do. A “Bible Study” should be an exercise in studying the Bible. It is in God’s Word that the answers lie. And our subsequent actions will be based on what we discover in God’s Word.
Interested in finding out what God says about these questions, and more? Contact me at jacqueline@jacquelinegwallace.com for more information about the Bible study Teach Us to Pray.
To read all posts about this Bible study on the Lord’s Prayer, look under “Archives” to the right on the Blog page.