As Jesus was preaching the Sermon on The Mount, he came to the point of discussing prayer. He tells us in Matthew 6:9:

In this manner, therefore, pray. Our Father in heaven.

I want to concentrate specifically on the word “Father”. The very first thing Jesus does here is to teach us the properly way to address God via the term “Father”.

Depending on your childhood experiences, your perception of the term “Father” (based on the relationship between yourself and your earthly biological father) can be either a marvelous memory, flashbacks of neglect and abuse, feelings of distance and absentness, etc. However, we clearly see that the Biblical model of addressing God as “Father”.

As I look around me and listen intensely to many of the prayers offer up to heaven, I really wonder if somehow we have mistaken God the Father for

God the Grandfather

In a healthy parent/child relationship, it is the father who is known as the breadwinner, provider, Mr. Fix-it, protector, disciplinarian, etc. Grandfather is know as the elder male within the extended family who is famous for spoiling the grandchild (because he has a grandchild to spoil) and usually giving the grandchild the thing that the parents sternly told the child ‘no’ minutes earlier. From that cookie in the cookie jar thirty minutes before dinner to the quarter for the trinket in the bubblegum machine; when the parent refused to give, usually the grandparent would break down and give the cookie or the quarter.

In our missed perception of God (usually due to the missed absenteeism of the parent) being more like a grandfather instead of “Abba Father’, have we shifted from asking God to “Give us this day our daily bread” in thankful provision of our need to demanding God to be like our Grandfather to “Give us this day our daily Rolex, Lexus, gold necklaces, mansions, cruises, Jesus Jets, etc”.

Just like the child who knows that the earthly father may not give the child what he wants (because the cookie in the cookie jar may spoil his or her appetite minutes before dinner) and learns early to circumvent the parent and go straight to the grandparent who will usually break down and give (even though the cookie would spoil their appetite) to the child, do we Christians ask for things that God tells us ‘no’ (because they may be bad for us) and try to circumvent God the father by going to some other source of provision to obtain the thing that eventually is bad for you?

I really believe that the image of God the Father has been improperly described to us in many areas as the Grandfather. We call ourselves “King’s Kids” but we love to ask for the things detrimental to us and when they do not come find some hasty shortcut, scripture to twist, or some other person to provide these things to us. We love to ask for the cookie right before dinner knowing that the dinner will really supply our need for nourishment while the consumed cookie only leavs more more hungry and wanting more cookies. One cookie is not enough, we need more cookies. One nice car isn’t enough, we want a second nice car or more cars in the garage. The house we currently live in with the worn and aged furniture is not enough, we want the mansion with fine rich Corinthian leather furniture.

The prodigal son is a perfect example of one who wants his inheritance now instead of later on when his father passes away. The prodigal son who would treasure, appreciate, and be thankful for the given provision ended up squandering the thing he never truly treasured, appreciated and never was thankful for to begin with. You see, the things given to us by the father that we are ever so thankful and greatful for receiving usually leave their mark upon our lives as we tell our friends:

My father gave this to me.

with a reverent awe. Usually, when we receive something out of earthly circumvention instead of divine intervention, we act arrogant, pioused, pompus and proclaim in an bragging tone of voice of being a Kings Kid that this is an expected rite of righetousness because we either deserved it, earned it, sent in enough money, prayed hard enough, read the Bible enough, did not lack faith, secretly sin, nor disagreed with a televangelist, etc.

We need to realize that God is our Father, not our brother, mother, sister, uncle, aunt, or grandparents. Furthermore, we need to reestablish once again the very last line of the Lord’s Prayer of

For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.

And enjoy the daily bread provided by the Father that fulfills the need of nourishment

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