“Our”

Thoughts from The Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6:9-13.

In this prayer, Jesus provided a model for us to use in addressing God. He exhorted us to begin our prayer like this: “Our Father who is in heaven.” The following three words strike our attention: “our,” “Father,” and “heaven.”

Today, we will focus on the word “our.” This word signals two points to us: First, we come to God as “our” Father. From other Scriptures, it is clear that He is “our” Father because of our faith in Christ. In Eph. 2:18 Paul says, “For through him [Christ] we both [Jews and Gentiles] have access by one Spirit unto the Father.”

Second, we are a part of a family. When we say “our,” we include the entire family. This family of God’s children is worldwide. It includes people from all backgrounds and groups. When we pray, we should be properly concerned about the entire family. We must be properly related to all the family, and we should be concerned for the welfare of all the members. Our relationships with others should not be fractured and broken. We identify with others when we say “our.”

George M. Flattery, Ph.D., is the founder of Global University and Network211.