The disciples are shocked. The Greek word used here for 'Father' is paralleled in Aramaic by the highly personal word 'Abba.' Greek experts say it was used within the family circle - as though Jesus had said, "When you pray to almighty, everlasting, all-seeing God, just say 'Dear Dad.'
What? No one had ever really addressed God in such terms before. A 'Father' term had been used in Old Testament days, but it was a more formal, general name, almost a national title - as Americans said of George Washington, that he was Father of the nation - but little more.
1. Here is a learnt truth. Jesus has taught us to speak to God in a way that does not put us at a distance. In his own prayers, he used the 'Abba' word (Mark 14:36). Paul, in turn, encouraged its use (Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:6). Of the many various titles used in the prayers of other religions, none of them approaches the intimacy of 'Father.'
2. Here is a revealed truth. It cannot be grasped by deduction, natural perception or religious insight. There are those for whom the very name 'Father' is a blockage, perhaps because of an oppressive childhood. Yet the Holy Spirit helps the veil to be removed - when Christ comes in!
3. Here is a neglected truth. This teaching is the pulse of all of our praying. If God is the archetypal Father, we shall not treat Him as a kind of mail-order catalogue or emergency exit. Do we 'use' those we love?
'When you pray…' The assumption is that we WILL pray. Daily.
--ooOoo--
