Tag: praytothefather

Welcome to part four. If you have been following these posts on prayer, we looked at what prayer is and isn’t. Prayer is communicating with God and a form of meditation. God is not a genie and will only grant us what is best for us. He is our Heavenly Father and wants to bless us like a father would provide for his children.

Sometimes it appears God is silent. But it’s really us who need to stop and listen. Just because God is silent, doesn’t mean He is saying no, sometimes He is responding with a wait, not yet, in His time. He is sovereign and He has a plan for us. Philippians 4:6 tells us to “pray without ceasing,” “praying at all times,” Ephesians 6:8. God wants to hear it all. He wants us to pour our hearts out to him. Sometimes we don’t know what to pray but God has provided the Holy Spirit to hear the cries of our heart, the words we don’t know how to express and with groans, “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.” Romans 8:26

So, to whom do we pray? The Scriptures make it clear that we are to pray to the Father.

Matthew 6:6-13 – “But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; …”

Philippians 4:6 – “...but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God …”

John 16:23-24 – “… Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. “

John 14:13-14 – “And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.”

In Matthew 6:6-13, Jesus tells us to pray directly to His Father. He tell us to send our requests no to Himself, the Holy Spirit or to dead saints, but to go directly to the Father, our Father with our prayers. Paul confirms this in Philippians 4:6. In John 16:23-24 and John 14:13-14 Jesus instructs us to not only pray to the Father but to pray in His name. We are to pray to the Father in Jesus’ name. By doing so we acknowledge that it through Jesus’ blood only that we have a direct connection to Him and the Father. We see this in John 14:6 – Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” Jesus is the only way to eternal life and to our Heavenly Father.

I do believe there is a way to pray, but not to get our prayers answered. This is what Jesus is telling us is the best way to enter into prayer so that the Father will hear us. I see it as God’s love language. This is how we are to address our prayers to the Father. We all have a love language. Don’t know about you but I don’t like when people just bark orders at me. A “please,” “a would you do me a flavor, please.” And I certainly don’t appreciate attitude. But at the same time we can go to the Father in all reverence but still talk to Him as if we could see Him sitting next to us.

I have gone to God telling Him how I feel. There’s no hiding that I have been mad at Him, so for me to even try and cover that up, He KNOWS my heart, He sees my anger and it’s ok to be angry and express it to Him as long as we don’t sin. He understands our limited knowledge of our situation. And usually after I have expressed my anger, I not only feel better but I fell comforted knowing that God knows all and in time He just may reveal to me some or all details at some point.

There are some examples in the Bible of God’s people being mad at Him. Numbers 11:11,15 – “Moses said to the Lord, “Why have you treated with your servant so badly? Why haven’t I found favor in your sight, that you lay the burden of all this people on me? . . . If you treat me this way, please kill me right now . . .” and Jonah 3:10-4:9 . “Therefore now, Lord, take, I beg you, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live.” . . . “I am right to be angry, even to death. Anger is an emotion God gave us, He just wants us to express it wisely.

So go to the Father in the name of Jesus about everything at all times. No holding back. We have a big God, He can handle it. He knows our hearts.

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