"Our Father...." 

In my prayer time I’ve recently been meditating on the Lord’s prayer (the version from Matthew 6: 9 -13). I’ve been using it as a template to guide my prayers and I’ve been struck by how comprehensively it covers everything we should pray about. Of course, that makes sense – Jesus himself gave us this prayer! 

I have found I can spend an entire prayer time meditating and praying through the first two words: “Our Father”. There is so much depth packed into these two words – enough to shape the focus of our entire prayer life.
They tell us the identity and position from which we pray. Jesus invites us to approach God as Father because we are his children. This speaks of relationship, belonging and trust in God which are arguably the most important aspects of our Christian life.
 The rest of the Lord’s prayer flows from these foundational truths –  we are praying to Our Father, who desires to protect, provide and guide us in all areas of our lives.
 
The word ‘Father’ can be difficult for many people, especially for those, like me, whose earthly Fathers haven’t always protected, provided or guided us.
In these situations, where the word Father might be tainted, it is particularly important to ask God to reveal his Father heart and his Father love. To pray for God to give us a fresh and clear view of him and a healed view of his identity as a good and trustworthy Father.
 
It is also important to use these two words "Our Father", to focus on our identity as his children. We can ask God to help us see ourselves through his eyes, to restore our identity as his sons and daughters. We can ask him to heal our identity where it has been formed through pain, rejection or lies.
 
One of the areas most attacked and damaged by satan, is our understanding of God’s identity and our identity in him. All other aspects of our prayer life will be affected by these truths, so it’s worth spending time praying about these two words.
 
We can also use these words to pray about our relationship with the Father. To ask for greater intimacy, a deeper revelation of his love, provision, protection and guidance. When we bring these kinds of prayers to him I have found he is faithful to answer. He delights in helping us grow in knowledge of who he is and in drawing us into deeper intimacy of him.  
 
Here’s a prayer to start you off: “Father, open my eyes to the truth of who you are and who I am in you”.