January 2nd: Our Father in Heaven
As we begin the second day of our 21 days of prayer, today we are going to spend time focusing on and celebrating in prayer the fact that God, our Father, is in Heaven. “Pray then like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.” (Mt 6:9).
At first glance, this may seem like something that doesn’t necessarily need to be mentioned, given that it was something that Jesus, the disciples, and even us would or should have readily understood. After-all, where else would God be?
Well, given that some today would suggest that God is all things or in all things, it’s a helpful reminder to note that He is, in fact, in Heaven. But more is meant by the phrase Our Father in Heaven. The reminder that God the Father is in Heaven calls attention to the fact “of God’s sovereign rule over all things.”1
When we speak of God’s sovereignty or His sovereign rule, we are saying that He is in absolute and total control over everything that ever has happened and ever will happen both now and forever.
This truth is especially comforting at times when it life feels as if it is spinning out of control, or when things don’t go “according to plan”. God remains in complete control. He has not left us or forsaken us. He continues working things together for our good and His glory (Rom 8:28). He remains an ever-present help in time of need (Ps 46:1), and remains able to provide for our every need (Mt 6:25-34). While being “in Heaven” may, at times, make it feel as if God is distant, we can take comfort in the fact that His Holy Spirit resides in us and intercedes for us (Rom 8:26-27), not to mention that Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father, serving as our Advocate (1 Jn 2:1)
As you spend time in prayer today, spend time celebrating the fact that God, our Father, is in Heaven.
1 The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 1831.