Our Father

We pray our Father even when we are alone because the truth is that we can never approach the Holy God under our own strength. Our sonship is not of our own making but it derived from the sonship of Jesus Christ. Only as we are in Christ can we come to the Father. When Christ died the veil which separated the Holy of Holies from the rest of the temple was torn in two giving us admission to the throne room of God but we can only come hand in hand with Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 4 14Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.ESV .
 See Spurgeon'sermon The throne of grace
We enter into the heavenlies into the Father's presence only because we are co-crucified and co-raised with Christ
Eph 2  But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us,even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, ESV. 
More than this we have another helper who shapes our prayers  with us before the Father . The Holy Spirit of God 
Rom 8  26Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. ESV
Suddenly we realize  that we have been taken up into the very dance of the Godhead entering into the eternal song of joy, praise and worship in which every member of the Holy Trinity is offering to each other which is the centre of the love and fellowship of that most Holy Trinity

Setting out on a journey the Lord's prayer

The two archbishops of Canterbury and York have invited us to join in a week of prayer before Pentecost this year  this is my journey towards that week.

At the heart of our prayers will be words that Jesus himself taught us – ‘Thy kingdom come, thy will be done.’ It is impossible to overstate the life-transforming power of the Lord’s Prayer. It is a prayer that is reassuring enough to be on the lips of the dying and yet dangerous enough to be banned in cinemas. It is famous enough to be spoken each day by billions in hundreds of languages and yet intimate enough to draw us ever closer into friendship with Jesus Christ. It is simple enough to be memorized by small children and yet profound enough to sustain a whole lifetime of prayer. When we pray it with sincerity and with joy, there is no imagining the new ways in which God can use us to his glory.”
 Canterbury+ and York +      Taken from thy thy kingdom come

Our heavenly Father: We can come in confidence that our Father is good and listens to our prayers, we can come in the knowledge that we have personal relationship, just as Jesus is the beloved son so  we are all beloved sons and daughters if we are united in Him he delights to give good gifts to His children.

 Mat 7:9ff which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent?  If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

May your name be made Holy: How do we proclaim a Holy God to a sceptical world? By acting as mirrors as we live Holy lives we will reflect something of the image of the Father in our lives:

Mat 5:14ff “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.  Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Your Kingdom come: This is a prayer that should start deep in our own hearts and balloon outwards to encompass the entire creation.  Where does Gods rule need to take hold in our lives? Are we willing to allow Him in to our innermost being or are there still fortresses of self fiercely defended from Divine conquest? Do we have honest eyes that can truly see our spiritual condition?

Mat6:22ff “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and Mammon.

So what is the prime weapon with which we bring the Kingdom of God into the world; sacrificial love.

Mat 5:43ff “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’  But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.  For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?  And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?  You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Your will be done on earth as in heaven: we live in a world which has rebelled against God; our task as children of our heavenly Father is to restore that rule in our homes in our streets and in the wider world. Just as Jesus won back his kingdom by being hung on a cross; so his followers take up that cross daily and follow wherever their master leads

So what are the names of the foot soldiers who invade the kingdom of darkness establishing his rule and kingdom? They are poor in spirit, mourner, meek, thirster after righteousness, merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers, reviled and persecuted. This is an unlikely bunch who love their enemies into the kingdom. So let us seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness .