Devotional Friday 4/11/16 – John 17:11 “Holy Father”

How we address God in our prayers shows our understanding of who God is, reinforces us in our perception of Him, and should be informed by scripture.

To meditate/pray upon

John 17:11 “I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, pr§otect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one.”

Ephesians 1:17 “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.”  

Jesus in His prayer that His people would be protected and united addresses God as ‘Holy Father’.  Robert Mounce says of this term, 

‘It (Holy Father) suggests both that God exists in another and higher realm (He is absolutely and uniquely “Holy”) and that at the same time he is present and available (He is “Father”)’.

This is similar to the language of the Lord’s Prayer where God is addressed as ‘Heavenly Father’, which speaks of His divine rule and fatherly affection.

It’s vital that when we think of God and relate to Him, we always bear both of these truths in mind – that our God is Holy and Father. At times of strain (like the events of this chapter) we can be tempted to doubt who God is. One can doubt that God is Holy: maybe He does do things wrong, is too weak to help, maybe His word is out of date and can’t be trusted etc. One can also doubt that God is Father: these events, these feelings mean He doesn’t love me etc.

Another aspect, we in our culture can often miss, is that ‘Holy Father’ also means that God is in authority over us. It’s right to obey Him. When we are tempted or tested it is also important that we remember that God is our ‘Holy Father’ – it’s our privilege to know and obey Him as members of His family.

Let’s allow the nature of God to give vocabulary and faith to our prayers. Let’s make it a habit, and a matter of great joy, to pray to God as our Father.

You can catch up on all the messages in the John series at:

http://www.communitychurchputney.com/community-church-putney--audio---resources.html