This morning was a typical morning. I got the children off to school for the day. My husband got ready, and then he set off to work for the day. And I began my normal routine for the day. God, in usual fashion, touched me in a way that continues to transform me in my sanctification process. I listened to some podcasts that included the current news followed by teachings on various Bible topics. And one of those teachings lit up my heart.
A sermon preached by Dr. Timothy Keller at Redeemer Presbyterian Church on April 23, 1995 entitled, “Basis of Prayer: ‘Our Father'” in his series on the Lord’s Prayer as found in Matthew 6:6-15 led me to a beautiful realization. He said that there are two ways in which we can approach God in prayer. We can approach Him as a boarder or as a child of His.
A boarder is someone who is renting a space from a landlord. This person has a relationship built on getting from one or the other. It is based on a “what can you provide for me, and what can I provide to get that” kind of relationship. In a boarder mindset (or heart-set), we have a business relationship with God. God is our King. He is our Creator. We are performing in order to receive a good or service. This type of relationship is cold and mechanical. It has nothing to do with the betterment of the other party involved.
This sounds like a way that I have found myself coming to God in prayer. I talk to Him saying the words I think are necessary to “get my prayers heard”. It seems more of like me coming to a bank teller and saying what I need to say to retrieve money from my account or to put money into my account. At times, my prayer tends to be more like that bank interaction. And then when I go to retrieve “blessings”, I act as though I put in the necessary amount because I “blessed” someone. It sounds silly to say out loud, but if I am truly honest in my assessment of my prayer life, I have definitely done this. However, I can take heart because He has definitely seen me as a child and not an account holder.
I am a child of the Father. He is my Father. I am confident in that. And in that confidence, I can come to Him as a child and not a tenant or bank account holder. Praise God! In this familial relationship, I can come to Him with a posture of love and care toward Him. He already does this with me and you. He is already compassionate and lovingly wanting the best for us. Our interactions can be warm and friendly rather than cold and mechanical. Even within a family, we can become upset with each other, but we still have that family tie that allows us to care for one another.
One of the examples that Dr. Keller put forth in his teaching was that we all have family members that if they were not family members we would have nothing to do with them based on how they have behaved. I am pretty confident that we ALL have at least one. However, whether it be a sibling, cousin, aunt, uncle, parent, niece, nephew, grandparent, etc…, because they are in our family, we tolerate some things more than we would anyone labeled friend, acquaintance, coworker, boss, neighbor, etc… It is more of grace and mercy than judgment, right? Praise God, He looks at His children with compassion, grace, and mercy. I would up the creek without a paddle, if you know what I mean.
As a child, He sees us in a different way, and in turn, we can see Him in a different way. Those who are not His children – those who do not believe in His Son – can’t see His as the loving Father that He is. Their hearts are “dull”; their ears are “heavy”; their eyes are “blind”. It is only in Jesus that we can come to the Father. The quote that I actually wrote down from Dr. Keller to have word for word is:
Jesus does not just point the way to God; He is the way to God.
If we are in Christ, we can come to Him. We are to look on, be in, and be of Christ Jesus. Only Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. This truth is found in John 14:6. No one comes to the Father except through Him. As our Lord and King, Jesus allows us to be family.
How do you approach God? Is it as King, Lord, or Creator? Those are all true about God. But in coming to Him in prayer, how do you approach Him? If you believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God, you can come to Him as “Our Father who art in heaven”…
Gotta go fill up my cup…..
Coffee with Candee 