By Jeffery M. Leonard, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Religion, Samford University
The Object of Our Prayer
Matthew 6:9a;
Psalm 103:1–5, 11–13, 19–22
More years ago than I care to recall, I was able to spend a summer in Ivory Coast, West Africa, on a college missions trip.
As part of the trip I had the chance to put my meager linguistic skills to use by preaching a sermon in French in several of the churches we visited.
On one of these occasions a translator worked alongside me, taking what I said in French and turning it into one of the local Ivoirian dialects. I had practiced the sermon many times, so everything went just perfectly. Then they asked me to pray.
I froze. I could do the sermon just fine; I had practiced that. But praying wasn’t something they had covered at the university where I had studied French. Ask me to order croissants or to get directions to the Louvre. Ask me anything. Just not to pray.
I tried to remember words I had heard others use in prayer. I managed to squeak out a phrase or two.
When I had nothing left, I muttered under my breath the simplest prayer to God I could. I said softly in French, “Aide moi!” “Help me!”
My translator, thinking I was speaking to him instead of to God, immediately picked up where I had left off and finished the prayer. I remain convinced to this day that this was the fastest answer to prayer in all of recorded history.
While this was a humorous moment, at least in retrospect, it also highlights a very real challenge we often face. Even those of us who have been believers for many years can still find it quite difficult to know just how to pray.
The Apostle Paul admitted to the same difficulty when he assured the Roman believers that the Spirit intercedes for us “when we don’t know how to pray as we ought” (Rom. 8:26). Jesus’ disciples admitted to the same problem when they asked Jesus, “Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1).
Jesus’ response to the disciples was to give them the prayer we now know as the Lord’s Prayer.
This is the prayer that will be the focus of our lessons in the weeks to come. We begin with the simple words, “Our Father.”
The One we pray to desires
only good for us. (Ps. 103:1–5;
Matt. 6:9a)
As our Father, God only desires what is good for us. Our Father is the One who forgives us, the One who heals us, the One who redeems us, the One who crowns us with love and mercy. Our Father is the One who satisfies us with goodness.
The One we pray to is our
compassionate Father. (Ps. 103:11–13)
As we continue through the psalm, we are reminded that our Father also is the One who shows us compassion. Even when we go astray, our Father is the One who doggedly pursues us with mercy and grace, refusing to repay our sinfulness with the punishment our sin deserves.
The One we pray to is Almighty God. (Ps. 103:19–22)
Our Father also is the One who exercises authority over us. He is gracious, but He also is the Almighty.
While we are dust that returns to the dust, grass that withers and wind that fades away, our Father endures forever.
This can be intimidating, but ultimately it also is comforting. As Father, God forgives His children when they go astray. And as Father, God protects His children when they are in distress. Might and mercy meet in Him.
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