My wife Diane and I are doing a new Bible study on prayer. We are using a book called 28 Days to Powerful Prayer by Dave Earley. This book is geared to teach a new Believer or a seasoned Christian how to pray and pray with power.
My wife and I just finished reading Day 4, “Connecting with Your Heavenly Father.” One of the things that Earley teaches is when praying, call out to the Father as if you are calling out to your Dad or Daddy. God is a loving Father who wants to hear from us, not only daily, but throughout the day.
Earley wrote, “Prayer to your heavenly Father isn’t that complicated or difficult. In fact, it is easy when you realize that He:
- Really loves you: ‘See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!’ (1 John 3:1).
- Deeply cares for you: “As a father has compassion on His children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him.’ (Psalm 103:13).
- Is very near when you are hurting: ‘The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.’”[1]
One of the points from this chapter that stood out to me the most was the intimacy that a Believer can have with God, calling Him Abba Father. According to Earley, “the word Abba is an Aramaic term. First-century Jews spoke Hebrew at the temple and in school. They spoke Greek in the marketplace, but they spoke Aramaic at home and with the family. Abba is the most intimate term available in Hebrew, Greek, or Aramaic to express a child’s tender relationship with his father, and as such only children used the word. It could be translated as ‘Father’ or ‘Daddy’ or ‘Papa.”[2]
Earley also wrote, “The term Abba describes the unique relationship Jesus shared with His Heavenly Father.”[3]
If you recall, the night that Jesus was arrested, He was in the Garden of Gethsemane and was in earnest prayer with His Heavenly Father. Jesus prayed, “Abba Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will” (Mark 14:36).
As Followers of Jesus Christ, we can have that intimate relationship with Abba Father. He is our Father, who is in heaven. When we pray, we can pour out our hearts to Him, just as if we were talking to our earthly Daddy’s or Papa’s.
If you do not have an intimate relationship with God, you can have one through asking Jesus into your heart. Just pray to Him that you are a sinner, that you want Him to come into your life and into your heart. Confess your sins to Him, ask Him to forgive you, and go and sin no more. Jesus said that He will forgive you if you ask.
Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6.
Look what it says in John 3:16-17, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”
Romans 10:9-13, “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
I pray that you will have a true and fulfilling relationship with our Abba Father. I highly recommend that you obtain a copy of 28 Days to Powerful Prayer by Dave Earley. It will help to change your life as well as the way you pray to our Heavenly Father.
You can purchase this study through Amazon.com.
References:
Photo Credit: Dave Earley and Barbour Books
[1] Dave Earley, 28 Days to Powerful Prayer, (Barbour Books, 2020), 27-28. (Used by permission)
[2] Ibid., Earley, 28.
[3] Ibid., Earley, 28.
Copyright © February 5, 2020. Marketplace Evangelism Today, a publication of Marketplace Evangelism Ministries Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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