Jesus example prayer starts with a simple concept, yet there is so much in it. I hadn’t thought about the first word much, but Warren Wiersbe drew attention to it in his commentary on the book of Matthew, Be Loyal. Wiersbe points out that there no singular pronouns in the Lord’s prayer. They are all plural. While some cultures in the world have a more group mentality, there are many of us who live in individualistic societies. We too easily think of ourselves first. However, Jesus example shows us that we are to be thinking of others.

The next piece is God being our Father. For those of us who have a good Father this is a comforting thought. We have known the love, care and hard work that our earthly father showed to us. We have been able to see a picture of our Heavenly Father. For those who didn’t have a good earthly Father might have a harder time with this. Please know that God is the perfect Father. He never makes a mistake. He never does anything unloving.

One note – God is NOT everyone’s Father. Matthew 7:21-23 tells us that not everyone who claims to follow God will enter the kingdom of heaven. Romans tells us that placing our trust in Jesus Christ to be our Savior is the will of God. If you don’t know how to truly be a child of God, please talk to me. I would be happy to share what God has said. His way is perfect.