When Jesus was teaching His disciples how to pray He instructed them to address God as our Father. (Matthew 6:9).
In Mark 14:36 Jesus cried out to God and addressed Him as Abba Father. “And He said, Abba, Father, all things are possible for You.”
This name Abba reflects a relationship of personal intimacy which also consists of our submission, dependence, and trust in God.
That same intimacy that Jesus had with God is available to all born again Christians. Romans 8:14-15 and Galatians 4:6 explain that when you accept Jesus as Your Savior, you become adopted by God and are entitled to all the advantages of His natural Son (Jesus). What a wonderful privilege we have as an adopted child of God to be able to call Him Abba Father.
Unfortunately, it is often difficult to know God as He really is. We may view Him based on our experiences with our earthly father. For example, If our earthly father was absent in our life, we could see God as not being there or not providing for us. If our father was abusive we might look at God as unloving. An authoritative father could cause us to form our relationship with God based only on rules rather than intimacy.
The story of the prodigal son in Luke 15 expresses the unconditional love the father has for his sons. Not only did he accept the son who left home and squandered his inheritance, the father also reached out to the older son who was filled with anger. Both were rebellious and both received grace from their father. This is a picture of God’s love for us
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Isaiah 30:18 gives us a beautiful description of the love that Our Father, Abba God, has for us. “And therefore the Lord [earnestly] waits [expecting, looking, and longing] to be gracious to you; and therefore He lifts Himself up, that He may have mercy on you and show loving-kindness to you. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) are all those who [earnestly] wait for Him, who expect and look and long for Him [for His victory, His favor, His love, His peace, His joy, and His matchless, unbroken companionship]!
Abba Father, open our eyes to the revelation of Your heart for us, a Father’s heart. Help us to see the reality of Who You are.
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