The Lord's Prayer (Part 1), Words to pray, or a posture to be in?

Today, 3/23, I spoke at KeyStone Church in Colorado Springs, CO. By request, below are a portion of my notes. Soon I will also pot the podcast link to this blog.

First, "Our Father"

Our Father - up until that point no one had ever referred to GOD as their Father, only as Jesus' Father 

• In the entire OT there are only 14 references to GOD as a Father, 3 specifically reference to Solomon, the others are to the fatherless, as an analogy, or as a Father to a nation. In the NT, there are 256 references to GOD as Father. 
• Prior to this it was Yaweh, El Shaddai, and Jehovah with the attributes associated with that.

How would the Jews have thought of GOD as their Father?

• What is the function of a Father? To protect, to love, the head of a family, the one to give an inheritance, someone close by to confide in.
• A Hebrew boy, if not chosen to be a Rabbi, would follow in his father's profession

Major mind shift already to a Hebrew who, for the past 4,000 years, only access GOD through a priest, rituals and certain holidays. "You mean to tell me GOD, YAWEH, is as close to me as a Father?" 

• Through simply teaching His disciples to think, "Our Father", making it personal, Jesus was teaching them of a salvation where GOD was fully present and fully adopting them as His own
• First Born – Since Jesus had referred to GOD as His Father, and now including the disciples as part of the family. And Jesus was the first born.

Second, "who art in heaven"

• The Hebrew word Jesus used here for Heaven was not what we think as the "pie in the sky", floating on clouds, big guy upstairs type Heaven. 
• The Hebrew word He used was literally translated, "the air I breathe." 
• Again, another mind blow! The thought that GOD was very distant and not accessible was just thrown out by Jesus! He tells them that GOD is as close to them as the air they breathe. 
• Again, let's take this into function, what comes to mind when you think of the AIR you are breathing as a function?
• It's your life source, and not only around you, but IN you!
• So a Hebrew man would have thought, GOD is all around me, all the time, my very life source, and inside of me! 

Next, "Hallowed be Your Name."

• How many know what it means to "Hallow" something?
• To hallow something means to stop in reverence or awe and become aware. 
• Names in Hebrew culture were very important. It was actually a tag for your character.
• Which is why Jesus renamed Peter. He was changing his character
• So to the Name of GOD, was His character, or His nature. 
• When we pray to Jehovah Jirah, we're praying for the providing characteristic of GOD
• Or Jehovah Rapha, the healing characteristic of GOD
• Let's put this all together now as a Hebrew would understand what Jesus was saying:

"My Father, the giver of my inheritance, my protector, my provider, and the one whom I'll follow; who is as close to me as the air I breathe and living in me my life source, I stop in awe and become aware of You, Your character and Holiness."

What Jesus was teaching at the beginning here is prayer isn't as much an action as it is a posture

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Prayer isn't words or quiet time or what we've made to be as a performance, but instead it's a posture of becoming aware of GOD's Presence, right here, right now.