(Matthew 6:9-13) Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us today our daily bread.  And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

When Jesus came to earth to save us, his prayers were always addressed to his Father.  When he taught his disciples to pray, he started them with “Our Father”.  In that prayer there is an intimacy in the word “our” that I hadn’t noticed before.  When we pray the Lord’s Prayer, we are praying to our Father with our brother Jesus.

Paul tells us in Romans 8:29, “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the first born among many brothers and sisters.”  Our savior is also our oldest brother.  We are God’s children.  When we pray “Our Father” we are praying with our Brother Jesus who taught us to pray.

We are not abandoned; we are included. We belong to an eternal family with God as our Father and Jesus our brother.  There is a closeness available to us through Jesus that is offered by our Father because he loves us, and he has chosen us to be his. 

On the day we go to be with our Father God and our Brother Jesus, our place within the family will be fully understood.  I don’t think we can completely comprehend this now, but be of good cheer knowing that we are included.  Our prayers are supported and encouraged by Jesus the one who taught us to pray “Our Father”.