In cultures throughout the world and throughout time, names have held power. Knowing (or not knowing) someone’s name can make all the difference towards being inside or outside of a community.

John 17: “Righteous Father, though the world does not know You, I know You, and they know that You have sent me. 26 I have made Your Name known to them, and will continue to make You known in order that the love You have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”

Luke 11:1 One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When He finished, one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”

The Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6: 9-13) “Our Father which art in Heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.”

Throughout the Old Testament, God is only referred to as “Father” 12 times and only in metaphorical ways. "Yet, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter." (Isa. 64:8) Jesus refers to God as Father over 175 times in the Gospels (6 times in John 17).

The word Father was typically translated into the common written language of Greek as “pater”, which is a formal term for father…like in our culture. The Aramaic term, abba, was much more informal…like “dad” or “daddy.”

Mark 14: Going a little farther, [Jesus] fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. 36 “Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”

For the Jewish people…this idea of thinking about AND praying to God as your Father would seem completely irreverent and appalling! Yet…this is how Jesus prayed and instructed His disciples to pray, as well.

Romans 8: The Apostle Paul continues to stunningly use the terms of “adoption” and “heirs” to refer to our relationship to God… who is now our Abba Father through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ.