Pray then like this: 'Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be Your Name.
We are taught to pray holding the tensions of two truths. Our Father, is a term of nearness. It draws us close to Him and brings us together as family. But our Father is also in Heaven, a picture of being very other, or far away.
Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?”
Our God is in the Heavens; He does all that He pleases. Psalm 115:2-3
To say that God is in Heaven differentiates Him from those idols that are made of human hands. He is not like those. In fact, Heaven can by synonymous with Him sitting on His throne. Heaven is where He rules from. God in Heaven shows He is untouchable, the one true God.
When we say, "God is in His Heavens," we mean that all is right with the world. The saying comes from a Robert Browning poem but was popularized because of the truth and comfort it conveys. God is on His throne; we can be at peace no matter the circumstance.
God is everywhere. He is near, like a protective and nurturing Father. But He also rules all creation from His throne in Heaven.
As I pray, following the teaching of Jesus, I come confidently to Him as a child but also with the awe and fear of the Presence of the Almighty God who can do all things.
For nothing will be impossible with God. Luke 1:37
