God Our Heavenly Father

I recall sitting in the prayer room and reading many prayer requests. I noticed one common thread. The requests were all centered on self-will—what ‘I’ want, what ‘I’ need for God to do. The emphasis was on ‘me’, ‘my’, and ‘mine’.  Please keep reading so that you don’t misunderstand the inspirational enlightenment of this article.  None of the requests had anything to do with God’s will, plan, or purpose. There were no requests for ‘more’ of God. There were no prayer requests for spiritual growth, to know God, to have a deeper relationship with Christ or revival.

I know the Bible says “…let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6)Yes, Jesus said, “… ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you” (Matthew 7:8-11; Luke 11:9-13). These passages both speak to the infinite Fatherhood of God and His faithfulness to His children who are persistent in prayer.However, within the context of Luke 11:9-13, Luke is specific about what the Father will give if we ask, seek and knock.

11 If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? 13 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” (Luke 11:11-13 NKJV)

Conclusively, the character of our heavenly Father is such that we can always trust Him to give what is good for us according to His sovereign plan and purpose for our lives. Sure, we should let our requests be made known to God. Ask! However, we must refocus and make sure that our will is not the object of our prayer requests based on what we ‘think’ is good for us. Sometimes God uses adversity and painful times in our lives to bring out the ‘good’ He has purposed for us and even our family. He is a good, good Father! His unconditional love for us all was demonstrated in the death of His Son, Jesus of Nazareth on the Cross. Moreover, His resurrection from the dead secured our eternal life.

Every year my perspective changes on Father’s Day as I reflect on my heavenly Father. At one time the day had no meaning for me. There was no reason to celebrate because I had no relationship with my biological father. Perhaps, like me, many of you grew up without a father in your home or in your life, period. Hopefully, like me, you have experienced the unconditional love of the Heavenly Father.  Yes, I had so many questions. To this day, I have no answers as to why my father was not a part of life. Guess what? It is not important; I stopped asking. I became confident in the loving relationship as the daughter of my heavenly Father. The more I focused on my identity in Christ, the spirit of rejection and abandonment were broken off my life and I was healed, delivered, and set free.

I admit I do not like the challenges of life.  I am sure you don’t either. We do not like to ‘go through’ the process to get where Father God is taking us.  Yes, we pray for Him to change the situation—make things comfortable, take the pain away. But the more appropriate questions are: Is the situation working for my good? Does the pain have a purpose? Is what I am facing for my good although it hurts? What lessons to be learned?  The psalmist said, “It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes” (Psalm 119:71). We must take the focus off ourselves—our need and our will. We must refocus on the loving, infinite Fatherhood of God. He is the Sovereign Lord! He is our all-knowing and all-powerful Father.  He has scripted our lives to fit into His plan and purpose. He is our faithful Father, who loves us unconditionally. He wants us to ask, seek, and knock—be persistent in prayer. However, we must trust Him to answer according to His will, plan, and purpose for our lives. He is more concerned about His children than any earthly father and He will give the most precious gift of all—Himself, His Holy Spirit.

©2018, 2020 Queen E. Phillips, Majestic Worldwide Ministries, Inc. All rights reserved.