This post is part of a 40-day journey following Jesus in his prayer life. We’ll explore virtually every reference in the Gospels to Jesus and prayer. For a more in-depth treatment, see my book Prayers from the Pit.
New Testament scholar I. Howard Marshall joins others in showing that Jesus’ use of “Father” set his prayers apart from others of the day. In the Old Testament, the word Father is used over 1,200 times. In the New Testament, the word is used over 400 times. These figures are about what we would expect since the Old Testament is three times the length of the New and therefore has about three times as many references to Father.
But if we count only the number of times that “Father” is used with reference to God, then we find that only 40 (3%) of the occurrences of the word in the Old Testament refer to God. In the New Testament 260 (63%) of the occurrences refer to God. Thus, the New Testament takes a giant leap forward from the Old Testament in speaking about God as Father. How do we explain this leap? What happened from the Old Testament to the New Testament?
Marshall suggests it’s not what happened, but who happened—Jesus. Jesus habitually referred to God as Father in his teaching. In addition, Jesus repeatedly spoke of God as Father in his prayers. Others before Jesus had spoken of God as Father and prayed to God as Father. But none as regularly as Jesus. None as frequently as Jesus. Jesus’ laser-like focus on God as Father in his teaching and prayers led to “Father” becoming the dominant way of understanding God in the New Testament.
Every time we pray, “Father, help me…” or “Father, please be with …” or “Our Father in heaven…” we have Jesus to thank.
Besides “Father,” what are some other ways you think of God as you pray to him? In what ways is “Father” the best way to think of God as you pray? How does it feel to know that God sees you as his child when you pray to him?
