Address

When someone asks me my address these days I have to stop and think. Its not that I have a hard time remembering but I have to think about which address should I give out. I have a street address, mailing address, work address and a half dozen email addresses to choose from.

I tried to order a package and the delivery service said my address was not in the system. I had to use someone else’s address to get my package. I found that amazing since I can go online and type in my address and the online service will show me a picture of my front porch. It is an old picture, the green pickup I used to own is still in the driveway, but anyone with a computer can find my house.

There is one address we never have to worry about. We know how to find God. Jesus gave us His address when He taught us how to pray. He said, “Pray then like this: Our Father in heaven…” (Matthew 6:9, ESV)

We address our prayers to “Our Father” because this defines the relationship we have with the one who can answer our prayers. He is Our father because we have chosen to have this relationship. We acknowledge the uniqueness and intimacy of a father and child relationship that can happen only when two people who are related to each other spend time developing that relationship. He is father to us because He chose to create us and to further have this relationship with us. “We love him because he first loved us.” (1 John 4:19, ESV).

We address our prayers to “Our Father in heaven,” because that is where His throne is. His presence is here with us. Heaven is His throne, where He rules, and where He issues the answers to our prayers. You might say that heaven is where He gets His mail. When we pray the Lord’s Prayer there is a reason for every word that Jesus taught us to pray. It is a model, an outline, for prayer and for effective praying. He taught us to pray because He desires a relationship with us. We pray because we desire a relationship with God, and prayer works.

When I first moved away from home to go to college I looked forward to the occasional letters I got from home. On a visit home I told mom that she could write more often if she wanted. She told me that if I wrote more often she would write me back. Dad told me that in the army they said if you want them you have to write them. That may seem too simple for some of us. If we want to hear from God remember that He wants to hear from us. We know His address and He knows ours. God answers prayer. Our part is to pray.
Bro. Robin