Being able to pray to God is an incredible privilege. And understanding who He is gives you a sense of how much of a privilege it really is. So, who is He? Solomon, a King from Old Testament times, said this to God in prayer: “Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you” (1Kings 8:27) Solomon had a good sense about who God is. He is so great, so powerful, so majestic that even the whole universe isn’t big enough to contain Him. Think about that!
When Jesus, the Son of God, walked this earth He taught His followers a model prayer. It begins with “Our Father in heaven.” That “in heaven” reminds you right away that God is that one and only God who is great and powerful and in perfect control of everything.
And you would think that such a great and majestic God wouldn’t have time for the likes of you and me. Why would He bother Himself with the little details of my life? What concern is it to Him when I scrape my knee or when my boyfriend ditches me?
But not so! We have the privilege of addressing Him as “Our Father in heaven”. Father – that speaks of a very close, a very intimate relationship. What a privilege! This God who is so “big” that the universe cannot contain Him allows me to call Him “Father.” It’s a privilege Christ Jesus gained for me by dying on the cross to pay for my sins. That’s huge!
It all means that my Father isn’t out there somewhere out of reach, disinterested in my scraped knee or broken heart. When I pray to Him He is right there. Jesus said “when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret.” (Matt. 6:6) It means that when you pray to your Father – the God who cannot be contained by the heavens – He is right there with you. If you are in your room praying, He is right there in your room with you, listening. He is listening as a Father who loves His child. He is listening as God who will, in His good time and His perfect way, respond to you.
What a privilege to pray to this God… this Father!