The Phil Files

It is very late on Friday night and I received a call from the hospital. A father called about his grown daughter (with two kids near the teenage years) who is having emergency surgery as I write this. We prayed over the phone, but I can’t get his concern off of my heart.

I share his concern because I care about him and his daughter, who has battled Crohn’s disease for much of her adult life. We are brothers and sisters in Christ — so when we pray, it is “our” shared concern and so we pray to “our Father” as fathers who care about their kids.

I share his concern because I am a father, too. My kids are always on my heart, but they are especially on my heart right now as they face interesting challenges and great opportunities. So as a father, I pray for our family’s shared concerns and joys by beginning “our Father.”

I pray “our Father” because Jesus emphasized the importance of community and that we are children of God. The Only True and Living God, the Holy and Righteous One, God Almighty, invites us to come and call Him “abba Father” as we pray and the Spirit intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words (Romans 8).

So why not join me tonight, as I pray the Lord’s Prayer, remembering my friend and his daughter, feeling a burden for a close couple friend who wrestle with their grief as they miss their son, loving my own children wanting what is best for them, and knowing that some of you who read this carry burdens that only the Heavenly Father can help you carry.

“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.”

Let’s help each other remember that we are not alone, and by praying “our Father” we remind ourselves of God’s constant and abiding presence (Romans 8:32-39) and our shared family of faith.

“Our Father” please hear our hearts, restore our spirits, and fire our imaginations as we seek to honor You.

For or yours is the kingdom and the power
and the glory forever. Amen.’”