It was a simple moment with a simple comment, but it hit me like a ton of bricks:
“Think of it as wanting to hang out with your dad.”
That’s all he said to extract, “Our Father” from The Lord’s Prayer, and turn it into a deeply resonating Holy Spirit nudge.
Immediately I pictured my sweet little boys who absolutely adore hanging out with their dad.
They want to play hockey with Chris.
They want to have wrestling matches.
They want to build puzzles … and hang out in front of the fireplace … and run around the backyard … and learn new board games … and eat nachos together … because they enjoy spending time with Chris.
And they enjoy spending time with Chris because he cares for them, loves them, listens to them, supports them, hugs them, laughs with them, shows genuine interest in them and is always there for them.
Never had I considered that this, too, is exactly how my Heavenly Father wants me to view Him.
He wants me to want to play, watch, wrestle, build, hang out, run around, learn, eat, be, do, share, grow and live in relationship with Him for the simple reason that I enjoy spending time with Him.
And I can enjoy spending time with Him because I can trust that He cares for me, loves me, listens to me, supports me, hugs me, laughs with me, shows genuine interest in me and is always there for me.
Interestingly enough, when you start The Lord’s Prayer with, “Hey Dad” in mind, it has the power to reshape the meaning of every other word that follows.
“Our Father” is a reverence and respect sort-of-thing, which our Heavenly Father is so deserving of.
But a, “Hey Dad,” is a, “Can we hang out?” sort-of-thing, which a good Dad tells their kid they’re so deserving of.
Think of prayer as wanting to hang out with your dad.
