by Linda Schubert
We are invited by Jesus to pray, "Our Father..." but what does that really mean? Is God's fatherhood a vague concept or a life-changing reality? Come Holy Spirit, awaken our minds and hearts to what God wants to teach us about his fatherhood!
I am reminded of a moment in Budapest, Hungary, when I asked my translator what he would like me to pray for. We were ending a full day of ministry, and were now comfortable with each other. His eyes burned into mine as he cried out, "I want God to wake up my heart!" I was shaken by the passion in his voice.
Our heavenly Father is a passionate God. Out of his passionate love, everything proceeds. Through Jesus, we come to know his nature. Through the Holy Spirit we experience the power of his love.
That power is greater than any power that holds us down. His love is greater than our fear. His resources are greater than out need.
With deep emotion, Jesus invites us to call our Father "Abba." "...God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "'Abba,' Father" (Gal. 4:6). Abba is a word used by little Israeli children to refer to "Daddy." We are his children and he invites us to sit on his lap and freely talk to him as we would talk to our human father.
Many people struggle with calling God "Father" because of experiences with human fathers. Those with a loving father can more easily see their heavenly Father as loving. Yet, even those with loving human fathers need a bigger image of the fatherliness of God. Those with hurtful fathers tend to project that negativity and fear onto God.
My struggle with calling God "Father" was colored by my experiences of my father betraying me when I was a little girl. When I would run to him for a daddy hug, he would touch in ways that were not fatherly. I did not feel Safe in daddy's arms. I developed a pattern of running away from men that would take me in and out of several marriages. And I found it very hard to believe I could be safe in the arms of Father God.
God never abandons us in our brokenness. After I was baptized in the Holy Spirit as an adult convert, the Lord began a process of healing the father-wounds in my soul. Gently bringing to mind what was still imprisoning my heart, he would whisper: "Look at these hurts, Linda. Face the pain. And then look beyond the hurts to the greater truth of who you are in my love. Let me be what you need." I would respond, "I give you permission to heal me." By his grace, I could choose to forgive, to forget, to let go. He invited me to receive and to enter into my true nature as a daughter of my Father in heaven.
The Lord also showed me his compassion for my human father. Once when some old painful father memories were stirred, I heard the compassionate voice of my heavenly Father: "Your father didn't know how to love or do things right. He just didn't know how." I believe I was able to hear those words because the Holy Spirit had spoken the scripture into my heart: "Honor your father and mother that it will go well with you" (Eph. 6:2-3).
One time in prayer I asked my heavenly Father, "How have I offended you?" His response was warm and clear: "You still don't trust me." He wants us to trust him. He knows us intimately and wants us to know him intimately. Intimacy requires trust. Shocked, I asked, "How don't I trust you?" The reply was clear and practical: "In health and in finances." As a cancer survivor I had a tendency to fear that every ache and pain Meant a return of the dreaded disease. And as a single woman dependent on the Lord for every dollar, sometimes fear would overshadow his promise of provision. He had me spend time recording on cassette every "trust" scripture I could find, listening to them again and again.
As our loving Father, he desires the best for us. Once I heard his audible voice, promising to give me my heart's desire if I would use the freedom he gave me to honor him. I didn't understand what he meant, but I wrote it down and reflected on it periodically. At the time I was experimenting with little writing projects. Some years later, when I had begun traveling and giving seminars, I was drawn into our Father's throne room in an extraordinary vision. He took me by the hand and led me to an open door, where I saw an almost endless line of people. He spoke words of fatherly comfort and protection. "These are the people I have prepared to help you on the next stage of your journey." He was telling me that when he sent me to the far corners of the earth to fulfill his plan for my life (in little writing projects and simple teachings), his people would be there to help me. "Fear not" is one of his favorite phrases. "Perfect love casts out all fear" (1 John 4:18).
Within a span of about six years I co-authored nine books with Fr. Robert DeGrandis, and then wrote the amazingly popular prayer booklet Miracle Hour, which has taken me to about twenty-five countries. The Lord also had me begin conducting healing services on the Father's blessing, based on a book written partly for my own healing. Some of the deepest healings I have witnessed have been through these healing services. A Christian leader once said that the father wound "is the deepest wound on earth." In Italy an old man's back was healed and a middle aged woman was delivered. The Holy Spirit awakened them to their Father's powerful love and they opened themselves to receive the healing he offered.
We are invited by Jesus to pray "Our Father." Let us continue to allow the Holy Spirit to unfold the meaning of those words.
Heavenly Father,
Thank you for parenting me.
Thank you for the grace to honor my human father and respect him as
your choice for me. Thank you for healing any crippling father
memories. Forgive me for the times I have murmured, "If God really
loved me he would do this, or do that..."
Forgive me for the times I have believed I was not loveable. I receive your love. You are my creator, and I believe your words that I am wonderfully made. I trust you to bring good out of the worst situations as I entrust them to you. Thank you for giving me the ability to trust you in everything, especially when you say to me, as you said to your Son at the Jordan, "You are my beloved child. With you I am well pleased" (Lk. 3:22). Amen.
Reprinted with permission from the January/February/March issue of the CHARISCENTER USA Newsletter.
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