The Westminster Shorter Catechism
Q100. What doth the Preface
of the Lord’s Prayer teach us?
A. The preface of the Lord’s Prayer—(which is, Our Father which art in heaven[1])—
teacheth us to draw near to God with all holy reverence and confidence,
as children to a father,
able and ready to help us;[2]—and that we should pray with and for others.[3]
[1] Matthew 6:9; [2] Romans 8:15; Luke 11:13; [3] Acts 12:5; 1 Timothy 2:1–2.
Three parts can be discerned from the Lord’s Prayer: the preface, the petitions, and the conclusion. The preface is in these words, “Our Father which art in heaven.” This phrase, as with every word in the Lord’s Prayer, is instructive for us.
These words, “Our Father,” teach us firstly, to draw near to God with delight
and filial love, as would children to their fathers. Though God is high and
transcendent, we must not approach Him with trembling as if He is a capricious
tyrant. “For,” says Paul, “ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to
fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba,
Father” (Rom 8:15). Secondly, we ought to come to God in prayer confidently,
believing in His all-sufficiency and His readiness to help us, for He is
willing and “able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think,
according to the power that worketh in us” (Eph 3:20; cf. Mt 7:11). Thirdly, we
must pray to God with and for others, He being a common Father unto all His
people (Eph 6:18).
Now, we must carefully note that since the Lord teaches His disciples to pray
by addressing God as “Our Father,” and Paul tells us that we can call God
Father only because we have received the Spirit of adoption. It therefore
follows that we may not call upon the Father together with unbelievers, though unbelievers should be urged to seek the
Lord. It would as such be wrong for Christian children to recite the Lord’s
Prayer together with their unbelieving classmates in school. Similarly, it
would be wrong for a Christian to recite the Lord’s Prayer in a Roman Catholic
church or in an ecumenical service.
Nevertheless, Christians must pray unto God, not only for other believers, but
also for all men. That is, we must
pray, not only for the Church in general (Ps 122:6), but also for the nation
wherein we live. We must pray for the government (1 Tim 2:1–2), and we must
pray not only for our friends, but also for our enemies (Mt 5:44).
But just in case, we are wont to approach our earthly fathers with disrespect
or contemptuous familiarity, the words, “which art in heaven,” teach us to draw
near unto God with all holy reverence. We must always remember that there is a
great distance between God and us since God is not our earthly father, but our
heavenly Father. Solomon puts it this way: “Be not rash with thy mouth, and let
not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven,
and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few” (Ecc 5:2).
In summary, the preface, “Our Father, which art in heaven,” teaches us that we
must approach God with confident reverence. Confidence, because of the Spirit
of adoption, as well as the mediatorship of Christ (Heb 4:15–16). Reverence,
because we are mere men, while He is transcendent God.