Our Father...Sample

Relearning Fatherhood

What does God’s fatherhood mean for your healing?

For some, the word “father” brings warmth and safety. For others, it carries pain or distance. By starting with 'Our Father,' Jesus offered both a truth to believe and a relationship to embrace. He invites us to relate to God not through the lens of broken earthly relationships, but through the wholeness of who God is.

Psalm 68:5 (NIV) describes God as “a father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling.” He is not a reflection of our earthly experiences, he is their perfection. Where earthly fathers may have failed, God is faithful. Where trust was broken, God is steady. Where affection was withheld, God lavishes love.

To become children again in prayer is also to heal the ways we’ve misunderstood what being a child of God really means. 1 John 3:1 (NIV) says, “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!”. This is the truth that reshapes our hearts.

Let this truth settle in today: God is not impatient with your learning. He is present in your relearning. He is father—not just in title, but in perfect, eternal love.

Prayer:
God, I bring my past experiences of fatherhood to you—both the good and the painful. I ask you to show me what kind of father you truly are. Help me to trust your heart and receive your love. Heal the places in me that still doubt your goodness.