Attaching to Our Father Through the Lord’s Prayer by Cyd and Geoff Holsclawනියැදිය

Who Is in the Heavens

When I (Cyd) was a kid, I used to have a special tree that I climbed whenever I was upset. In that tree, I would talk out loud about all the things that were bothering me to the God I hoped was there. I had heard he was in heaven, and I figured climbing that tree got me a little closer to where God was.

The idea of heaven often makes us think of somewhere spiritual, mystical, and supernatural.Some place far from here. But in the common language of Jesus, heaven (singular) or the heavens (plural) often just meant the sky.

When you look up and see the big blue sky, and especially the expansive night sky filled with stars—that was heaven, or the heavens.

So Jesus is telling us that Our Father is expansive like the sky.

And not just our sky—what we can see.

But all the skies—all the heavens—that all people can see.

This is good news because God is always with you—no matter where you are, or what is happening. And God is in all the places you can’t be in, caring for the people you feel powerless to help.

It might feel threatening that God is everywhere, all the time, watching you because of your experience with your earthly father. But God is a good, joy-filled Father who is repairing our ruptures.

This is why Jesus starts by reminding us that our good Father is the opposite of evil before telling us to pray, “who is in the heavens.”

We need to remember that the one who is everywhere is a Father who is ready to repair our ruptures. A Father who welcomes anyone home, no matter how long they’ve been away and what they’ve been up to when they were gone.

Because God is in the heavens, our Father is

• ready to see your distress,
• able to hear your cry,
• knows what to do, and
• is able to do it.

In other words, our Father is available to you.

And our Father is with us and available to us because this Father is as expansive as the heavens.

AS YOU PRAY…

As you continue trying on the Lord’s Prayer, try to feel and imagine

• that your Father is closer to you than you normally think (and if God never feels close, then just imagine God being across the street instead across the universe);
• that your Father is available to the situation you are in;
• that your Father is attuned to what is going on with you; and
• that your Father is close, available, and attuned to the people you can’t be close, available, or attuned to.