In the Life of Christ
November 13, 2026
“Father, hallowed be your name.” — Luke 11:2 (NIV)
When a disciple asked Jesus to teach them to pray, Jesus gave them a word they could use before they had sorted out what they wanted to say. Father. I sometimes hurry past that word because I already have a need in mind. I know who I want God to help and what I hope He will do. But Jesus starts by showing me whom I am speaking to. Before I ask for bread, forgiveness, or protection, I am invited to address the God who hears me as Father. That invitation matters on a quiet morning, and it matters at midnight when I can scarcely put a sentence together.
Jesus joins that familiar word to a reverent request. “Hallowed be your name.” The Greek verb behind hallowed, hagiazō, means to sanctify or treat as holy. Jesus is teaching us to ask that God be honored for who He is. I can pray that His name will be honored in my home, then ask what that might mean when I speak to someone I find difficult. I can pray that His name will be honored in my work, then tell the truth when a mistake would be easier to conceal. The Father who welcomes us in prayer teaches us to honor Him in the way we live.
Alistair Begg reflects on how a child can belong to a family by adoption and still need time to feel at home. A parent may notice the first time the child comes looking for comfort without stopping at the doorway to wonder whether it is all right to ask. I think many of us understand that hesitation in prayer. We may readily say that God receives those who come through Christ, yet still wonder how He will receive us after a week in which we have failed Him. The cross gives us somewhere to look when that fear rises. Christ gave Himself to redeem us and bring us into the Father’s family. Our place in God’s family rests on what Christ has done, even on days when we struggle to feel at home.
Paul tells the Galatians that God sent “the Spirit of his Son into our hearts,” and that the Spirit calls out, “Abba, Father” (Galatians 4:6, NIV). Abba is Aramaic for “Father.” The Jamieson-Fausset-Brown commentary says that the Spirit, in leading us to cry to the Father, “attests your sonship by adoption.” Paul’s order is worth noticing. The Father sends the Spirit because we are His children. The Spirit helps us pray from within that relationship, and over time He teaches us to live as people who are loved. As we hear Scripture, confess sin, and receive the patience of fellow believers, we grow more accustomed to trusting the One who has welcomed us.
I think of Jesus in Gethsemane, praying “Abba, Father” as He faced the cross (Mark 14:36, NIV). He spoke plainly about the suffering before Him and placed Himself in His Father’s hands. If the word Father feels difficult because of what you have known in your own family, take your time with that scene. Let Jesus show you what it means to bring your fears to God. You can begin today with the one word He gave His disciples. Say Father, name one thing you are carrying, and ask Him to help you honor Him in how you carry it.
In Luke 11:2, Jesus teaches us to approach God with the trust of a child and the reverence due His holy name. Galatians 4:4–7 shows how that prayer becomes ours. The Son redeems us, the Father receives us as His children, and the Holy Spirit helps us call on Him from the heart.
As you go about your day, be willing to share one thing you are learning about Jesus. If someone wonders how to pray, you might tell them why you have learned to begin with Father. Give them room to tell you what that word brings to mind.
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