Second Thoughts (on "Our Father In Heaven") | Letters to a Samuel Generation
by Rachel Starr Thomson
written May 2004
“After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father, which art in heaven...”
The second line of the Lord's Prayer always seemed a little superfluous to me. God is God. Of course He's in heaven. Another thing: when I first began to study the prayer, I didn't like that line much. I wanted God to be on Earth, where I assumed He was better able to hear and help me. And of course, He is on earth. He is everywhere, a mystery which my little sisters and brothers can discuss for hours (“is God in that chair? is He in the toothpaste tube?”). God is in Heaven, and He is on Earth.
So why “our Father, which art in heaven”? Why did Jesus take the time to include these words in this prayer of all prayers?
First of all, to say that God is in Heaven is to say that He is above. This is important. He is above my problems; He is “the rock that is higher than I.’ By this I do not mean that He is far away or uncaring. I mean that He is above life's difficulties; therefore He is not tangled up in them. I sink in the storm, He walks on the water. I am a ground squirrel, running here and there, ears perked up for danger but unable to comprehend that which is more than a few feet away. He is the eagle, soaring high above, whose eyes see and understand the whole where I can only see a small part. Now and then He comes down and covers me with His feathers. I nestle under the shadow of His wings and sleep in peace, content to trust Him, because He is above me.
I've decided that I very much like having a God who is not tied down by gravity; a God who can't be confused or shaken or fooled. My rock, my fortress, my high tower—my Father in Heaven.
Order your hardbound copy now from Little Dozen Press or buy from Amazon.com
