A Prayer

Father,

You have told us that to live, to really live, is bound up in knowing You, the only true God. And because of Your kind grace, we believe You. Life really is all about knowing You. So, we thank You that You have allowed us to come to know You. But there is more to know about You, Father, much more than what we now know. And so, we ask that You would reveal to us more of who You are. We want to know You better.

You have said that You are the God who is to be feared. Knowing You better will mean fearing You more. But, Father, what does it mean to fear You? It can't mean that we are to cower in some corner wondering if You're going to erupt in rage, dreading the possibility. That just isn't You. But what does it mean? We know that there are so many who have such superficial thoughts of You, so many for whom the notion of fearing You has no place in their hearts. We don't want to be like that. But we're not sure what it means to fear You.

What makes this more confusing, Father, is that, well, You are our Father. You have made it clear to us that You are gentle and kind. You tenderly care for us. Whatever it means to be a truly loving father, that's You. We are so grateful that You are this to us. Life would be so very different and so very difficult if You weren't a father to us. But how do we put this together with that other thought. How are we to fear You, our loving Father? What does that mean?

There is much here that we just don't understand. And that could get very frustrating. But You have promised to tell us whatever it is that we need to know. All we need do is ask. So, we are asking. Reveal more of who You are to us. Teach us what it means that You are our dear Father whom we are to fear.

We ask this so that we would gain more of the life that You have promised us. But our desires are not ultimately about ourselves. We realize that it is as we know You better and gain more life that we will be able to display the beauty of Your grace to a very needy world. So, Father, we ask that You would grant this request for the sake of the world that they might come to know You. As they join us in knowing and enjoying You, they will honor Your Name. And that is always the most important thing. We ask these things, Father, through Christ our Lord, Amen.

John 17.3, Proverbs 28.14, Romans 8.15