{"id":3210,"date":"2026-11-09T22:29:06","date_gmt":"2026-11-09T22:29:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chuckhilltoday.com\/?p=3210"},"modified":"2026-11-09T22:34:31","modified_gmt":"2026-11-09T22:34:31","slug":"how-we-view-god-impacts-how-we-pray-to-god","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chuckhilltoday.com\/index.php\/2026\/11\/09\/how-we-view-god-impacts-how-we-pray-to-god\/","title":{"rendered":"HOW WE VIEW GOD IMPACTS HOW WE PRAY"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cThis, then, is how you should pray: \u2018Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name\u2026\u2019\u201d<\/em>
Matthew 6:9 (NIV)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the past several days, I’ve been spending some of my personal devotional time studying the Lord’s Prayer. It’s a passage I’ve read, taught, and prayed many times over the years. But one of the things I love about God’s Word is how the Lord can use something so familiar to remind us of truths we still need to understand more deeply. That’s been my experience this week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As I’ve reflected on the opening words of this prayer, I’ve found myself thinking about my own relationship with God and how I approach Him. And this morning, I was reminded of something that challenged me personally: The way I view God has a profound influence on the way I pray.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Think about it. If we see God as distant, harsh, angry, or uninterested in our lives, our prayers (if we pray at all) will likely reflect that perspective. We may approach Him with hesitation, uncertainty, or even fear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But when Jesus taught His disciples to pray, He began with two simple (but beautiful) words:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur Father\u2026\u201d<\/em> — Matthew 6:9 (NIV)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What a wonderful reminder of who God is! He’s not distant or disengaged. He’s a loving Father who knows us, cares for us, and welcomes us into His presence. He understands our needs, knows our struggles, and remains faithful even when life is difficult.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, I recognize that not everyone has experienced the love and care of a good earthly father. But our Heavenly Father isn’t defined by the limitations or failures of earthly fathers. Instead, He reveals what a loving father is truly meant to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And through Jesus, we’re invited to know Him personally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The more I’ve reflected on this passage, the more I’ve come to appreciate that Jesus was doing something greater than simply teaching His disciples\u00a0how<\/em>\u00a0to pray.\u00a0He was helping them understand\u00a0<\/strong>who<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0they were praying to.<\/strong> And that changes everything! Because, prayer isn’t merely a religious obligation or something we turn to when life becomes difficult. It’s an expression of our relationship with God. We come before Him not because we’ve earned His attention, but because, through Christ, we’ve been welcomed into His family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So while we approach Him with reverence, we can also approach Him with confidence. The God whose name is holy is also the Father who invites us to draw near. So, the next time you pray, don’t rush past those first two words. Instead…PAUSE and allow them to shape your understanding of the One you’re speaking to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur Father\u2026\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My prayer for you today is that you’ll grow in your understanding of who God is and discover the joy of knowing Him personally. Because when we begin to see God as Jesus reveals Him, it changes more than the way we pray. It changes the way we live.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Personal Prayer<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Heavenly Father, thank You for loving me and inviting me into a personal relationship with You. Help me to see You as You truly are, rather than allowing my fears, circumstances, or past experiences to shape my understanding of You. Teach me to approach You with both reverence and confidence, trusting in Your goodness and faithfulness. May my prayers reflect a heart that is growing closer to You each day. In Jesus’ name, Amen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cThis, then, is how you should pray: \u2018Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name\u2026\u2019\u201dMatthew 6:9 (NIV) Over the past several days, I’ve been spending …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[19,20,1],"tags":[32,14,13,273,136,272],"class_list":["post-3210","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","category-daily-posts","category-uncategorized","tag-god","tag-hope","tag-jesus","tag-perspective","tag-prayer","tag-relationship"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chuckhilltoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3210","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chuckhilltoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chuckhilltoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chuckhilltoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chuckhilltoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3210"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/chuckhilltoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3210\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3223,"href":"https:\/\/chuckhilltoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3210\/revisions\/3223"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chuckhilltoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3210"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chuckhilltoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3210"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chuckhilltoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3210"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}