Daddy!

One of the joys of being a dad is hearing my four year old son get excited when I come home. When I walked in the house yesterday afternoon my son cried out, "Daddy!" with a big smile on his face and arms open wide. I called back, "Ethan!"

Is this my experience with prayer? Do I show up for my quiet time in the morning with expectation that the living God, our Abba (Aramaic for Daddy), is there waiting for me? "Abba!" I might begin my prayer, and in divine graciousness our Abba calls back "Mike!" There is simple joy in just being together.

The Abba experience (no relation to a concert of the 70s musicians from Sweden Abba) defined Jesus' life. "The Father and I are one" Jesus declared, "When you see me you see my father." Jesus was Abba oriented. There were times when the disciples couldn't find Jesus because he was praying, spending time with his Abba.

Is this your experience with life and prayer? Would you and I be classified as people who can be defined by our relationship with our Abba through Jesus? Or, is there a polite distance between Abba and us?

Try this: Brennan Manning suggests that we pray without ceasing the simple prayer, "Abba I belong to you." This seven syllable prayer can be prayed while breathing in and out, and reminds us that God remains our hope and provider for all of time.

Thanks for reading.