I really like how the book opens with ‘We all know that the quality of any relationship depends on communication.’ How incredible is it that the title of this book is ‘Our Father’? Our relationship with our Heavenly Father.
How do we communicate with our Heavenly Father? How often and when do we talk to him? Is it more of an afterthought or we only come to him when we are seized with troubles, guilt or sin? Where are our hearts before him? And what truly matters to God when we pray?
These are some of the questions the book thoroughly explores through referencing scripture and providing some relatable life anecdotes.
Often at times my mind goes blank and I find myself googling things like 5 Tips for Powerful Prayers or 3 Ways to Spend Time with God. But really Jesus has already given us the best format and that is the Lord’s Prayer! It’s been such a blessing to have this book, in each chapter, to really dig into the different sections of the Lord’s Prayer.
Richard Coekin begins in chapter 1 with exploring the issues with any misconceptions of prayer and how God intends prayer to also inform and shape our lives around the knowledge of Him. How prayer is meant to be intrinsically part of who we are, that communing with God is our delight, our pride, our shield and our peace.
The following chapters can be split into 3 sections. Firstly, God calls us as his children to recognise it is His name be glorified, His kingdom come and His will be done. This is to set our minds on heavenly things. Secondly, God recognises our needs and in our weakness calls us to lean on him for daily strength, to confess our sins, to forgive others and to protect us from temptation. Lastly, it is the concluding aspect of declaring it is God’s kingdom, God’s power and God’s glory be established.
‘Our Father’ really delves into the Lord’s Prayer while highlighting relevant scripture to enrich our understanding. The life examples provided at the end of each section include a variety of circumstances in which people have used the Lord’s Prayer and this ties in nicely for application. This is an excellent book that is suited for Christians, whether if you’ve placed your faith in Christ not long ago or whether you’ve been a Christian your whole life to help refresh your understanding of the purpose and power of prayer. It would be also a great book for non-Christians just to catch a glimpse of what this prayer is all about and how to build a relationship with God.
Hilda Hiong
