"Father in Heaven ..."
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Seeking Out God, Calling On Him in Prayer is Firststep to Making Sure Our Prayers Are Heard
When addressing God, call Him!It is common courtesy to call the name of the person to whom we speak when we begin a conversation with that person. God is no different in this respect. We give Him the same respect that we afford each other. We should call on Heavenly Father in prayer by His title of Heavenly Father, Father, or God.
Now, there are times when there is the understood address to God. The understood address is when we address our thoughts to the person and just start speaking--usually, because that person is the only one in the room, or because we are with that person in some respect.
God can be addressed in this manner also, as I have often addressed my thoughts to Him and started speaking. However, it is preferable to call on Him.
The sad but true fact that devils can hear spoken prayers and even answer them warrants that we specify to whom we speak so that we cannot be deceived. It is also important to develop a long-term relationship with God so that when we call Him we know and recognize His voice when we hear it.
His voice is a still small voice of a tender parent that we must seek and be familiar with when we pray. God does hear our prayers and answers when we call on Him.
As often as children call parents by name to get their attention, we should call Father in Heaven to focus on His attention.
God is our Father
We refer to Him as Father in Heaven. Jesus in John 20:17 is recorded instructing Mary after revealing Himself to her following His resurrection
"... go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God." Among other things Christ taught, he revealed implicitly that God the Father is the Father of all of humankind.
He is the father of our spirits. Before everything was created physically, it was spiritually created--including us! God revealed to Moses that before he created anything physically upon the earth, he organized it spiritually (Moses 3:5).
Adam and Eve are the sources of all the physical bodies indirectly that came following them making us all cousins. God is the source of our spirits making us all siblings. There is no ancestor who separates us from God.
We are His direct and immediate family spiritually. We are siblings. As such, we have the same Father in Heaven whom we should address as such.
Think of the children in our lives and how often they call on a parent's name. As a parent, I hear from my six children my name from the time they awake until they are asleep. Sometimes I hear my name in the night!
As often as children call parents by name to get their attention, we should call Father in Heaven to focus on His attention.
It makes sense to call God by name when considering His parental responsibility to us. Knowing God is understanding that He is our Father. Knowing that He is our Father helps us to also know that He will listen and answer when we call Him.
We may also call Him Lord or God.
It is important when speaking to Him that we call His name so that we direct our attention towards Him. As an all-powerful being, God knows all things.
He knows when we are speaking to Him because He knows our hearts and can sense our thoughts. Even with that knowledge, He acts for us when we address Him properly.
As a part of the Plan of Salvation that God has created for us, God allows us to experience life as it comes. During this experience of life, we are expected to call on Him in prayer to communicate with Him.
Seeking out God and calling on Him in prayer is the first step to making sure our prayers are heard.
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