Dissecting the Lord’s Prayer
Who Are in Heaven
When we utter the Lord’s Prayer, we proclaim what seems obvious — that God lives in heaven. Yes, we know God is in heaven, and this is because he is God; however, in the Lord’s Prayer, we also recognize God as “Our Father in heaven”.
When we say “Our Father who are in heaven”, we distinguish him from our earthly fathers. We have, on one hand, our biological fathers from whom we inherit through our genes certain physical characteristics. Some of us, on the other hand, have foster parents who raised us and formed our character. And of course, we have our heavenly Father, our Source, and our God. On this topic, I have written an article.
When we say “Our Father who are in heaven”, we proclaim that we belong to God’s family. As Jesus admonished us:
Be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.
(Matthew 5:48 NABRE)
We look to our heavenly Father as our goal and our destiny. We try to be like our Father who is merciful and compassionate, and we recognize heaven as our real home.
In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be.
(John 14:2–3 NABRE)
When we say “Our Father who are in heaven”, we recognize that we are on a journey. We journey from this temporary place called earth to a place that is eternal which is heaven.
The next time we pray “Our Father who are in heaven”, we proclaim our faith and hope in the promise of Jesus to bring us to the Father’s eternal dwelling — Heaven.
