After we say “Father” Jesus teaches us to say “Heaven”. He insists that we think about the place of God’s power and perfection and presence. Father makes everything personal. Heaven makes everything possible. Isaiah “saw the Lord, high and lifted up”(Isaiah 6). We are to do the same through the eyes of faith. One of the worst side effects of sin is cynicism–a deep distrust that victory or purity or joy is even possible. While faith doesn’t deny injustice or pain, it does deny that these are normal or permanent to those who belong to God. Looking at Heaven is to remind us of the goodness and power of the God who reigns there. It is to remind us of the beauty and order at the center of the universe. To pray, “Our Father which art in Heaven” should be the everyday end of despair. Theology is psychology. What we believe should impact how we think and what we feel.
