Get to Know God as Father - Daily Hope with Rick Warren - May 2, 2025

Audio By Carbonatix

Get to Know God as Father
By Rick Warren

“This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.’” Matthew 6:9 (NIV)

In the thousands of years covered in the Old Testament, God is called “Father” only seven times. People just didn’t think of God as Father. They thought of him as other things—Creator, Almighty One, etc. But they didn’t think of God as Father. Then Jesus came along and said, “This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name’” (Matthew 6:9 NIV).

“Call him Father,” Jesus essentially was saying. 

Jesus uses the expression “Father” more than 150 times to refer to God. When he does that, he’s exploding all the stereotypes. God is not an angry tyrant. God is not a cosmic cop. He is not the universal killjoy. He is not an impersonal force. 

God is a personal God who wants to have a relationship with you. 

There’s only one problem. For many people, the word “father” is a negative term that brings up all kinds of bad memories. A lot of people say, “‘Our Father in heaven’? If God’s like my father, then no thanks.”

The truth is, some human fathers can make their families’ homes a hell on earth. While many fathers are loving and kind, others can be fickle, moody, abusive, controlling, and violent. So the words “our Father in heaven” carry a lot baggage for some people. 

Many people never connect with God because they unconsciously think God is like their earthly father. If their earthly father is unreasonable, they think God is unreasonable. If their father is unreliable, they think God is unreliable. If they just don’t understand their earthly father, they think they could never understand God either. 

We impose all our mixed-up hurts and emotions from our human fathers onto God—so it’s no wonder we have a hard time connecting with him. 

Misconceptions keep you disconnected from God. To understand the truth of what God the Father is really like, you need to let go of any misconceptions and myths you have about him. 

Discovering the truth about what God is like will set you free to have a loving relationship with him as your Father!

PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick

For more Daily Hope with Rick Warren, please visit pastorrick.com!

Your Gift Brings Hope to the World

Transform your prayer life with God’s Word! 

True breakthrough from the struggles of life begins with prayer—and there is no better place to start cultivating a powerful prayer life than the Bible. 

Discover the biblical wisdom you need to transform the way you pray when you dive into this special collection of verses from God’s Word. You’ll be inspired and encouraged by Scripture as you learn to trust in his promises. 

Drawing key verses from Pastor Rick’s "40 Days of Prayer" teaching series, this set of 52 beautifully designed cards will help you memorize God’s Word so you can access it when you need it most—and it’s our thanks for your gift today to help more people experience the transformative power of prayer through Daily Hope! 

Thank you for helping share the hope of Jesus Christ. May you enjoy a time of breakthrough as you fill your heart and mind with the truth of Scripture. 

*The USA IRS code permits you to deduct the amount of your financial gift to Daily Hope that exceeds the fair market value of “current offer” materials you received from Daily Hope.

This devotional © 2018 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

You can listen to Rick Warren on OnePlace.com.