As

we reflect on how the Trinity shapes our understanding and practice

of prayer, let’s consider what it means to call God Abba.

Abba

is the Aramaic word for “father.” Jesus spoke Aramaic, and Abba

was perhaps one of the first words he learned as a child. The

equivalent of Abba

in English and several other languages would be “Dada,” “Daddy,”

or “Papa.”

Jesus,

the Son of God, referred to his Father this way in prayer (Mark

14:36), and that should not surprise us. What’s truly incredible is

that we may also speak to God this way. As Romans 8 puts it, by the

Spirit of God we cry, “Abba.”

This

name for God assures us of God’s loving attentiveness to our

prayers. It conveys both the tenderness and security of our

relationship with God, our heavenly Father.

It’s

interesting that the one time the Bible records Jesus calling his

Father Abba

in prayer is on the night before he died. Frightened and alone, Jesus

cried out to his Abba.

The writer of Hebrews probably had this episode in mind when he wrote

that Jesus prayed “with fervent cries and tears” and that “he

was heard because of his reverent submission” (Hebrews 5:7). The

Father heard the Son.

Because

of the Lord’s obedience, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, the

one whom Jesus called Abba

is our Abba

too.