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.