Avinu Malkienu

BYTES~ Avinu Malkienu

Isaiah 63:16 Doubtless You are our Father, Though Abraham was ignorant of us, And Israel does not acknowledge us. You, O Lord, are our Father; Our Redeemer from Everlasting is Your name.

 Matthew 6:9 In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in Heaven, Hallowed be Your name.* ~Jesus

Avinu Malkienu is Hebrew for Our Father, our King. The Avinu Malkienu is a prayer sung during the Ten Days of Teshuva between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Each stanza of the prayer begins with the moving words, Avinu Malkienu, Our Father, our King in acknowledgment of God's love for His people above His supremacy over all. 

That is who God is, or should be, in our lives, too, both King and Father. God has chosen for us to know Him, though, not first as Melech, King, but firstly as Father. Yes, God is King over all and the nations and unbelievers must and will come to know Him as King. 

Revelation 17:14 These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful.

But to those of us who Believe He wants to be known as Father before we view Him as King.

Mark 1:35‭-‬38 Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed. And Simon and those who were with Him searched for Him. When they found Him, they said to Him, “Everyone is looking for You.” But He said to them, “Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth.”

Jesus modeled perfectly how we are to live out the awareness of God as Avinu Malkienu, Our Father, Our King. He rose up early in the morning, not to pray in fear of God's wrath, nor out of a sense of obligation or to earn brownie points with God. Jesus forfeited many hours of His sleep so He could spend time with the One He knew loved and cared deeply for Him, His Father who is in Heaven. Only after spending time with His Father did Jesus go and do what the King instructed Him to do. He knew He needed the love and power of His Father to finish the race that the King had set before Him.

We should cultivate and nourish an awareness of Our Father Who Is King throughout the day. We need to start our day off in the Presence of Our Father, yet also pausing often throughout the day to just connect with God the Holy Spirit so that we can find strength and times of refreshing in the Presence of the Lord to face those stressful times of the day. We need to remind ourselves when life gets overwhelming that Our Father Who Is King is bigger than any problem or challenge we face.

Avinu Malkienu, Our Father, Our King should be on our minds more and more every day. That is also how we fulfill the commandment to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17), because we will then be in His Presence, praising His name, petitioning Him for ourselves and for others all day.

Let us thank God for His kindness and His goodness towards us, that He wants us to come to know Him not only as King, Creator, Ruler and Judge of the world. But that we know the King and Judge first and foremost as Avinu, Our Father, who art in Heaven. May His name be glorified in our lives and hearts today.

Meaghan Spies © 2022