"Daddy, you said..."

When we moved to Jacksonville, our four children ranged in ages from elementary school kids to babies in diapers.  And, as a young family, we were always on the lookout for cheap (free?) family-friendly activities for weekend adventures. Hello, Atlantic Ocean.

It was an easy 20 minutes from our house on the Southside to the beach. So, we often enjoyed Saturday morning trips to the beach. These jaunts usually included a picnic, sand castles, and splashing in the tidal pools. Collecting seashells was always an optional activity.

One week, after planning a Saturday morning beach trip, we had to cancel our plans on the morning of the proposed journey to the shore. As I recall it, the weather was rainy and windy, not exactly kid-friendly conditions.

Obviously, our kids were disappointed – they had been looking forward to the promise of making sand castles and running through water. But, we had no choice but to cancel.

As we sat at the kitchen table that morning to break the sad news, I made the paternal pronouncement, “Kids, we can’t go to the beach today.”

Silence. Then our 7 year old looked up at me, with wide eyes and a scrunched up brow, and said, “But daddy, you said.”

I’m not sure if she really believed my explanation. But after more apologies, we headed off to watch that week’s installment of Sesame Street.

Later that night, after the kids had made their best attempt not to go to sleep, my wife and I were collapsed on the couch, enjoying a moment to reflect on the day.

“You remember when Becky said, ‘Daddy you said!’ after we told them the beach picnic was cancelled?” Carol asked. “I felt the Lord was telling me that she was talking to you just like we can talk to God. Almost like a model for how to pray.”

She paused. “We get to pray like that. ‘Daddy, you said.’ We get to remind him of what he says in his word, and pray those promises.”

That was one of those “game-changing” moments in my prayer life. God is our “Abba,” our daddy. We are his kids. He wants us to come to him with the same honesty and simplicity as our own children did at our kitchen table.

We “get to” pray his promises back to God, because we are his kids, and he is our Abba, our daddy. We can approach God in the simplicity and honesty of a child. Jesus did say, “Unless you come as a child…”

For example, when we need wisdom, we can go to God with, “Abba, you said, ‘If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God who gives generously and to all without reproach…’” (James 1.5)

When we pray for healing, he wants us to pray something like, “Abba, you said…’by his wounds we are healed.’” (Isaiah 53.5)

Ask the Lord to show you a scripture that he would want you to use as a target for your prayers.  

For example, we are currently using a portion of Psalm 80 as we pray for God to restore and renew a loved one: “Father, according to your word, ‘Restore [him], O God of hosts; let your face shine, that [he] may be saved.’”

This is not a mechanical, “holy vending machine” process. This is a personal relationship between Abba Father, and his kids. He delights in hearing us come to him with our requests. His Holy Spirit will quicken or highlight Scriptures that he wants us to bring to him in prayer. Look into the Word, and he will lead you and speak to you. His word is “living and active.”  

So, making our way to the Father through Jesus, we can make his promises our personal prayer. This is “Abba, you said…” kind of prayer.

“Father, you said ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you,’ so thank you for being with us in this.”

“Abba, you said, ‘No one can snatch them out of my hand,’ so thank you that you are holding us in your arms right now.”

“Father, your word says, ‘His steadfast love endures forever,’ so thank you that your love and care are constant!”

On this Father’s Day, take a moment and look for a promise in the Word that can serve as a scaffold for your prayers today.

Go to your Father, with child-like simplicity, and simply pray, “Daddy, you said…” 

And he will answer as a good and perfect Father would.