Who's Yo Daddy?!

I learned something today that is very uplifting. And while I knew this before, I never grasped it until now. In the Bible, it says how Jesus has invited us, through his sacrifice, to call God our Father....

This is commonly known. But the word used for Father might not be...

"Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, "Abba, Father." (Galatians 4:6)

The hebrew4christians.com glossary defines the Aramaic word "Abba" as:

(AHB-bah) Aramaic. n. Abba. "Daddy," "dear Father," "papa"; a term of endearment for one's father (Mark 14:26; Rom. 8:15; Gal. 4:6). Abba is a more intimate expression than the normal Hebrew word for "father" (av).

So what this means is that the Bible invites Christians to basically use a term more like Dad or Daddy than Father...which is more formal in contemporary English. So I've taken this to heart and it has really seemed to change my perspective when I pray. Try it out...say "Dad" when you pray...there's a huge level of intimacy with God that comes when you use the current form of "Abba" like Jesus told us to. I think that this was intentional and I will continue to use it in my prayer life.

....however I realize I might get some strange looks if I ever use this term when I pray out loud in front of others.

God? Oh yeah, that's my DAD!