Praying the Promises # 005

Our Big Brother

There is a common misconception among believers today that we should pray to Jesus.  That’s right, we do NOT pray to Jesus; we pray to the Father through Jesus.  This is proven by the model prayer in Matthew six, which nowhere instructs us to pray directly to Jesus.  This is simply because Jesus is our brother by adoption – we have been included in His family.  This is an incredibly humbling arrangement.  That places us on equal footing with Jesus in terms of our inheritance and our relationship with God.

Now, let’s be clear, God has only one begotten Son (John 3:16).  That is Jesus.  God has only one perfect Son.  That is also Jesus.  Because we have been adopted by God, that makes Him our Father and Jesus our Brother.

This family arrangement also brings great benefit to us when we understand the nature of our Big Brother.  In Matthew 28:18b, Jesus said, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.”  Now that we recognize who Jesus really is to us, we can appreciate His power even more.

My oldest brother’s name is Benjie.  He played a huge role in my life.  He seemed larger than life to me.  I often found myself lionizing my big brother.  Speaking for myself, when I was in the presence of my big brother he helped me not to fear.  He would assure me that certain things that I was afraid of were not real.  The things that “go bump in the night” never scared me when I was with my big brother.  I would also point out that when I was with my big brother he helped me not to fail.  He gave me that little extra push, or that assurance that he believed that I could do it.  I also experienced certain corrections from my big brother – he helped me not to forget.  There were plenty of times he had to remind me who was older, who was stronger, who was in charge.  I have two other older brothers, but we all knew that Benjie was the biggest brother.

I do not think it is accidental that God chose for us to be aware of the nature of our relationship with Jesus.  He is our Biggest Brother.  In Matthew 28:18b, Jesus gave us a profound promise that preceded the Great Commission.  Before we attempt to go into all the world, baptize and teach all nations, we must realize exactly who will be with us.  Jesus promised that He would accompany us to the ends of the world as we preach the Gospel.  God is Jesus’ Father and ours.  Jesus is our Brother and we are His.  These are promises we can claim and pray.