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你知道旧约和新约对于“神是父”的理解是不同的吗？（旧约中的）希伯来人认为神就像一位父。而新约教导说神就是我们的父。

希伯来圣经用很多图画来描绘神对祂子民的爱和看顾。这些图画包括“父亲”，“牧羊人”，“母亲”，“磐石”，“山寨”。在新约中，耶稣告诉祂的门徒，神是他们的父。

你可能会说，“等一下，我们不是宣称耶稣是神的独生子吗？”没错。但藉着神的恩典和耶稣为我们舍己，神已经收纳我们作祂的儿女，得享属于神家庭一员的所有福利和特权。成为神的儿女，这给我们的每日生活带来极大的安慰。

耶稣向我们显明，身为神的儿女也对我们的祷告产生了巨大影响。我们开始祷告时，应该说：“我们的父，”因为牢记神是我们的父，会唤醒我们孩童般的敬畏和信靠——这使我们确信，祂会垂听和回应我们的祷告，供应我们的需要。

Did you know there's a difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament understandings of God as Father? The Hebrews (in the Old Testament) thought of God as like a father. The New Testament teaches that God is our Father.

The Hebrew Scriptures use many images depicting God's love and care for his people. Among them, these images include "father," "shepherd," "mother," "rock," and "fortress." In the New Testament, though, Jesus tells his followers that God is their Father.

"But wait a minute," you might say; "don't we confess that Jesus alone is the Son of God?" Yes, but by God's grace and through Jesus' sacrifice for us, we have been adopted as God's children, with all of the rights and privileges of belonging to God's family. Being children of God provides us with abundant comfort in our daily lives.

Jesus shows us that being God's children has tremendous implications for our prayers too. When we begin to pray, we should say, "Our Father," because remembering that God is our Father awakens in us a childlike awe and trust—and this assures us that he hears and answers our prayers and provides just what we need.