"Therefore pray in this way: Our Father, who is in Heaven".
Matthew 6:9

From the very beginning, the Lord's Prayer reveals two most important principles on which we are to build sound spiritual life. These are the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of all people.

God is called "the Father" because of His tender and compassionate love which can be likened, although imperfectly, to love of a parent. Jesus would not agree with any philosophical or religious system which insist that the Absolute is totally detached from life or indifferent to human challenges. Much less He would agree with a theory that a significant part of humanity is doomed to eternal sufferings.

"Do not let the destructive idea, the idea of burning up in hell-fire and the instant wiping out of all bad people, enter into your scheme of Truth. God is preserving His universe. He is redeeming it. He is educating it", wrote Charles Fillmore.

As the true Parent, God constantly displays love in acts of blessings, extending them to all of His creations alike, without any partiality. This is the fundamental trait of God we need to be aware of. Earlier in the Sermon of the Mount, Jesus called us to imitate the Father who "makes His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust" (Matthew 5:45). It is clear that He meant more than just natural resources. God freely extends treasures of all the realms to those who are willing to receive them.

The religious concept which dominated in human thinking at that time was that God belongs to a certain tribe, or a nation, or a "chosen" group of followers of a particular doctrine. Since the revelation of God through Jesus, we gradually come to the understanding that it cannot be true in any way. God is not a property of "the most orthodox" church or sect. Neither can God belong to so-called "morally pure" persons. God is universal, and all people are His children.

The Absolute includes all, and if it would be otherwise, it would be less than the Absolute.

Since Jesus, we can talk about "chosen people" only in the sense that some realize their destiny in God and make conscious efforts to fulfill it, while others still remain in a state of mental darkness. But they are "chosen ones", too. Every person is "chosen" by the very fact that it was brought into the world. Even so-called "sinners" will take their active part in the universal scheme of things as soon as their eyes will open.

Understanding of this truth makes a big difference in our concept of prayer. As we enter into the Presence, we know that we do not come to a partial God who desires to exalt us above others and to give us special privileges. We do not have rights to ask for divine favor at the expense of others, because answering to such foolish requests would violate the very nature of God.

Our prayers are to be in line with the principle of Fatherhood of God. As we pray, let us consider the good of all, and pray for universal blessings to be manifested through us. Let us remember that our demonstrations are meant to contribute not only to our life, but to other people's lives.

The Father is willing to answer and to enrich people in thousand upon thousand ways, but human selfishness often blocks channels of divine inflow. "You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions" (James 4:3, RSV), warns the Bible. This, of course, does not mean that we should stop asking. We are encouraged to pray in the spirit of Christ, with is the universal spirit, the spirit of oneness.