Does Your View of God Matter?
A Walk by the Creek
Earlier this week, my family and I went for a walk near our home. There’s this creek with a spot where the kids like to jump in and swim. On this particular walk, we decided to wade upstream, just exploring as a family: Amy, our kids, our dog, and I.
As we walked through the water, Amy stopped abruptly. About 100 feet away was a wild, white canine. Maybe it was an albino coyote – or a ghostly wild dog – but for the sake of the story, I like to think it was a wolf.
Immediately, I shifted gears. I redirected the kids: “Hey, let’s go this way instead.” And they were confused – “But we’re supposed to go that way!” they protested. I just said, “I know, but ket’s go this way now.”
What struck me afterward was how differently I responded to two animals. One was our energetic, playful puppy. The other – a mysterious, potentially dangerous, wild animal. Same general species, completely different approach – because of how I perceived them.
Our Perception Shapes Our Approach
How we view something shapes how we approach it.
This is especially true in our relationship with God.
When we approach God in prayer, how we see Him determines how we come to Him. If we see Him wrongly, our prayers – and even our lives – can go off track. One of the enemy’s primary tactics isn’t always to lie outright, but simply to distort the truth. Just twist it a little. A little distortion of God’s character. A little distortion of how He sees you. And that’s enough to get us living far below the life God has for us.
How Are We Approaching God?
Over the years, I’ve realized we all bring different "filters" or "titles" into prayer, and they change how we relate to God. Here are a few common ones I’ve wrestled with – or seen others wrestle with:
God as Judge, Me as Lawyer: Trying to convince Him of what’s right, presenting the perfect case.
God as Genie: Believing He's just there to grant our wishes.
God as Santa Claus: Listing all the things we want, assuming we’ve been “good enough.”
God as Business Owner: Seeing prayer as a transaction – if I do X, then He’ll give me Y.
God as Distant Ruler: Thinking we’re too small or unworthy to approach Him.
God as Life Coach: He’s here to help me unlock my full potential.
God as 911 Operator: Only calling in emergencies “Please, Lord, I just need one miracle!”
And maybe the most subtle and passive:
God as Fate: The “Que sera, sera” approach whatever will be, will be so why pray at all?
These may have a shadow of truth, but each one misses the heart of who God really is. And when our view is distorted, our prayers are impacted. Our trust erodes. Our relationship suffers.
Jesus’ View of the Father
So how should we approach God?
When Jesus' disciples asked, “Lord, teach us to pray,” He didn’t give them a list of rules. He didn’t offer a theological lecture. He began with one word:
“Father.”
Luke 11:2; Matthew 6:9
Father. That was His starting point.
Yes, Jesus said “my Father” many times throughout His ministry. But in this moment – when teaching us how to pray – He chose “Our Father.” He was inviting us into something deeper: relationship. Family. Identity. Confidence.
Jesus teaches us to pray like sons and daughters.
Sons & Daughters Approach God with Confidence
If you’ve said yes to Jesus, you are no longer a slave, no longer an outsider, no longer orphaned or overlooked.
You are a son. You are a daughter.
And sons and daughters don’t need to beg.
They don’t need to barter.
They don’t need to shrink back in shame.
They come to the Father boldly – because they know they are loved.
“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.”
1 John 5:14
“You have received a Spirit of adoption as sons and daughters, by which we cry out, ‘Abba! Father!’”
Romans 8:15
One of the greatest hindrances to prayer is shame. We start believing lies about ourselves and about how God sees us. Shame tells us we don’t belong. That we’ve messed up too much. That we’re not worth His time.
But that’s not the truth. That’s not your story.
In your shame, you don’t need to run from God you run to Him. And you ask,
“Father, tell me who I really am.”
A Child in the Crowd
There’s a story of a Roman emperor returning victorious from battle. As he parades through the streets, surrounded by guards and a cheering crowd, a little boy darts from the platform where the empress is seated and runs toward the chariot. A soldier stops him:
“Kid, you can’t go near that man. He’s the emperor!”
To which the child boldly replies:
“He may be your emperor, but he’s my father.”
That’s your access. That’s your identity.
Knowing God as Father Changes Everything
When you know who your Father is, it changes how you live. It changes how you pray.
You don’t come to a distant deity you come to a Father.
And the more clearly we see God as Father good, faithful, near, and loving the more clearly we understand who we are.
That’s why prayer matters. That’s why Jesus started there. And that’s why we never graduate from it.
“You cannot know yourself without prayer. You cannot be changed without prayer. You cannot know God without prayer. And you cannot adequately navigate life without prayer.”
Timothy Keller
“It is impossible to conduct your life as a disciple without definite times of secret prayer.”
Oswald Chambers
Final Thoughts
So my encouragement to you is this:
Come to Him.
Come often.
Come boldly.
Not as a beggar. Not as a lawyer. Not as a distant subject.
But as a son.
As a daughter.
Because that’s who you are.
Let’s pray like that.
Grace and peace,
Pastor Dan Perkins
Boulder Street Church
