I never thought I would be the guy to stare at children while they sleep. But I do. When I get home late from work or from soccer, I sneak into my daughters’ bedrooms and I just stare. Sometimes I sit down on the carpet and just look at their bare feet sticking out from the fuzzy pink blankets. Or I fix my eyes on their little faces snuggled up against their favorite “stuffy.” There are few things more beautiful or more emotional for me than those two girls.

Which is why I adore Jesus’ prayer. When his disciples begged him for a tutorial on talking to God, Jesus didn’t say, “Pray like this—Our King in heaven.” Nor did he instruct them to say, “Our Judge in heaven.” No, he gave them a pattern for prayer that stirs our hearts. Jesus said, “This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven’” (Matthew 6:9). What a word! God is your Father. You are his child. Incredible, isn’t it?

After all you’ve done wrong. After all you’ve failed to do right. After all you’ve struggled with, indulged in, or been too scared to stand up for. After all of it, God is not ashamed to call you his kid. He feels the way I feel when I sit on the carpet and stare at my kids. Love swells up in his heart. Emotion floods his mind. You are not a minion to God. Not a name or a number. You are infinitely valuable. If you could only see your Father’s face when he looks down upon you!