It is always important that we know who we are talking to, otherwise we will not be able to relate properly.  Jesus taught His disciples to speak to God as a Father, and not a distant superior being or terrifyingly powerful force.  God is vastly superior to us and has great power, but He has the personality of a loving parent, who is our Creator, and wants us to communicate with Him as His children. However, Father God is also the King of everything and everybody and must be held in awesome respect ... not an easy tension to hold.  

The Jews of Jesus’ day did not dare risk intimacy with God, and thought that Jesus was blaspheming by calling God His own Father (John 5:18).  In the Old Testament, God is Father – expressed mostly as Israel being the sons/children of God (Deuteronomy 14:1-2) and God’s ‘first-born son’ (Exodus 4:22).  But Isaiah 63:16-17 and Isaiah 64:8-9 are clear that God is not only Father because He is Creator and Ruler of Israel, but also Redeemer (Jeremiah 31:20).  Only Jesus can bring us into intimate relationship with God as Father by removing our sin which provokes His wrath (Ephesians 2:1-5).

The 'Name' of Father God is not just something we call Him, but it encompasses everything in His character and His authority.  In the same way that hearing the name of a loved one evokes pleasure because of who we know that person to be, and how much love is shared between us - so the Name of God should remind us of our privileged relationship with Him; and how His love, power, grace, mercy, kindness and protection is directed towards us.  But it is more than that: because He is the King, to ridicule (or misuse) His Name or denigrate His character is to rebel against His authority. That is seriously offensive to our Father, undermining His loving purposes and rejecting the blessings He wants to bring to those who choose to honour Him (Exodus 20:7).

Any conversation which fails to recognise the personality, character and authority of the other person will be a disappointment to both.  Effective prayer must be based on both an expectation of intimacy, and a willingness to submit to Father God's authority.  Alas, human beings do not naturally think like that.  We require God's revelation of who He is and how much He loves us (1 John 3:1) - in order to know that it is right and safe to approach the Lord God Almighty as our Father as long as we submit to His loving authority (Job 22:21).  That is the gateway to a growing relationship with Him through Jesus, and that includes all the rest of our prayer life, as this 'Lord's Prayer' will unfold.  So, instead of rushing into prayer, stop to consider who you are praying to, the greatness of His power and the passion of His heart towards you.  Meditate on the privilege of being a child of the King and honour Him for being the unchangeable, I AM.