First, let’s consider the words of the Lord Jesus in Mark 14:36, “And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt.”  Now, let’s read Romans 8:15, “For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.”  Finally, let’s read Galatians 4:6, “And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.”

These are the three times the words “Abba, Father” are used in the Bible.  In Mark, the Lord Jesus says it.  In Romans, we are given the right to use that phrase because we, through faith in Christ, have been adopted.  In Galatians, we see that because we are the children of God, we have the Spirit of God’s Son, which causes us to cry Abba Father.

Dictionary.com defines ‘abba’ as: “an Aramaic word for father, used by Jesus and Paul to address God in a relation of personal intimacy.” (Abba is not a translation, but a transliteration of the Aramaic word.)  ‘Pater’ is the Greek word translated Father in these portions.  Many think that the term, ‘Abba, Father’ is referencing God as our daddy…like saying ‘Daddy, Father.’  I looked through many different translations, and none of them used Daddy in their translations when this word was used.  Almost all the different translations used the phrase ‘Abba, Father’.  A couple of them translated this phrase as:

“Father, my Father.” (EASY)

“Father, dear Father.” (ICB)

In all these cases, the term is shown to be very respectful and honoring to God, who is our Father if we have Christ as our savior.  I admit that I am not comfortable using a term that is so familiar or common place as ‘daddy’ to address my Heavenly Father. 

The Concise Bible Dictionary has this to say about the use of Abba, Father.  “It has been suggested that in the two words the Jew and the Gentile each say ‘Father’ in his own language – the Aramaic being then spoken by they Jews, and Greek the language of the Gentiles.” 

I cannot say we are forbidden to address God as our daddy.  I always referred to my earthly father as daddy, and I had great love and respect for him.  However, our Heavenly Father deserves the greatest respect, and our language should reflect that respect.  As I stated earlier, I do not feel comfortable speaking to my Father as daddy, but I suggest you pray about this and allow the Lord to impress upon you what to call Him in a way that will honor and please Him.  (CC)  (687.6)