Hallowed Be Thy Name
Matthew 6:9-6:9 March 4, 2012
A Study of the Lord’s Prayer: Lesson # 2
In our opening study we noted that the Lord’s Prayer is a pattern for all true prayer. We began our examination of the Lord’s Prayer by looking at the first six English words, “Our Father who art in Heaven.” That is not that we would merely say the words, but that we believe that he is our Father and we would relate to Him as a Father. One can not really pray the Lord’s Prayer without first establishing a relationship through faith in Jesus Christ and being born into the family of God.
When we begin our prayer, “Our Father,” we begin to pray based on an intimate relationship with God – that of a father and child. God is not an angry judge looking for an opportunity to condemn us, nor is He aloof and distant, too busy to hear you. He is our Father and can be approached on an intimate basis.
Having the foundational awareness of God as our Father we move on to the first of the petitions, “hallowed be thy name.” When you pray “hallowed be thy name,” you climb to a new level of respect for God and reverence for his person. You are ascending to the very heart of God to recognize who He is and what He has done for us.
What does it mean to “hallow” His name? The word “hallow” is the Greek word hagios which is the word for holy, “Hallow” means “to set apart as holy, to consider holy, to treat as holy.” The best modern word perhaps is reverence. When you pray “hallowed be your name” you are saying, “let your name be holy and reverenced on earth as it already is in heaven. May your name be given the unique reverence that is due your character and nature as the Heavenly Father.”
When you begin your prayers “Hallowed be thy name,” you are not rushing into the presence of God to demand something, you come into his presence recognizing who God is and what He can do for you.
The name of God is always an expression of His character. The Psalmist said (20:7) “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; But we will remember (boast ) the name (character) of the LORD our God”. (NKJV)
(Hand out the bookmarks at this point and explain how to use them.)
1. We Hallow His Name in Our Reverence
When we understand that God’s names reveal who God desires to be in relation to us, then we realize that His names invite us to know Him.
Romans 1:20 “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead,….” (NKJV)
Psalm 19:1 “The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork”. (NKJV)
We can reverence God and worship him by Praying Through the Names of God. Each of the names of God reveals some aspect of his character.
Elohim – the mighty Creator (Gen 1:1) God deires to be the creator God. Do you believe in evolution instead? If so then you have a major problem in your “hallowing” of God’s name! You have limited the power of God. So, if you pray for healing to a God who can’t create, then it make sense that he can’t heal, or do anything else either!
Adonai – master or Lord ( Gen 15 – Abraham) God desire to be the only Lord in your life? Is that so? If not, then you have a problem in “hallowing” God’s name! You can repeat the Lord’s Prayer, word for word, 100x, and it won’t make you hallow God’s name any more!
El Shaddai – Almighty (Gen 17 – Abraham) God desires to be the Almighty in your life! Are you still trying to be the Almighty in your life, in your family, at your job, at school? If so, then you have a problem in “hallowing” God’s name!
El-Elyon- Most High (Gen 14 – Abraham) God desires to be the “Most High” in your life! Is He? Or is there something or somebody else who is the Most High? If your Sunday NFL football team (or other sport, or celebrity) is your Most High, or your work, or your boy friend, or even your spouse, or children, then you will have a problem “hallowing” the name of God. Again, you repeat the words of the Lord’s Prayer over and over, but you’re not praying the meaning of this petition! Instead, you nee to get on your knees and repent to God, repent over whatever it is, or whoever it is, that has become the “Most High” in your life! Just FYI, the very popular contemporary Christian song by Amy Grant from the 1980’s “El Shaddai” included these last three names.
Are you getting the picture of how to pray through the names of God?
El Roi - The Strong one that Sees (Gen 16 – Hagar) God desires to be the “strong One that Sees” in your life. We care called to walk by faith not by sight! Are you one of those worry warts, or control freaks, that has to have every detail worked out and under your control, to the extent that there’s no room for God to be “the Strong One that Sees”? If so, then you have a problem “hallowing” the name of God.
El Olam - Everlasting God (Gen 21:22-33) God desires to be the “Everlasting God” in your life. Are you a person who jumps from one excitement to the other in life? Are you always looking for that “high” in your relationships and recreation, and never finding a lasting satisfaction in life? Confess it as a sin against the “Everlasting God” who desires to be there in your life, at the top, every day, 24/7!
Jehovah – self-existent one (Exodus 3: 14-15 – Moses) God desires to be the “Self-Existent One” in your life. There’s nothing you can do that will make you more presentable to God or more to be desired by God. Give up, say I can’t! Only God is the “Self-Existent One” who was, and is and always will be! Only God is the Great I AM!
Jehovah Jireh – the Lord our Provider (Gen 22) God desires to be the Provider in your life. Is the way you manage your financial resources in line with the Word of God, that all you have and own belongs to Him? Or do you think it’s your stuff?
Jehovah M’kaddesh – the God who Sanctifies (Lev 20:1-8) So you prayed the sinners prayer and got saved, so you were baptized and got saved, so you had that life-changing experience and got saved! Are you now trying to finish the race of life by your strength? God desires to be the Sanctifier in your life. You need to walk along, keeping in step with the Spirit of God in this lifetime process.
Jehovah Nissi – the Lord our Banner (Exodus 17:8-16) God desires to be “the Banner” in your life. What does that mean? Well, what does a banner do? it tells people at a glance something that is very important. So, does your life give evidence that God is the most important in your life? Is God your Banner? Is Jesus your Banner?
Jehovah Rohi – the Lord my Shepherd (Psalm 23) God desires to be the “Shepherd” in your life. He desires to care for, protect, and lead you like a shepherd. The question is, are you a good sheep, or are you more like a goat, stubbornly going your own way, using your goat horns to irritate others?
Jehovah Rophe –the God who Heals (Exodus 15:22-26) God desires to be the “God who Heals” in your life. We of course desire all kinds of physical healing. I haven’t ever met anybody who didn’t desire for a healing, even athiests, would be glad to receive a healing. But often times the healing we need is emotional, and spiritual, more than physical. Are you desiring complete healing of body, soul and spirit? Here is your opportunity to bring before God your need for complete healing!
Jehovah Shalom – the Lord of our Peace (Jud. 6:11-24) God desires to be the “Lord of our Peace” in our lives. Our peace comes when we accept the accomplishment of Christ on the cross and apply it to ourself. When we receive the forgiveness of sins we have peace with God.
Jehovah Shammah – the Lord is Here (Ezekiel 48:30-35) God desires to be always present in our life. Do you tend to compartmentalize your faith? Do you put God and church on the table, so to speak. Do you leave your faith at the door? God is “Here” and doesn’t want to be left behind!
Jehovah Tsidkenu – the Lord our Righteousness (Jer. 23:5-6) God desires to be the “Lord of Righteousness” in your life! Are there some dark areas, some closed closet doors in your life, do you have some private sins? Is there something, anything, in your life, that if the light of God shined on it would make you feel ashamed and guilty? Then, again, you are not hallowing God’s name.
When you repeat the words of the Lord’s Prayer, you are really hallowing God’s name if you are actually praying through and doing the things we’ve just talked about.
When we pray we should acknowledge God’s names in reference to our needs. The name of God is supremely and fully revealed in Jesus Christ. Jesus said in his intercessory prayer for his disciples said, “I have manifested thy name.” (John 17:6). In other words, Jesus said, “ I have revealed your character and hallowed your name in the life that I have lived.”
2. We Hallow God’s Name in Our Relationships. “Is this for His glory or mine?”
When Jesus taught us to pray “hallowed be thy name,” He was telling us to make the presence of God real in our hearts. When you pray “hallowed be thy name,” you are placing God on the throne of your heart.
It is about putting God on the throne of our lives on earth, as He sits upon His throne in heaven. I have called this the LORDSHIP of Christ. This is a separate experience from coming to salvation.
His name is hallowed in our relationship when in praying “hallowed be thy name” we mean that first and foremost we desire our life to reveal to others the name of Jesus and the character or God. When we are supremely concerned that every detail of our lives should be for His glory.
Whatever service you or I may undertake our first thought should be, “Is this for His glory?” For example:
This phrase applies to the friends I make and how I treat them.
It will be the chief concern in all habits I form and all the ambitions that I cherish. This will be my supreme object in every pleasure I seek. This will be my attitude concerning every sorrow and trial I face.
3. We Hallow His Name by Our Reflection. ”Does this reflect the nature of Christ?”
Paul once warned the church at Rome, “…. the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you,…” (Romans 2:24).
It is a solemn thought to realize that failure on our part to hallow the name of the Lord has disastrous consequences, in causing the reputation of that name to be blasphemed by the world. The world watches Christians closer to see if they do what they say.
When we pray each day “Hallowed be thy name,’ we are saying, “Father your reputation is at stake in me today. May I live in such a way as to be a credit to your person. May others see your character through my behavior and honor your name because of what they see of you in me.”
Whatever service you or I may undertake our first thought should be, “Is this for His glory?” For example:
This thought should be in my thoughts when I choose the books I will read or the movies I will watch.
Or, for example, when we go to our workplace, and others there know that we are Christian, that we attend a local church, we are being watched by them to see that our behavior is consistent with what they think a Christian should be and do. When we get angry, and let out a string of cursing, or when we gossip about someone, or when we tell off color jokes, or whatever, they do not see God’s name reflected in us!
Conclusion: Keep these bookmarks in your Bible and when you have your quiet time with God, use it as a guide to help you really pray the Lord’s Prayer.
If you don’t have a daily quiet time, then you are not “hallowing” God’s name. You need to make a decision.
Finally, in closing, we have looked at some of the name of God, but most of them lay down some law, i.e., how we are to live now as his children. We need to close with three very special names. “Jesus” which means God saves. “Savior” the work of Jesus to save us from sin, death and the devil. “Redeemer” our Savior redeemed us from a worthless by giving his precious life for us on the cross. When you feel you have failed at honoring the name of God, the good news is that Jesus fully honored God’s name for you, by trusting in Him, you receive His forgiveness and a secure place in eternity.
“Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name. Amen”