Dr. Ron Sumners
August 31, 2003
We began our study of the Model Prayer noting that it is a pattern for all true prayer.
We have looked at the first phrase, “Our Father who art in heaven.” We talked about the relationship we have with God as our heavenly parent. You can’t 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 who art in heaven,” we establish that God’s kingdom of heaven is a reality within our own hearts. We pray to a father who loves us and desires the best for us. He is not aloof and distant. He is not an angry judge looking for the slightest offense for which He can condemn us. He is a father that we approach with intimacy.
Having established the foundational awareness of God as Father, we move on to the next statement: “Hallowed be Thy name.” When we pray, “hallowed be Thy name,” we climb to a new level of respect for God and reverence for His person. He is our father, but He is the creator God!
He spoke all of creation into existence. He is the uncaused cause of all that exists. He has no beginning and no end. He has always been. However old the creation is, God precedes it. That’s why Jesus said, “Before Abraham was, I am!” “Hallowed be Thy name” is a statement of affirmation for who God is by His very nature and also a petition to our own lives to hold God in the proper place of reverence.
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 and to treat as holy. The best modern word is probably reverence. When you hold something in reverence, you hold it in the highest regard and honor it. You deem it worthy of your respect and best behavior and effort.
This building is worthy of our reverence because we respect what it is. Our behavior here should be our best. The effort we give the church should be our best. Have you ever considered that when you give the church your second best effort or no effort at all, you are guilty of irreverence?
When we pray for God’s name to be hallowed, we are saying, “Let your name be reverenced and holy on earth as it already is in heaven.” We want the name of God to be given the unique reverence it is due. When we pray “hallowed be Thy name,” we are not rushing into God’s presence to demand something, we are recognizing who God is and the incredible truth that He has chosen to have a relationship with us. This Holy, totally different from us, eternal being, has chosen to be our Father. Our only response is to fall on our faces in recognition of the awesome holiness of our God!
The name of God is always an expression of His character. The Psalmist said, “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; but we will remember the name of the Lord God.” (Psalm 20:7) In scripture, a name was more than a handle by which someone was called. The name signified character. That is why Jacob (The heel-grabber) became Israel (Man of God). When his character changed so did his name. The same is true of Abram (Abraham) and Saul (Paul). Isaiah gave his children names that symbolized the situation of the children of Israel. For example, he named a son Mahershalalhashbaz. Other than being the longest name in the Bible, it means: destruction is speedily coming. The name was a prophetic warning for the nation.
We are advised to pray in the name of Jesus. Does that mean that we are to conclude each prayer with an audible voicing of that two syllable name? No, it means that we pray considering the character, conduct and desires of Jesus!
When we understand that God’s name reveals a God who desires to be in relationship with us, then we realize that His name invites us to know Him. We can reverence God and worship Him by praying through the names of God or at least by understanding the names and what each one reveals about God’s character. These names for God are used throughout the Bible as recognitions of who God is. They speak of His character and what He does. Yahweh is the name He gave Himself when he revealed Himself to Moses, It means, “I am.” But God is addressed by various titles that hallow that name by reverencing His attributes.
Elohim – the mighty Creator (Genesis 1:1)
Adonai – master or Lord (Genesis 15). This is the term that man used because the proper name of God was too holy to speak. When addressing God in prayer, the ancients would address the prayer to Adonai, Lord.
El Shaddai – Almighty God (Genesis 17)
El Elyon – God most high (Genesis 14)
El Roi – The strong one who sees (Genesis 16)
El Olam – Everlasting God (Genesis 21:22-33)
Jehovah (Yahweh) – I am (Genesis 3:14-15)
Jehovah Jireh – the Lord our Provider (Genesis 22)
Jehovah M’kaddesh – the God who sanctifies (Leviticus 20:1-8)
Jehovah Nissi – the Lord our banner (Ex.17:8-16)
Jehovah Rohi – the Lord my Shepherd (Psalm 23)
Jehovah Rophe – the God who heals (Ex. 15:22-26)
Jehovah Shalom – the Lord our peace (Jud. 6:11-24)
Jehovah Shammah – the Lord is here (Ez. 48:30-35
Jehovah Tsidkenu – the Lord our righteousness (Jer. 23:5-6)
When we pray we should acknowledge God’s name in reference to our needs. You don’t necessarily have to say these ancient names, but you should recognize what they say about the person of God and His provision for us. They also speak of His relationship to us.
The name of God (His character) was most fully revealed in Jesus Christ. Jesus said in His prayer for His disciples in John 17:6, “I have manifested Thy name.” In other words, Jesus was affirming that He had revealed the character of God in the life that He lived.
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 this, you are placing God on the throne of your heart. He is on the throne in heaven, and when we reverence all His name means, we are placing Him on the earthly throne of our lives.
His name is hallowed in our lives when our first and foremost desire of our life is to reveal to others the name and character of Jesus Christ. When we really pray this prayer, we are concerned that every detail of our lives should be for His glory.
Whatever activity you or I undertake, our first thought should be, “Is this for the glory of God?” This thought should be in my mind when I choose the books I read or the movies I watch. This phrase applies to the friends I make and how I treat them. It will be the chief concern of all my habits and all my ambitions. This will be my supreme objective in every pleasure I seek; that God’s name be hallowed. This will be my attitude in every sorrow and trial that I face; that God’s name be hallowed!
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 that name to be blasphemed and made a mockery to the world. When we pray each day “hallowed be Thy name,” we are saying, “Father, your reputation is at stake with me today. Help me to live in such a way that I am a credit to you. May others see your character through my behavior and honor your name because of what they see of you in me.”
Let me quickly give you five essentials concerning honoring God.
First, God has a name. He revealed it to Moses as “Yahweh,” I am. There are many names attributed to God in the Bible and each of these denotes an aspect of either His character or His relationship to us. The name of God is who he is. If I say the name Billy Graham, many images come to your mind. We think of a person who has stood the test of time, who has reached millions with the Gospel and has lived a life that has brought honor to Jesus Christ. His name speaks of his character. If I say the name Saddam Hussein, you immediately get a picture of a man’s character that is as reprehensible as Billy Graham’s is admirable. The name speaks of the person’s character. God has a name. What does that name say to you?
Second, God’s name is holy. The word holy, in Greek, means different. The name of God is holy because he is totally different from us. He is the creator and we are part of the creation. He is the eternal present tense. We are born, live and die. God has no beginning and no end. He is different. God is worthy of our adoration, reverence and praise because He is Holy and His name should be hallowed.
Third, God wants us to praise Him. We were created to praise the Father. Our purpose is to reflect back to God His glory. We are to worship Him in this place, but we are also to praise Him with every moment of our lives. Every day, every activity, every word, every relationship should bring glory and honor to the name of God. From our waking up until our lying down our lives should be a concert bringing praise and honor to God.
Fourth, we can praise God’s name in prayer. A time of adoration should be a part of every prayer we offer. Our prayers are all too often simply a laundry list of wants, wishes, desires and even demands. God does desire to hear our supplications and petitions, but “God inhabits our praise.”
Fifth, God will not force us to praise Him and hallow His name. It must come from a heart of gratitude and praise. That will only happen when the attributes of the name of Jesus Christ becomes the attributes of our life!
“Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name.”
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