"Hallowed be Thy name" (Matt. 6:9).
Prayer should always exalt God.
The Disciples' Prayer illustrates the priority that God should hold in our prayers. Jesus began by exalting the Father: "Hallowed be Thy name" (v. 9), then requested that the Father's kingdom come and His will be done (v. 10). He concluded with an anthem of praise: "For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen" (v. 13). His prayer literally begins and ends with God.
"Hallowed be Thy name" exalts the name of the Lord and sets a tone of worship and submission that is sustained throughout the prayer. Where God's name is hallowed, He will be loved and revered, His kingdom eagerly anticipated, and His will obeyed.
"Thy name" speaks of more than a title such as "God," "Lord," or "Jehovah." It speaks of God Himself and is the composite of all His attributes. The Hebrews considered God's name so sacred they wouldn't even speak it, but they missed the point. While meticulously guarding the letters of His name, they slandered His character and disobeyed His Word. Because of them the name of God was blasphemed among the Gentiles (Rom. 2:24).
Psalms 102:15
15 So the nations shall fear the name of Jehovah, And all the kings of the earth thy glory.
says, "The nations will fear the name of the Lord, and all the kings of the earth Thy glory." It's not the letters of God's name that the nations fear; it's the embodiment of all He is. As Jesus prayed, "I manifested Thy name to the men whom Thou gavest Me" (
John 17:6
6 I manifested thy name unto the men whom thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them to me; and they have kept thy word.
). He did that by revealing who God is.
John 1:14
14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father), full of grace and truth.
says, "The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth." Jesus told Philip, "He who has seen Me has seen the Father" (
John 14:9
9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and dost thou not know me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; how sayest thou, Show us the Father?
). Jesus is the manifestation of all who God is.
Manifesting the priority of God in your prayers involves acknowledging who He is and approaching Him with a reverent, humble spirit that is yielded to His will. As you do that, He will hallow His name through you.
Suggestions for Prayer
- Praise God for His holiness.
- Ask Him to use you today to demonstrate His holiness to others.
For Further Study
Read
Numbers 20
Chapter 20 1 And the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, came into the wilderness of Zin in the first month: and the people abode in Kadesh; and Miriam died there, and was buried there. 2 And there was no water for the congregation: and they assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron. 3 And the people strove with Moses, and spake, saying, Would that we had died when our brethren died before Jehovah! 4 And why have ye brought the assembly of Jehovah into this wilderness, that we should die there, we and our beasts? 5 And wherefore have ye made us to come up out of Egypt, to bring us in unto this evil place? it is no place of seed, or of figs, or of vines, or of pomegranates; neither is there any water to drink. 6 And Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly unto the door of the tent of meeting, and fell upon their faces: and the glory of Jehovah appeared unto them. 7 And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying, 8 Take the rod, and assemble the congregation, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes, that it give forth its water; and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock; so thou shalt give the congregation and their cattle drink. 9 And Moses took the rod from before Jehovah, as he commanded him. 10 And Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; shall we bring you forth water out of this rock? 11 And Moses lifted up his hand, and smote the rock with his rod twice: and water came forth abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their cattle. 12 And Jehovah said unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed not in me, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them. 13 These are the waters of Meribah; because the children of Israel strove with Jehovah, and he was sanctified in them. 14 And Moses sent messengers from Kadesh unto the king of Edom, Thus saith thy brother Israel, Thou knowest all the travail that hath befallen us: 15 how our fathers went down into Egypt, and we dwelt in Egypt a long time; and the Egyptians dealt ill with us, and our fathers: 16 and when we cried unto Jehovah, he heard our voice, and sent an angel, and brought us forth out of Egypt: and, behold, we are in Kadesh, a city in the uttermost of thy border. 17 Let us pass, I pray thee, through thy land: we will not pass through field or through vineyard, neither will we drink of the water of the wells: we will go along the king's highway; we will not turn aside to the right hand nor to the left, until we have passed thy border. 18 And Edom said unto him, Thou shalt not pass through me, lest I come out with the sword against thee. 19 And the children of Israel said unto him, We will go up by the highway; and if we drink of thy water, I and my cattle, then will I give the price thereof: let me only, without `doing' anything `else', pass through on my feet. 20 And he said, Thou shalt not pass through. And Edom came out against him with much people, and with a strong hand. 21 Thus Edom refused to give Israel passage through his border: wherefore Israel turned away from him. 22 And they journeyed from Kadesh: and the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, came unto mount Hor. 23 And Jehovah spake unto Moses and Aaron in mount Hor, by the border of the land of Edom, saying, 24 Aaron shall be gathered unto his people; for he shall not enter into the land which I have given unto the children of Israel, because ye rebelled against my word at the waters of Meribah. 25 Take Aaron and Eleazar his son, and bring them up unto mount Hor; 26 and strip Aaron of his garments, and put them upon Eleazar his son: and Aaron shall be gathered `unto his people', and shall die there. 27 And Moses did as Jehovah commanded: and they went up into mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation. 28 And Moses stripped Aaron of his garments, and put them upon Eleazar his son; and Aaron died there on the top of the mount: and Moses and Eleazar came down from the mount. 29 And when all the congregation saw that Aaron was dead, they wept for Aaron thirty days, even all the house of Israel.
. How did Moses show irreverence for God's name?
From Drawing Near by John MacArthur Copyright © 1993. Used by permission of Crossway Books, a division of Good News Publishers, Wheaton, IL 60187, www.crossway.com.
Additional Resources
