Teach Us To Pray The Holiest Name “Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.” (Luke 11:2-4) Millions of sincere people have memorized these three verses as a prayer. In doing so, they have missed the greater meaning that Jesus Christ intended when He spoke these words. Jesus was declaring to the disciples the majestic qualities of the Father that they could never have imagined on their own. “No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, [Jesus] hath declared Him.” (John 1:18) > Hallowed be thy name is antiquated language that needs some clarification. The significance of the word Hallowed is lost on many people who repeat it often. It is similar to the Hallowe’en, which is short for “All Hallow Evening” – which still doesn’t give a clue to its meaning. Hallow is simply old English for “holy.” The trouble is most people also don’t know what holy means. Sure, they know it is a common religious word – but few people stop to think about what it means. Holy means “set apart.” As it is used here, “Hallowed be thy name” would best be rendered “Father, Your Name is the Holiest;” or “Your Name is set apart in a class all its own, held in the greatest respect;” or “No other name compares to Your Holy Name.” Jesus intended that only His Father have the title, Holy Father. He specifically excluded any earthly religious leader being called Holy Father. In Matthew 23:9, He demanded that only His Heavenly Father be referred to in that way. “And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.” Just what should we gather by the thought “Your name is the Holiest” when we pray to our Father? The point is we are not informing Him. God already knows that His name is set above every other name. “He sent redemption unto his people: he hath commanded his covenant forever: holy and reverend is his name.” (Psalms 111:9) God’s name - i.e., God’s authority, His power, His majesty - is in a class high above every other being. In Isaiah 55:9, God tells us that His ways and thoughts are completely different from man’s. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.” Why then would Jesus tell us that, when we pray, we should say, “Father, your name is the holiest?” The answer is that Jesus Christ gave us this clause so that we would come to understand the supreme sovereignty of the Father. When we pray “Me and You LORD,” we might think that we are able to rise to a similar level with God. We must realize that He exists in a spiritual realm far higher than our mundane existence. It will only be in the resurrection that we will be able to experience His eternal glory. “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God… Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is.” (1 John 3:1-2) In praying “ Hallowed be thy name,” we are admitting that we recognize and accept that God is set apart, set entirely above every other being. It is saying to God, “I admit that Your dominion far exceeds everything else that exists.” How amazing it is then to have the privilege of receiving the attention of, and being heard by our great God! It is astounding that, as great as God is, He is willing to always be available to us! We do not have to “take a number” or stand in line. We are told in Romans 12:12 that we can be instant in prayer. The Father is accessible to us, because He wants us to be like Him. The absolutely incredible thing is that the Father receives our prayers! “The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and His ears are open unto their cry.” (Psalms 34:15) God is a family and a family name. By His grace, it is our good pleasure to inherit that God Family name – in other words, our name will be the same as His. It is God’s intention that we be holy, and that our names be “Hallowed” as well. “Be ye holy; for I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:16) “Neither shall ye profane my holy name; but I will be hallowed among the children of Israel: I am the LORD which hallow you.” (Leviticus 22:32) When do we take on the Father’s name? We aren’t born with it! We know that we must have the Father’s name to be assured of having His protection in this evil world. Jesus shows this in His prayer recorded in John 17. Notice verse: 11. “Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.” > When we are born, we are named after our dad’s last name. We are given, and we take on the Father’s name in baptism – showing that we have become children of God. We were baptized into the Father’s name and spirit life – the same name and spirit Jesus has. “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 28:19) If we didn’t have the same family name as the Father, how could we expect to inherit His kingdom? Strangers do not receive an inheritance. We are told in Ephesians 2:19 and 3:15 that we are not strangers but members of the family of God. Therefore, as His children, we literally become His heirs – just like Jesus. “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ;” (Romans 8:16-17) We are joint-heirs with Jesus Christ, the Son of God! That is why the children of God are called saints i.e., “holy ones,” because we are set apart by the Father’s name! In this life on earth, we continue to go by our dad’s family name. As baptized Christians, children of the Kingdom of God, Jesus writes His Father’s name upon us. In Revelation 3:12 Jesus says to us, “I will write upon him the name of My God…and I will write upon him my new name.” Revelation 14:1 actually reads in the Greek texts, “…having His [Jesus’] name and His Father's name…” In teaching the disciples to pray “Hallowed be thy name,” Jesus was developing the third commandment (Exodus 20:7) for them to build upon. He was showing them how the Father’s name is to be treated with the greatest dignity and highest respect. “Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.” When we say, “Hallowed be thy name,” we reflect on our Father’s names and titles that tell us so much about His awesome power, magnificent character, boundless goodness, supreme authority, and everlasting kingdom. |
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