Prayer
Hallow the name of God
Matthew 6:8-15
8 Do not be like them. Your Father already knows
what you need before you ask him.9 This, then, is how you should pray:
'Our Father in heaven: May your holy name be honoured; 10 may your
Kingdom come; may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give
us today the food we need. 12 Forgive us the wrongs we have done, as we
forgive the wrongs that others have done to us. 13 Do not bring us to
hard testing, but keep us safe from the Evil One.' 14 "If you forgive
others the wrongs they have done to you, your Father in heaven will also
forgive you.15 But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will
not forgive the wrongs you have done.
NCV
Hallowed be thy name
Praise and worship the name of God. Think of the name of God. To hallow God&s name means to honor it above all other names. We honor God with our lives and our words.
Philippians 3:19 They
are going to end up in hell, because their god is their bodily desires.
They are proud of what they should be ashamed of, and they think only
of things that belong to this world. TEV
John 5:23 so that all will honour the Son in the
same way as they honour the Father. Whoever does not honour the Son does
not honour the Father who sent him. TEV
We can also hallow God&s name
by having a sound knowledge of Him.
Psalm 48:14 For this God is our God for ever and
ever: he will be our guide even unto death. KJV
Knowing that God is forever and will be our guide means that we must come
to know and understand Him. It means we must follow the greatest commandment,
a command repeated by Christ in Matthew 22:37, but originally given the
the nation of Israel by God through Moses just before the nation moved
into the promised land.
Deuteronomy 6:4-5 4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our
God, the LORD is one. 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and
with all your soul and with all your strength. NIV
To hallow God's name also means to not sadden or grieve God. In simple terms, this means to not do anything that would be in disobedience to God. In other words, everytime we sin, we are grieving God. Ephesians 4:30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. NIV
If "Father" represents
the mercy of God, God&s name Yahweh (Jehovah) represents
His majesty.
Isaiah 42:8 I am the Lord, that is
My name; And My glory I will not give to another, Nor My praise to carved
images. NKJV
By focusing upon Who God truly is and the blessings He has given to us, our love, praise, and worship should be overwhelming. Like those pictured around the throne in Revelation 4 &5, we should want to do nothing but spend our entire day worshiping God.
Still, we can reflect upon the Old Testament names given to God and relate them to the New Covenant of grace. This relation and the knowledge of God's character will help us to form our faith more strongly.
God's name represents His character and essence. It tells us Who God is. Because God is so immense, compound names are frequently encountered to describe different aspects of His character. Just as revelation in general has been given to us in small steps, so, too, has God revealed His character. Some of His names that relate to the specifics of this pattern prayer are:
Jehovah Tsidkenu, Jehovah
our righteousness, reminds us of our sinful condition when compared to
God.
Jeremiah 23:6 In his days Judah will be saved and
Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called:
The LORD Our Righteousness. NIV
Jehovah m'kaddes, Jehovah
who sanctifies, points us to the Cross and the work of Jesus. Since God
is one and the Trinity is one, the work of Jesus the work of the Father.
Leviticus 20:8 Keep my decrees and follow them.
I am the LORD, who makes you holy. NIV
Jehovah Shalom,
Jehovah is peace,
Judges 6:24 So Gideon built an altar to the LORD
there and called it The LORD is Peace. To this day it stands in
Ophrah of the Abiezrites. NIV
and Jehovah Shammah, Jehovah is there,
Ezekiel 48:35 "The distance all around will be 18,000
cubits. "And the name of the city from that time on will be: THE LORD
IS THERE." NIV
point us to the third member of the Holy Trinity, the Holy Spirit.
The New Covenant provides God&##8;s law will be written on our heart, and
it is through the Holy Spirit that this occurs. the Holy Spirit brings
peace and joy to our lives as we abide in Christ.
Jehovah Rophe, Jehovah
heals, reminds us of the soundness of God, a God Who is everlasting and
unchanging, a God Who has the power and ability to fulfill the promises
of the prayer.
Exodus 15:26 He said, "If you listen carefully to
the voice of the LORD your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you
pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring
on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the
LORD, who heals you." NIV
Jehovah Jireh, Jehovah
will provide, points to the success of the Christian. God will provide
all of our needs.
Genesis 22:13-14 13 Abraham looked up and there
in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the
ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham
called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is
said, "On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided."
NIV
Reflect upon Paul&s words in Philippians:
Philippians 4:19 And my God will meet all your needs
according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. NIV
Jehovah Nissi, Jehovah
my banner,
Exodus 17:15 Moses built an altar and called it
The LORD is my Banner. NIV
and Jehovah Rohi, Jehovah my Shepherd,
Psalm 23:1 The LORD is my shepherd,
I shall not be in want. NIV
point to the security the believer finds in God. God is able to accomplish
all He sets forth to Will.
In turn we hallow and sanctify
God&s name when we profess His name, when we give high appreciation to
him in our actions and thoughts, and when we are reverent in our worship.
Psalm 96:8 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his
name; bring an offering and come into his courts. NIV
To God be the glory.
