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Food for Thought : The Priority of Prayer

"Hallowed be Thy name" Matthew 6...

Dr. Mark Ruppert

Matthew 6:9b

Last Sunday we looked at the first two words of the Lord’s Prayer, Our Father,” and this morning we want to focus on the line, “Hallowed be Thy name.”

I remember when I was in Egypt during the summer of 1976 and in the Holy Land in October of 1998 I had the opportunity to visit some of the holy and sacred sites of the Muslims. One place that stands out in my mind is the El Aqsa Mosque located on the Temple Mount, there in the Holy City, Jerusalem. Whatever Mosque you enter whether it is in Israel or Egypt or wherever, out or respect and reverence you remove your shoes because you are entering holy ground. And so when I come to this part of the Lord’s Prayer I have this feeling, this image in my mind that maybe we should take off our shoes because we are now talking about the Holiness of God.

Maybe you remember in the Bible the call of Moses that is found in Exodus 2:23-4:17. We read how the Israelites are being oppressed down in Egypt and God calls Moses to be the leader of the people. It says in Exodus 2:23-3:5, “After a long time the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned under their slavery, and cried out. Out of the slavery their cry for help rose up to God. God head their groaning, and god remembered his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God looked upon the Israelites, and God took notice of them. Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. The angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. Then Moses said, ‘I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up.’ When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, ’Moses, Moses!” And he said, ‘Here I am.’ Then he said, ‘Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.’”

The word Hallowed means Holy, or Set Apart. When we come to God in prayer we need to do so recognizing that our Creator God is distinct from the creation. He is holy and we are not. God is totally and completely pure. He is far wiser than we are. He is more powerful than the largest atomic bomb or exploding supernova. When we pray we need to realize that we are entering the presence of God Almighty.

And so, when we pray to God, we need to remember that our first petition should not focus on us, on you or me, but on God. He is a loving, Heavenly Father; and we should celebrate that He cares for us and our needs and He has all the resources to meet those needs and, and we need to remember that He is the Lord of the universe.

Those of you who were alive and around “When John F. Kennedy was President of the United States, Life magazine published photos of his children, John Jr. and Caroline, playing with their toys on the floor of the Oval Office. Those images captured the hearts of the American people like nothing before or since. Why?... Because it bridged a gap between two thoughts: Kennedy was the President of the United States, but he was also a father. He held ultimate political power in the Free World, but playing at his feet were two little kids who called him Daddy…. [Do you] think your kids would have been allowed to do that[?]… But his kids were. Why? He was their father. He was not only President of the United States; he was their dad. In the same way, God is both Father and Lord of glory. We can approach Him confidently in prayer because we are His dearly beloved children, but we must never forget that He is also the Sovereign of the universe.” (David Jeremiah, Prayer, the Great Adventure, pp. 89-90)

“An ancient Orthodox writer wrote, ‘God cannot be grasped by the mind. If he could be grasped, he would not be God.’ We are profoundly different, God and I, which explains why friendship is not the primary model used in the Bible to describe our relationship. Worship is.” (Philip Yancey, Reaching for the Invisible God, p. 110)

I don’t know about you but I love to sing the hymn Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty” because only God is deserving to be called “Holy”. And so when we worship God whether in the congregation as we do on Sunday mornings and Sunday evenings and at other times, whether we worship God in the quiet of our room we need to give Him all the praise and honor and glory due His holy name. We are to praise Him and acknowledge all God’s attributes and not forget one aspect of His love.

Let me take a moment and talk about the Jewish Concept of God’s Name. The Jews actually went overboard when it came to the name of God. They had developed such a sacred approach to God’s name that they did not even say the name of God. They were more concerned with not saying the name of God even though they dishonored His person. You see the Jews made up another name for God and that was Jehovah. While the name Jehovah shows up many times in the Old Testament there is no such word in Hebrew. What they did was take two names of God, Yahweh and Adonai, take out the consonants from Yahweh and the vowels from Adonai, put them together and they came up with Jehovah. They made up the name so that they would not have to say the real word for God’s name.
But what about the Biblical Concept of God’s Name? First, we have to understand that a name said something about a person’s character. The name Jacob means “takes by the heel or he supplants”, and that is exactly what he did as he took his brother Esau’s birthright.
There are other examples we could look at but the important thing to remember is that a name represented a person’s character.

Second, we need to realize that God’s Names Represent His Character, Attributes, and Nature. For example look at the insert and look at the different names of God and how each says something about His character. And so that I share something about the King of kings and Lord of lords, Jesus Christ, take a moment and look at the various names of Jesus Christ on the insert.

The question could be raised, How do we human beings Hallow the name of God? The “Lord’s Prayer” gives indication that we hallow God’s name through the lives that we live. We hallow the name of God when we affirm what it says in Hebrews 11:6 that “whoever would approach him must believe that he exists….” And isn’t this the heart of the matter, believing that He exists? Saying, “Yes, Lord, I believe.”

Next, we hallow God’s name when our beliefs are being true to the Word of God. The Church Father, Origen, brought out the fact that true doctrine and true teaching are reverence to God and false doctrine and false teaching are irreverence to God. Think of it this way: because we are human beings and might confuse partial truths with the whole truth we might distort the truth of God and ‘our concept of God may be hallowed among us.’ ‘The person who brings his or her concept of God ideas which have no place there takes the name of the Lord God in vain.’ Therefore, since the name of God means the nature and the character of God, anyone who brings into his or her idea of God thoughts and conceptions which are alien to the true character of God is guilty of irreverence and of failure to hallow the name of God. (William Barclay, the Lord’s Prayer, p. 46) I mean lets be honest, there have been those times when God has been presented as a God of nationalism and of battles.

There have been those who have fashioned a God to support their ideas of racial superiority. There have even been those who have said that God would ban unbaptized children from heaven. If we are going to hallow the name of God then we better be sure that our conception of God is truly Christian.

Third, we hallow God’s name when we are always aware of His presence. Listen to what David says in Psalm 16:8. It says, “I keep the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.” If we really want to hallow the name of God then we live a God-conscience life where He enters into actions as well as what we say and think.
And finally, we hallow God’s name when we live in obedience to Him. Obedience is crucial if we are to hallow His name and disobedience causes a separation with God and does not bear witness to His name.

It was the famous German pagan philosopher, Nietschze, whom years ago issued a challenge to every professing Christian when he said, “Show me that you are redeemed and then I will believe in your redeemer.” That is why our lives must be a living witness, our lives must glorify Him so that others might come to yearn for the truth we possess. Don’t you desire your unbelieving friend to come to know Christ? Then we must show them through obedient lives lived for Him.

The famous Scotsman, William Barclay said this about this part of the prayer, “Hallowed be thy name—here is the petition which saves the idea of the Fatherhood of God from all sentimentality and which sets down in unmistakable terms the inescapable obligation of reverence. In it we pray that God himself should enable us to give to him the unique place which his nature and character and personality as revealed in Jesus Christ demand and deserve.” (Barclay, p. 50-51)

Let me just close by saying that in his Larger Catechism, the famous reformer, Martin Luther, asks the question: “How is it (God’s name is) hallowed amongst us?” And this is his answer, “When our life and doctrine are truly Christian.” May it be so for us Lord, may it be so. Amen.

The Names of God
Elohim designates god as Creator (Gen. 1:1)
El Elyon designates God as the sovereign ruler of the universe--- the Most High (Gen. 14:18)
Jehovah-Jireh = the Lord will provide (Gen. 22:14)
Jehovah-Nissi = the lord our banner (Ex. 17:15)
Jehovah-Rapha = the Lord that heals (Ex. 17:15)
Jehovah-Shalom = the Lord our peace (Judg. 6:24)
Jehovah-Raah = the lord my shepherd (Ps. 23:6)
Jehovah-Tsidkenu = the Lord our righteousness (Jer. 23:6)
Jehovah-Sabaoth = the Lord of hosts (I Sam. 1:3)
Jehovah-Mekaddishkem = the Lord sanctifies you (Ex. 31:13)

The Names of Jesus Christ
The Bread of Life (Jn. 6:35)
The Living Water (Jn. 4:10,11)
The Way, the Truth, the Life (Jn. 14:6)
The Resurrection (Jn. 11:25)
The Good Shepherd (Jn. 10:11)
The Branch (Isa. 4:2)
The Bright and Morning Star (Rev. 22:16)
The Lamb of God (Jn. 1:29,36)
The Rose of Sharon (Song of Solomon 2:1)
The Lily of the Valley (Song of Solomon 2:1)
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace (Isa. 9:6)

Key Points

Introduction: Visiting a holy site for Muslims- El Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem

The Call of Moses Ex. 2:23-4:17

The word Hallowed means _______ or _____ ______

The Jewish concept of God’s name

The Biblical concept of God’s name
First, a name said something about a person’s _________

Second, God’s names represent His _______, _______
and _________ (see insert for the different names of God
and Jesus Christ)

How do we hallow the name of God?
Through the _______ we live Heb. 11:6

When our _______ are being true to the Word of God

When we are always aware of His _________ Ps. 16:8

When we live in ________ to Him

Conclusion: The great reformer, Martin Luther, asked the question: “How is it (God’s name is) hallowed amongst us?” His answer, “When our life and doctrine are truly Christian.”

Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)