… hallowed be your name,
Summary: The Lord’s Prayer continues with an instruction to hallow God’s name. Figuring out what that means is part of the challenge.
Imagine for a moment that you and I work for the same company. We are in the same department and we share the same job titles. We are a team. The boss depends on us to carry out unusual assignments without asking a lot of questions. Sometimes, all we get is a single sentence for our instructions.
Today is one of those days.
The boss comes into our office, looks around furtively, and without smiling places a manila envelope on our desk. Then, without saying a word, the boss leaves.
We look at each other and then at the envelope on the desk between us. I nod and you reach out to pick up the instructions left by the boss. You open the envelope and pull out a single sheet of paper. On the top of the page are two words, “I AM.” Underneath these words is a single sentence. It reads:
“Hallow this name.”
You look up from the paper with a furrowed brow. “What do we do?” you ask.
Without speaking I pull out my battered copy of “Webster’s New International Dictionary of the English Language,” Second Edition, unabridged, published in 1944. I lug it over to my desk and set it down. Sometimes when it comes to questions about language, the older the reference material, the better. It says:
“Hallow (hāl’lō), verb, transitive. (See HALLOWED, adj.);
“To make holy; to set apart for holy or religious use; to consecrate; to treat or keep as sacred. “Hallowed be they name.” Matt. vi. 9.
Synonym — See DEDICATE. Antonym — Profane, desecrate.”
After reading the definition out loud, I turn to you and ask, “How do we do that?”
Application: As we find ourselves confronted with uncommon words, it helps to study their definitions.
Food for Thought: How do we hallow God’s name?
11-14-2022, How do we hallow God’s name?
As we honor His name, His word, creation and all He is with reverent obedience to His will over our own and the evil of this world. We hallow His name.
Amen!
Ezekiel 36: 16 – 27 is instructive. In this case Israel had profaned God’s name among the nations. They did this through idolatry and by refusing to obey His statutes and ordinances. As a result the Lord was compelled to discipline them which made Him look bad among the nations.
If we live with Him as our only God, with Him as priority and in obedience then the result will be that His name will be seen as holy by others. If He is seen as holy by us, others will see that too. This happens by obedience out of love (John 14: 15, 21, 23).
When we pray hallowed by Your name – it means that we understand His holiness and then He is seen as holy through us. He is holy whether we acknowledge it or not. We are not praying that He becomes holy, but rather that we see it and become magnifying glasses of that truth for others.
” He is holy whether we acknowledge it or not. ”
True. As you point out, we are praying not for our God to be holy, but for his people to recognize his holiness.
Both very wise answers.
How do we hallow God’s name?
Not sure how or why what comes to mind lately is the whole image of God not just His name. Granted every aspect of God is Holy. For some reason I keep thinking about James 3:9-11. I’m wanting to try to link up thoughts and answers with scripture more often and I’m not sure why the first thing that came to mind was James 3:9-11. Maybe I need to do a study tonight about it.
Tim,
I really like your reference:
“ With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring?” (James 3:9-11)
It is an either/or proposition. We either honor our God or we dishonor him.