Teach us to Pray 3

Hallowed be thy name

Praying Like Jesus

Part 3

“Hallowed be thy Name”

Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

 Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

 And forgive us our trespassers, as we forgive those who trespass against us.

 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.

PRAY

Hallowing God

What captivates your heart? What do you call awesome?  What amazes you?

I think back in my life to the different times I stood in awe of something. 

· When I was about 13 years old, I remember standing at the mouth of the Grand Canyon and gazing into it in awe.  A magnificent wonder that God created.

· I am always amazed by the Ocean; you cannot tell where the horizon begins, and the ocean ends.  It is so massive, beautiful, and seemingly endless.  I can sit and stare at it for hours

· I remember visiting New York City and gazing up at the Statue of Liberty; amazed that modern man could make something so grand

· And I remember when I visited Athens Greece 5 years ago, and I looked upon the Parthenon (which is the Greek temple of the God’s) and I marveled at the ingenuity of men even thousands of years ago that could build a structure that still stands today.

· And I remember looking into the eyes of my newborn child, awestruck at a life that had come from me, and was a part of me.

All these wonders…all amazing…but all created.  Some of them were created by man, and some of them were created by God—but they were all creations. 

People spend a lot of time and money to reverence and awe creation; standing and gazing at the Niagara Falls, or staring and studying the stars for hours, or spending thousands of dollars to cruise the ocean water.  How often we stand in awe of creation, and forget to stand in awe of the creator.  If nothing else, all the magnificence in the world (even those created by man) should point us to the creator God, because the very ability to create is a gift given to man by God and is the very likeness of God being displayed in man. 

Romans 1:20 MEV

The invisible things about Him—His eternal power and deity—have been clearly seen since the creation of the world and are understood by the things that are made, so that they are without excuse.

 If you open your eyes, you can see God all around you—creation is the proof there is a creator.  The world has no excuse for not recognizing God, because the evidence of God is all around us.  But yet so many stand in awe of creation, and forget about the creator.

Even in the church we sometimes forget the proper order of things; we stand in awe of a great preacher and his ability to communicate, we stand in awe of the talent of a singer or a musician, we worship the worship instead of worshiping the creator, or we stand in awe of grand buildings and popular ministries.  We stand in awe of the creation, and forget to glorify the creator.

Paul Tripp says:

Awe of God puts ministry gifts and experience in their proper place. I cannot grow arrogant and smug about my gifts, because unless those gifts are empowered by the glorious grace of the God I serve, they have no power to rescue or change anyone.

Awe of God puts our music and liturgy in its proper place. Yes, we should want to lead people in worship that is both biblical and engaging, but we have no power to really engage the heart without the awesome presence of the Holy Spirit who propels and applies all we seek to do.

Awe of God puts our buildings and property in their proper place. How a building is constructed, maintained, and used is very important, but buildings have never called or justified anyone---only a God of awesome sovereign grace can do so.

Awe of God puts our history and traditions in their proper place. Yes, we should be thankful for the ways God has worked in our past, and we should seek to retain the things that are a proper expression of what he says is important. But we don't rest in our history---only in the God of glory who is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

The second declaration in the Lord’s Prayer says “Hallowed be thy name.” Although He is our father who is in Heaven, and we experience a personal relationship with Him, His name is still to be hallowed.  “Hallowed” is not a word we use very often. It is an archaic word that speaks of monastery halls and dismal chants. With this word, you can almost picture a medieval monastery where the old men come strolling through the arches dressed in long brown robes, swinging censers filled with smoky incense and singing mournful music.

That’s our basic problem. The phrase itself sounds like it belongs back in the 12th century, and we really don’t know what to do with it in the 21st century. Our other problem is that we don’t know what it means. Since we don’t know what it means, we’re not really sure what we’re praying for.

But it is important to note that this is how Jesus began His prayer.  We may not quite understand what it means, but it is obvious that it is important, and it has to do with honoring God.  The lesson to be learned here is that prayer doesn’t begin with our concerns; prayer begins with God’s concerns. Or to put it in its simplest form, prayer doesn’t begin with us; prayer begins with God.  So when we pray to the Father, we are to begin by praying, “Hallowed be your name.”

The word “hallowed” simply means “holy” or “sacred.” “Hallow” is the verbal form of the noun holy.’  To “hallow” something is to declare or recognize its’ “holiness”. To be holy is to be set apart or to be in a class all by oneself.   So the prayer is this. “Lord, may your name be treated with respect and honor, because your name is sacred and holy.” You hallow God’s name when you treat it with the utmost respect, and you set it apart. 

What does it mean to set something apart? In 1999, Michael Jordan was named the greatest North American athlete of the 20th century by ESPN. As a result, the Chicago Bulls have taken his jersey, number 23, and set it apart. No one else can have it, and no one else can wear this number.

Retiring Jordan’s jersey didn’t make him a good basketball player; he already was a good basketball player—that’s why they retired the jersey. People that sit on the sidelines don’t have their jerseys retired. But because of who he was and what he did, the number associated with Michael Jordan, his identifier on the court, you could even call it a name, was set apart.

Because of whom God is and what he’s done, he is in a class all by himself. He is holy, set apart from his creation. To hallow God’s name is to set God’s name apart as uniquely glorious. You don’t make God holy, because God is already holy whether you confess it or not, but you recognize and declare God’s holiness…and this is pleasing to God.  This is a type of praise and worship; coming into his presence with honor, respect, and praise on your lips.

John Piper says to hallow the name of God is to put it in a class by itself, and to cherish and honor it above every claim to our allegiance or affection.  When we look at the name of God, there should be nothing that competes for our allegiance to this name or our affections. But, unfortunately, in our sin there are many things that lay claim on our allegiance and affection.  

John Calvin said, “The need for [this first petition] is associated with our great shame.” When who God is and what he has done is made known, it should “captivate us with wonderment for him and impel us to celebrate his praise.”  But if we are honest, we must confess that there are other things that captivate us.

His name is hallowed already, but we must humble ourselves and our affections, and hallow His name in us.  We proclaim his holiness and worthiness, and spiritually bow ourselves before Him in subjection to Him and His authority.  This is what it means to Hallow God.

Hallowing God’s Name

But also notice the prayer tells us to not just Hallow God, but to hallow God’s name. 

What is so important about His name?

Well we use names as convenient tags. There usually isn’t a lot of thought put into what a name means, but more of an emphasis on how the name sounds.  There are some who do take the time to figure out what a name means, but it is generally after they’ve come up with a name they like.

But still your name is important to you. Your name may not matter to anyone else in the world, but you care about your name because it identifies who you are. You may be one of 20 John Smiths in the phone book, but to you, you are the only John Smith who really matters.  Your name is important and you don’t want your name smeared all over town.

Somewhere I read the story of a soldier in the army of Alexander the Great who deserted his post in battle. When asked his name, the quaking soldier replied, “Alexander, my Lord.” Whereupon Alexander the Great said, “You have three choices. Fight, get out of the army, or change your name.”   Alexander the Great did not want his name associated with a coward or a deserter.

Names mean something…especially last names. They communicate history, tradition, and family heritage.  People identify you with your family name (sometimes that is a good thing, and sometimes that is a bad thing). 

· Oh he’s a Smith…they are all drunks

· He’s a Jones…they are all rich

· Don’t trust him…he’s a Roberts…they are all dishonest

· Don’t mess with those Martins…they don’t fight fair

Now in the Bible, a name normally stands for the character or the basic attributes of the person who bears the name. For example,

· “Adam” means “man”

· “Eve” means “life-giver.”

In Bible times, when you called a person’s name, you weren’t just identifying him, you were also identifying his character.

We do the same thing today. We tend to associate certain names with certain emotions. For instance, if I mention “Hitler,” you instantly think of Nazi Germany and the horrors of the concentration camps. If I mention “Mother Teresa,” you think of her selfless work for the homeless and dying of Calcutta. Two people. Two names. Two completely different emotions.

Or what about, “as honest as Abe Lincoln” or “He’s got the strength of Paul Bunyan.”  The names mean something. They say something about the character of the person.

So with that said, what pops up on your mental screen when you hear the word “God?” That word means many different things, to many different people.  For most of us here, the word “God” brings up images of the stories of the Bible; how God created the world out of nothing, how he parted the Red Sea for the children of Israel, how he caused the walls to come tumbling down at Jericho, how he enabled David’s tiny stone to slay Goliath, and how he shut the mouths of the lions so Daniel could get a good night’s sleep. We know God through the things he has done. We hear the stories and then we refer back to the God who stands behind the stories.  God’s “name” is his character and his reputation. 

Names are important to God.  God knows that a name embodies who we are, and also can speak prophetically about who we will be.  For this reason, God changed the name of Jacob that meant “cheater” to Israel that means “God contended.”  He also changed the name of Abram that meant “high father” to Abraham that means “the father of many nations.”  And Jesus changed the name of Simon which means “God has heard” to Peter which means “rock.”  God changed their name, because He wanted them to identify with a new character and a new destiny that He had prepared for them.  The Bible even says in Revelation 2:17 that those who are in Christ receive a new name.  We don’t know this name yet, because we would probably defile it, but when we step into eternity with God, we will be called by this new name—a name given to us by God.

So if our names are important to God, then how much more important is the name of God.  His name is important.  And I think one reason is because He is NOT one God with many names; meaning he is not Allah, Buddha, and the Great Spirit all wrapped up into one.  Some say that it doesn’t matter what name you call God, because He is all the same God and everyone has different ways of looking at Him or different names they call Him.  The biggest flub of the presidential debate this past week for me was when Romney said, “we are all children of the same God.”  That is an absolute incorrect statement.  Our God is distinctively different then these other so called gods.  Our God has a name, and we are told to hallow that name to bring distinction between His name and the name of all those false Gods.

Here are some scriptures to consider     

· Psalm 8:1 “How majestic is your name,O Lord.”

· Psalm 20:7 “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; but we will trust in the name of the Lord our God.”

· Psalm 23:3 “He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.”

· Psalm 25:11 “For your name’s sake, O Lord, pardon my iniquity, for it is great.”

And how about this famous verse? “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." That’s found three times in the Bible-Joel 2:32, Acts 2:21, and Romans 10:13. 

Or this one; Acts 4:12 Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under Heaven given among men by which we must be saved. 

God’s name represents who he is. It embodies His character. His name is important to know, to understand, to utter, and to hallow.  That’s why the Third Commandment says, “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.” (Exodus 20:7) To take God’s name in vain means to take it lightly or flippantly. It’s the exact opposite of “hallowing” God’s name. Therefore, we might say that to “hallow” God’s name means to take it seriously.

If you pull all that together, this is what “Hallowed be your name” really means. “Lord, may your righteous character be seen in the world so that men and women will respect you for who you really are. May your name be made great so that your creatures will give you the honor and respect that is your rightful due.”

We “hallow” the name of God because He is holy and good. We take it seriously because God’s name represents who He is and what He does. We don’t take it lightly, because we don’t take God lightly. When we pray like this, we are asking God to “cause your word to be believed, cause your displeasure to be feared, cause your commandments to be obeyed, and cause yourself to be glorified.”

What is the Name of God?

God is called by many names in the Bible, and these names are descriptions of his character, and each one teaches us a little bit more about who God is and what God is like.

Here are a few of those names in Hebrew;

· ELOHIM   (Genesis 1:1, Psalm 19:1) meaning "God"

· ADONAI   (Malachi 1:6)   meaning "Lord

· EL-ELYON   (Genesis 14:17-20,Isaiah 14:13-14)  meaning "The most high God

· EL-ROI   (Genesis 16:13) meaning "The strong one who sees"

· EL-SHADDAI   (Genesis 17:1,Psalm 91:1)  meaning "The God Almighty"

· EL-OLAM  (Isaiah 40:28-31)  meaning "The everlasting God"

Here is some more names that God has been called throughout the Bible that reveal His character to us.  These are names that various servants of God called Him in a moment of worship and intimacy.

ABBA.............................Romans 8:15

ALMIGHTY.........................Genesis 17:1

ALL IN ALL.......................Colossians 3:11

ALPHA and OMEGA............................Revelation 22:13

AMEN.............................Revelation 3:14

ANCIENT OF DAYS..................Daniel 7:9

ANOINTED ONE.....................Psalm 2:2

BREAD OF LIFE.....................John 6:35

BREATH OF LIFE....................Genesis 2:7, Revelation 11:11

BRIDEGROOM........................Isaiah 62:5

BRIGHT MORNING STAR...............Revelation 22:16

CAPTAIN OF SALVATION...............Hebrews 2:10

CHIEF SHEPHERD.....................1 Peter 5:4

COMFORTER..........................John 14:26(kjv)

COMMANDER..........................Isaiah 55:4

CONSUMING FIRE......................Deut. 4:24, Heb. 12:29

COUNSELOR...........................Isaiah 9:6

CREATOR.............................1 Peter 4:19

CROWN OF BEAUTY.....................Isaiah 28:5

DAYSPRING..............................Luke 1:78

DELIVERER..............................Romans 11:26

DWELLING PLACE.........................Psalm 90:1

EMMANUEL...............................Matthew 1:23(kjv)

ETERNAL GOD............................Deut. 33:27

ETERNAL SPIRIT.........................Hebrews 9:14

EVERLASTING FATHER.....................Isaiah 9:6

EXCELLENT...............................Psalm 148:13(kjv)

FAITHFUL & TRUE........................Revelation 19:11

FORTRESS...............................Jeremiah 16:19

FOUNTAIN OF LIVING WATERS..............Jeremiah 2:13

FRIEND.................................Matthew 11:19

GOOD SHEPHERD..........................John 10:11

GREAT HIGH PRIEST......................Hebrews 4:14

HIDING PLACE...........................Psalm 32:7

HOLY ONE OF ISRAEL.....................Isaiah 49:7

HORN OF SALVATION......................Luke 1:69

HUSBAND................................Isaiah 54:5,Jere.31:32,Hosea 2:16

IMMANUEL................................Isaiah 7:14

JUDGE................................Isaiah 33:22, Acts 10:42

The JUST ONE.............................Acts 22:14

KING OF GLORY........................Psalm 24:10

KING OF KINGS........................1 Timothy 6:15

LAWGIVER..............................Isaiah 33:22

LIGHT OF THE WORLD....................John 8:12

LILY OF THE VALLEYS...................Song 2:1

LION OF THE TRIBE OF JUDAH............Revelation 5:5

LORD OF HARVEST.......................Matthew 9:38

LORD OF HOSTS.........................Haggai 1:5

LORD OF LORDS.........................1 Tim. 6:15

LOVE.................................1 John 4:8

MAJESTY ON HIGH........................Hebrews 1:3

MERCIFUL GOD............................Jeremiah 3:12

MIGHTY ONE...............................Isaiah 60:16

POTTER...................................Isaiah 64:8 

PURIFIER.................................Malachi 3:3

REDEEMER.................................Job 19:25

REFUGE...................................Jeremiah 16:19

REWARDER.................................Hebrews 11:6

RIGHTEOUS ONE............................1 John 2:1

ROCK.....................................1 Cor.10:4

ROSE OF SHARON...........................Song 2:1

SCEPTRE..................................Numbers 24:17

SHIELD...................................Genesis 15:1

SONG.....................................Exodus 15:2, Isaiah 12:2

SOURCE...................................Hebrews 5:9

STRENGTH.................................Jeremiah 16:19

STRONGHOLD...............................Nahum 1:7

STRONG TOWER.............................Proverbs 18:10

THE ONE...................................Psalm 144:2,10

TRUTH.....................................John 14:6

WAY........................................John 14:6

WONDERFUL..................................Isaiah 9:6

The WORD.......................................John 1:1

Those are all names that are descriptions of His true name.  His name is so great that it cannot be defined in the way that we know and understand a name.  He should be hallowed no matter what name you use to call Him, describe Him, praise Him. or refer to Him.  Sometimes in worship I will call Him; Wonderful, Savior, Emmanuael, Father, God …but whatever name I call Him, I am to hallow His name.

But what is God’s name?  Are we given a specific name for God?

Well, Moses asked the same question when God appeared unto Him.  You can find this over in Exodus 3.  God heard the cry of His people in Egypt, and in this chapter, God calls Moses to go down and lead His people out.  You are probably familiar with the story.  Moses sees a bush on fire that does not burn up, and so he approaches the bush to discover that it is actually the presence of God.  God tells Moses to take off his shoes, because he is standing on Holy Ground, and then God begins to speak to Moses from the bush.

God tells Moses to go down to Egypt and tell the children of Israel that he has been sent by God.  Moses asks God, “when they ask me…who will I say sent me?”  In essence Moses is saying, “who are you?”  Let’s read the scriptures….

13 Then Moses said to God, "Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I shall say to them, `The God of your fathers has sent me to you.' Now they may say to me, `What is His name?' What shall I say to them?"

14 And God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM"; and He said, "Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, `I AM has sent me to you.'"

15 And God, furthermore, said to Moses, "Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, `The Lord, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name to all generations."

So there you have it; God gives His name.  God says, “I am that I am.”

I am….

· He who is

· The self-existent one

· He who is ever becoming what He is

· Is-ness

Bu this is more then just a name like we understand a name—a tag that we identify each other with.  But this is an explanation of who God is; He is! 

· He always was and always will be. 

· He knows no beginning, and he knows no end. 

· He simply is “I am that I am.” 

· He is God!  He is not a god.  He IS God! 

· He is the embodiment of everything we understand God to be.  And his name is “I AM.”

From this self description of God, a four-letter Name was derived.  This name is represented by the Hebrew lettersYod-Hei-Vav-Hei (YHVH). It is often referred to as the Ineffable Name, the Unutterable Name or the Distinctive Name.  It literally means “to be” and reflects the fact that God's existence is eternal. 

This name is pronounced by some Yahweh, and others even pronounce it in a more modern way; Jehovah.  This name of God is written over 6800 times in the O.T. and is usually translated in all caps as LORD in your Bible.

In Judaism, because a name represents the reputation of the thing named, a name should be treated with the same respect as the thing's reputation. For this reason, God's Names, in all of their forms, are treated with enormous respect and reverence.  The Jewish writers would not casually write any name of God for fear that it would be misused, defiled, or defaced either on purpose or even by accident.  They took much care to honor and hallow the name of God.

So what is Jesus trying to teach us in this passage when he tells us to pray “hallowed be thy name?”  Is he telling us that we are supposed to use specific names when we pray to God?  I don’t think so.  But what I think that what Jesus is teaching us is the importance of honoring, respecting, and proclaiming “holy” to God no matter what name you decide to use to worship Him. 

· If you call Him “Adonai”

· If you call Him “Yahweh”

· If you call Him “Jehovah”

· If you call Him “Wonderful”

Always honor, reverence, and hallow His name.  His name is above all names!

How do we Hallow God’s Name?

How do we hallow God’s name?

1. We hallow God’s name in how we use His name

2. We hallow God’s name in how we approach Him in Prayer

3. We hallow God’s name in how we live our lives

I believe this is in direct correlation with the commandment, “Thou shall not use the name of God in vain.”  This command has the same 3 fold purpose;

1. You don’t take His name in vain in how you use His name.  His name is not to be used as a figure of speech, a word of emphasis, or a curse word.

2. You don’t take His name in vain in how you approach God in prayer.  People who pray for show, or pray to be heard, or pray for approval take God’s name in vain.

3. You don’t take His name in vain in how you live your life.  Like the gangster rappers who glorify drugs, sex, and violence, and then they stand up at the MTV music awards and thank God for their accomplishment.  This is using God’s name in vain.  As a matter of fact, in my opinion, the epitome of using God’s name in vain is proclaiming God and then living the opposite of that claim.   We need to hallow God in how we live.

No prayer could be more appropriate in a sinful world then the Lord’s Prayer. If one thing is certain about the world in the 21stcentury, it is that God’s name is not being hallowed today.

God’s name is not hallowed when . . .

· Over a million babies are killed through abortion every year in America.

· Crack cocaine is sold like candy on the street corners.

· Homosexuality is celebrated as a “natural” and “normal” way of life.

· The divorce rate nearly equals the marriage rate.

· We laugh and giggle at sex on TV when instead we ought to blush.

· God’s people think nothing of attending filthy movies.

· We cheat and lie, and then we joke about it.

· Spiritual leaders fall into sin and our hearts are not broken.

· Christians keep quiet in order to avoid persecution and ridicule.

· We secretly envy sinners who do things we are forbidden to do.

· The Bible has become a closed book and prayer a heavy burden.

· We tithe to the mortgage company instead of to the Lord.

· We value the approval of others more than the approval of God.

· The standards of yesteryear have been decided as legalism.

· We gossip about the sins of others instead of mourning over our own sins.

· We criticize our brothers and sisters for failing to live up to our own expectations.

· We hold grudges for days, weeks, months and-God knows!-even years.

A few years ago a major news organization reported on a survey that compared the ethical behavior of American Christians with the ethical behavior of the general population. The survey reportedly found that there is no substantial difference in the ethical behavior of those who call themselves Christians and the general population. Why are we surprised that the church has become an irrelevant force to society?  Maybe if Christians took the name of God more seriously, then people who don’t care about God would take us more seriously.  We are called to be the representatives of the name of God to this world, but we tend to represent ourselves instead—and the consequences for our faith have been disastrous.

· Do we hallow God’s name in our church?

· Do we hallow God’s name in our worship?

· Do we hallow God’s name in the way we talk?

· Do we hallow God’s name in our music?

· Do we hallow God’s name in our actions?

· Do we hallow God’s name in our attitudes?

· Do we hallow God’s name in our interactions with one another?

· Do we hallow God’s name in our finances?

If we say “hallowed be they name” in prayer, yet have no intentions of hallowing His name in the way we live, then we are essentially taking the Lord’s name in vain.

William Barclay in his book; the beatitudes and Lord’s Prayer for everyman, points out that if a Christian under pressure loses his temper just like a non-Christian does, or if he becomes just as nervous and anxious, if he is just as greedy, if he is just as gluttonous, just as cruel, or just as materialistic as the man next door…if his religion doesn’t actually change the way he lives, he shouldn’t be surprised that his neighborhood evangelism does not win many converts. After all, why be converted to something that is not much different from what you already have?

He writes; the very essence of this petition is that in it we pray that God may enable us to show that we are redeemed, so that in our lives he may be glorified, and so that through us others may come to desire the secret which we possess. This petition prays that we may be enabled so to show Christ to men that men may desire Christ

What would we see if we followed you around this week? Would your life show any different evidence then the lives of the unsaved?  Does the fact that you bear the name of Jesus Christ make a difference in the way you live? That’s really the bottom line on this petition. When you pray, “Hallowed be your name,” you are really praying, “O God, help me to live in such a way that your name is made great in my life. May your reputation be increased in the world by the way I live my life.”  Before you pray about what you want, you are to pray about what God wants. What God wants is that his name be made great in the world.

Who is On the Throne?

There is a little booklet out called the Spirit Filled life, and inside the booklet there are three circles with a throne at the center of each circle.

· In one circle a cross was drawn outside the circle and an “S” was on the throne. This represents an unbeliever. Christ is outside of his life and “self” sits on the throne

· The next circle showed the cross inside the circle but not on the throne.  In this circle the cross sits at the foot of the throne, and the “S” is still on the throne. That represents a Christian who was still running his own life.

· And the last circle showed the cross inside the circle and on the throne, and the “S” was at the foot of the throne. This represents the believer who has surrendered the throne of his life to Jesus Christ.

I find those three circles very helpful and challenging. Each one of us fits into one of those three circles. Too many of us live in the middle circle with Christ in our lives but self still on the throne. I confess that too often I am king on my own throne, and my prayers are filled with my own needs. I pray more about myself than I do about God.

Here’s a good test for you to take: If God answered the prayers you prayed today, whose name would be glorified? Yours or His? But that all changes when you pray “Hallowed be your name.” When you pray it with understanding, you are really saying, “Lord Jesus, ascend to the throne of my life.”

In his sermon on this petition, Helmut Thielicke said that you have not learned to pray the Lord’s Prayer unless you pray it against yourself. He meant that the Lord’s Prayer sets such a high standard that if we really understand what we are praying, we will be praying against our own natural tendencies. Whenever we pray, “Hallowed be your name,” we are asking that God’s name be made great instead of our own name. But if you really mean that, you are praying “against yourself.”

 “Hallowed be your name . . ."

· in my business

· in my finances

· in my leisure

· in my friendships

· in my sex life

· in my thought life

· in my speech

· in my daydreams

Hallowed be thy name.

As a Christian, I bear the name of my heavenly Father. Hallowing his name means living in such a way that I increase his reputation in the world. When I’ve done it well, people who don’t know God will look at my life and say, “He must have a great God” and God will look down from heaven with a smile and say, “That’s my boy!”

Here is the simple application. It is in the form of a question-"What can the world conclude about God by watching your life?”Spend some time thinking about the answer.

When you pray, “Hallowed be your name,” you are both the voice and the feet of that petition. As the very words leave your lips, your life is part of the answer. When you pray that God’s name be hallowed, your first obligation is to live in such a way that God has no trouble answering your prayer.