prayer meeting mar 29

I wonder what we think we are praying when we pray Hallowed be your name.

How does it change the way we live

What are we expecting to happen when we pray it?

I expect we are thinking as we pray it, that we are in some way praising God,

Which is right,

But I’d like to encourage us that we are praying something very exciting and life moulding when we pray this part fo the prayer.

David’s prayer in 2 Sam. shows us what ‘hallows God’s name’

Hallowed means

To ‘make’ ‘holy’ (great, set-apart, more special/important than anything else)

2 Samuel 7:22–26 NIV

“How great you are, Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears. And who is like your people Israel—the one nation on earth that God went out to redeem as a people for himself, and to make a name for himself, and to perform great and awesome wonders by driving out nations and their gods from before your people, whom you redeemed from Egypt? You have established your people Israel as your very own forever, and you, Lord, have become their God. “And now, Lord God, keep forever the promise you have made concerning your servant and his house. Do as you promised, so that your name will be great forever. Then people will say, ‘The Lord Almighty is God over Israel!’ And the house of your servant David will be established in your sight.

The New International Version Chapter 7

22 “How great you are, Sovereign LORD! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears. 23 And who is like your people Israel—the one nation on earth that God went out to redeem as a people for himself, and to make a name for himself, and to perform great and awesome wonders by driving out nations and their gods from before your people, whom you redeemed from Egypt? 24 You have established your people Israel as your very own forever, and you, LORD, have become their God.

25 “And now, LORD God, keep forever the promise you have made concerning your servant and his house. Do as you promised, 26 so that your name will be great forever. Then people will say, ‘The LORD Almighty is God over Israel!’ And the house of your servant David will be established in your sight.

The whole purpose of God’s salavation plan, his redemption of his people in the OT,

Is to v22

The New International Version Chapter 7

22 “How great you are, Sovereign LORD! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears. 23 And who is like your people Israel—the one nation on earth that God went out to redeem as a people for himself, and to make a name for himself,

The New International Version Chapter 7

and to perform great and awesome wonders by driving out nations and their gods from before your people, whom you redeemed from Egypt?

God’s name is set apart, made unique through the redemption of his people.

But also the promise of establishing his eternal kingdom,

His eternal salvation,

His eternal rule.

The New International Version Chapter 7

24 You have established your people Israel as your very own forever, and you, LORD, have become their God.

and v25 into 26

The New International Version Chapter 7

22 “How great you are, Sovereign LORD! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears. 23 And who is like your people Israel—the one nation on earth that God went out to redeem as a people for himself, and to make a name for himself,

and v25 into 26

The New International Version Chapter 7

25 “And now, LORD God, keep forever the promise you have made concerning your servant and his house. Do as you promised, 26 so that your name will be great forever.

To ‘make’ ‘holy’ (great, set-apart, more special/important than anything else)

TO hallowed God’s name, is for the world to see God’s people redeemed!

So that they glorify and honour God alone.

Jesus understands that it is salvation that brings glory to God’s name as well.

john12v23-28

The New International Version Chapter 12

23 Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. 25 Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.

27 “Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name!”

23-28

John 12:23–28 NIV - Anglicised

Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. I tell you the truth, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honour the one who serves me. “Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.”

The New International Version Chapter 12

23 Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. 25 Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.

27 “Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name!”

Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.”

Isn’t it interesting that Jesus’ intimately links the glorifying of God’s name with his mission to be the fallen seed.

To die on the cross, to be the resurected son,

so that many other seeds may follow.

In other words, the salavtion of God’s people through Jesus,

is what glorifies God.

It makes his name hallowed - set apart from all other ‘so called god’s’.

So as the world looks in and sees God’s salavtion plabn at work -

They ask - who is this god who redeems his people.

That is what we are praying when we ask God’s name to be hallowed.

And God’s glory increases i you like, the more people recognise his daslavtion and therefore honour his name.

We are calling on God to make his name great through the salvation by Jesus,- that the world may see God and bow the knee.

We are calling on God to make his name great throgh salvation by Jesus,

It’s the first priority in the Lord’s prayer -

Decalre your name through the salvation of your people through Jesus.

That’s the first thing we ought to pray each day and now.

That God’s name would be hallowed - that salvation through Jesus would-be seen by the world,

And that God would use us to that end.

Pray now.