Are You Doing Anything To Hallow God’s Name?
Good Morning Friends,
What’s in a name? A lot really. Certain names evoke concepts and ideas. If I were to list a number of familiar product and company names, they would bring to our thoughts what those companies do and what their products represent-in terms of quality, reliability and reputation…well at least what their marketing departments would like us to believe. Many of them used to try to associate their products with the attributes of God…bringing good things to light…the real thing… You know what I am talking about. But on a more spiritual note today we are considering the first petition of the Lord’s Prayer: “Hallowed be Your Name.” To complement the reading from Matthew we also turn to John’s Gospel and see an instance where Jesus prays publicly, “Father, glorify Your Name.” Then a voice thunders from heaven: “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” And then finally we read all of Psalm 99, from today’s lectionary, and delve a little deeper as we too acknowledge that we are to praise God’s awesome and Holy Name and that it is not just an Old Testament requirement but a current call to a long road of obedience. Are You Doing Anything To Hallow God’s Name?
Scripture: “And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. “When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. “Pray then in this way: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Matthew 6:5-9 (NRSV)
Father, glorify your name.’ Then a voice came from heaven, ‘I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.’
John 12:28 (NRSV)
The Lord is king; let the peoples tremble! He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake!
The Lord is great in Zion; he is exalted over all the peoples. Let them praise your great and awesome name. Holy is he! Mighty King, lover of justice, you have established equity; you have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob. Extol the Lord our God; worship at his footstool. Holy is he! Moses and Aaron were among his priests, Samuel also was among those who called on his name. They cried to the Lord, and he answered them. He spoke to them in the pillar of cloud; they kept his decrees, and the statutes that he gave them. O Lord our God, you answered them; you were a forgiving God to them, but an avenger of their wrongdoings. Extol the Lord our God, and worship at his holy mountain; for the Lord our God is holy.
Psalm 99 (NRSV)
Message: The word “hallowed” means “holy.” To “hallow” also means to sanctify, to be sound, fit or whole, to make special, to be perfect, free from defilement, uncontaminated. It means to have a quality of being that is extraordinary and set apart. And unless we are doing things to honor God, to revere and respect God for who He is, so that God’s character would be kept untarnished, there is a separation between us and the Great I AM THAT I AM. Friends, scripture is pretty clear here, we are to have a deep passion to exhibit behavior that would cause God’s Name to be hallowed. And that means we are to recognize, regard, respect, reverence, profess and proclaim God as holy. We do not add to God’s holiness in prayer but we are to treat Him as holy. And that changes us and others as well. It is powerful when we speak to God with the intimacy of a Father and a child and with the reverence we owe our creator. There is power when we set God apart from everything that is common and profane, and give Him the place He deserves in our lives. There is power when we become conscious of God’s presence and then strive to do everything for His glory. Only when both our principles and our life are godly and Christian do we hallow God’s Name.
Pray that what we believe and do honors God. Pray we meditate on the names of God and the character and reputation of the All Mighty. Pray we meditate on the name- Yahweh- the very breathe of life and His immutable, unchanging character. Pray we meditate on the name-Elohim-Creator, the Lord of Lords; on El Shaddai- our God Almighty; on El Elyon- our Sovereign Ruler; on Jehovah-jireh- and God’s character of providing; on Jehovah-rophe- God’s healing; on Jehovah-shalom- the characteristic of God’s purposeful peace; on Jehovah-sabaoth-the Lord of hosts; on Jehovah-shammah- on God’s presence with us; on Jehovah-tsidkenu- the charateristic of God to not only be Holy but to extent that righteousness to us; and pray on the name, Jehovah-rohi-God our Shepherd who we are to follow. Pray that by revering God’s Name, we make known His reputation, proclaiming Who He is and all He has done. Pray we are to honor the Name of God in all we say and do. Pray our worship is an act of hallowing God’s Name. Pray we honor God’s Name by encouraging and allowing God to be in the lives of others. Pray we hallow God when we hallow His Day…this Day…a Day made by God. Pray our hearts sanctify the Lord in all we say and do.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 