“Hallowed be Your name.”
"Name" represents more than a
word. It encompasses all that God is. It refers to His whole character, His
nature, and His attributes. It is understanding the fullness of who He is behind
the name. The goal of Jesus was submission to the will of the Father. We see
this in John 12:28, “Father, glorify Your name [in Me].” Christ-likeness
embraces the same mission – "Father, glorify Your name in me.”
“Hallowed” (regarded or revered or treated as holy) is the same word
translated as “sanctify” in 1 Pet 3:15 when Peter says, “Sanctify the Lord God in
your heart.” God is to be regarded, revered, treated differently, or set apart
from the common and profane. We are to honor and glorify Him above all else.
This is giving Him preeminence due to His name.
There can be no doubt that our Father’s name is considered and treated as holy
in heaven right now. In the book of Isaiah, we get a rare view of the activity
around the throne of Yahweh,
Isa 6:1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a
throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple.
Isa 6:2 Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he
covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.
Isa 6:3 And one cried to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the
LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!"
This was over 2,700 years ago, but time is meaningless in eternity. Such activity is happening this very moment in glory, but not on earth like it is in heaven. God has to command and warn us not to take His name in “vain” (Ex 20:7). “Not to take His name in vain” means that we are prohibited to associate or attach His name to “emptiness, vanity, evil, ruin, uselessness, deception, worthless, without result, fraud, deceit. The primary meaning of the word is deceit, lie, or falsehood” (Zodhiates, The Complete WordStudy Dictionary: Old Testament). We can take God’s name in vain not only by our talk but also by our walk!
This is why the position of the verb
“hallowed” conveys a sense of urgency. Paul commanded the Corinthian believers,
“Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or what you do, do all to the glory of
God” (1 Cor 10:31). Jesus said as much in Mt 5:16, “Let your light so
shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in
heaven.” This is how we are to live.
When we are living in obedience to His word, "Hallowed
be Your name" is displayed in our lives. In some sense, we should be like
the moon reflecting the holiness of the Son to those around us. But we are to
be more than passive reflectors of the light of His glory; we are to walk in the Light as He is in the Light and let the radiance of Christlikeness in us shine toward others.
Before the apostle Paul received Christ, he testified that he felt compelled to
do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth (Acts 26:9). Now he
honors the name of Christ in his life by testifying that “God has highly
exalted Jesus and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the
name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth,
and of those under the earth” (Php 2:9-10)! God’s very name is awesome and
worthy of worship. Holy be His name!
If we dishonor God’s name by our talk and walk, do we really expect God is
going to answer our prayers? God will never reward negative behavior. Read what
Paul instructed the believers of Colossae to do concerning the name of God,
And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks to God the Father through Him ( Col 3:17).
Since this is the disciple’s pattern of prayer, we as believers are to pray for
God’s name to be hallowed in us. Read the words of the Psalmist, “Oh, magnify
the LORD with me, and let us exalt His name together” (Psa 34:3). If we do not
bring glory to the Father by our words and deeds, we are guilty of not
hallowing God’s name. “Hallowed be Your name” is for the petitioner an attitude
as well as an action of life. It reveals how we treat God in our daily routine,
as holy or common.
May our greatest desire be that God’s name is glorified in our walk. “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be
Your name.” <><
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