Articles
“Concern For God's Name”
Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name”
Matthew 6:9
The first line of Jesus’ model prayer is familiar to most people but, perhaps, misunderstood. We must be careful not to use this prayer in the very way Jesus condemned in the previous verses (Mt. 6:7-8). By parroting these words without understanding we “heap up empty phrases” like the Gentiles and prayer ceases to be sincere communication with God and becomes instead ritualistic recitation.
What does our Lord mean by the phrase “hallowed be your name”? This is not a statement of praise (“hallowed is your name”), although that would be a perfectly appropriate expression of worship. Rather, this is request (“hallowed be your name”). It is an expression of a desire. But what exactly are we desiring?
To “hallow” something is to honor and respect it as holy. The word is translated in other places as “sanctify” or "consecrate." In this case, it is a request that God’s “name” be venerated and held in honor. In Scripture, a “name” stands for the person who bears it. God’s name represents all of who he is. Therefore, when we pray “hallowed be your name,” we are asking God to cause his name—and, thus, himself—to be honored in the world, exalted above every name. Praying some version of this prayer shows that we want God to be treated with the respect that he deserves. We want people to see God for who he is, to esteem his faithfulness and love as we do.
The Old Testament tells of Israel’s long history of dishonoring God’s name through their rebellion against him. Ezekiel 36 is particularly instructive. When God sent Israel into exile for breaking the covenant, a new problem arose. Since Israel was so closely identified with God, their disobedience “profaned” God’s name (Ezek. 36:20). But God had concern for his holy name, even if Israel didn’t, and promised to act to vindicate his name so that the nations would truly know who God is (Ezek. 36:21-23).
How would God vindicate his name? Amazingly, by saving his people! God promised to rescue Israel from slavery, gather them to himself, forgive them of their sins, replace their hearts of stone with hearts of flesh, and give them his own Spirit to cause them to—finally—walk in obedience to his will (Ezek. 36:25-28). These new covenant promises were realized when Jesus came to give himself for us. Thus, God's new covenant people (the church) hallow God’s name. How can we integrate this prayer into our lives?
God’s name is profaned in the world — To pray for God’s name to be regarded as holy is to acknowledge that it isn’t universally regarded as holy. Creation is fundamentally out of step with its Creator while so many disregard and blaspheme God’s name. Our hearts should mourn over this profanity and burn with zeal for the vindication of God’s name.
God’s name is honored in our lives — To pray for God’s name to be “hallowed” implies that we intend to hallow it in our lives, lest we be guilty of vain worship and fall into condemnation (Mt. 15:8). If Israel profaned God’s name by their rebellion, we honor God’s name by our obedience. Let us honor God by worshiping him according to his word, parenting our children in faithfulness, serving our spouse in love, respecting our leaders, laboring at work with integrity, caring for our neighbors with compassion, treating others honestly, patiently and mercifully.
God’s name is central in our prayers — In prayer, all our requests must reflect this ultimate desire for God’s name to be hallowed. When our prayers are shaped by our central concern for God’s name, it transforms the content of our prayers in two ways: first, God’s concerns will be given priority (“your name, your kingdom, your will…”) and, second, our needs will be put into perspective (“give us, forgive us, deliver us…”) (see Mt. 6:9-13).
