The Lord’s Prayer - Part One • Devotion 2: Father’s Holy Name
Pastor John Carter
“Pray then like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.’” Matthew 6:9
I think before I dive into this passage, I should make sure the context has been set for this verse. If you have not been following along, we have been walking through how not to pray. Jesus laid down the “do not pray like” this section first and now He is taking us through the “to-do” section. It is easy to ignore the do not and only look at the do. As a society, being told not to do something comes across as offensive and overbearing. Understand that Jesus found both to be absolutely relevant. He starts this verse with the very statement to pray “like this.” The key word is “like.”He did not say pray exactly these words but like this. So, if you have not examined the Ways Jesus has told us not to pray, then may I encourage you to just look back a couple of verses and read what Jesus says. Then, dive into following what He says to do.
The opening statement is very profound in this example of prayer Jesus sets before us. “Our Father” emphasizes that we are going before the comfort of a loving Father and it brings immense adoration to our prayer.
Psalm 103 is amazing. I encourage you to read the whole chapter. It goes right along with what Jesus is teaching in Matthew. Psalm 103:1 says,“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name!” Psalm 103:4 adds, “Who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy?” Psalm 103:10-12 says, “He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.” Those last words are so beautiful. Psalm 103:13-14 says, “As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.”Psalm 103:17-18 adds, “But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children’s children, to those who keep his covenant and remember to do his commandments.”
Seriously, take time today and read Psalm 103; it will definitely be worth your time.
Jesus points us to this amazing love that we have in the Father and wants us to understand this first and foremost when we come before Him to pray. Even when we are praying to ask God for forgiveness from our sins and our iniquities, there is this promise that God, like a compassionate father, will be compassionate towards us.
The other element Jesus points us to is the Name of God. Not only is His name “Father,” but He is in every aspect superior to anything or anyone else.
In the phrase, “hallowed be your name,” Jesus approaches God with the intimacy of a father, but also with reverence and fear of One whose very name is Holy. Think through that for a second. Name one thing in your mind that you would consider so holy that you dare not even evoke its very name. You may find yourself struggling to even identify something holy outside of God. Holiness has left our society, and even in some sense, our churches. We struggle to really grasp and understand the word “holy” because our minds cannot even fathom what it is supposed to be.
With holy water, holy or sacred places, holy temple, and Holy Spirit, we have this word inundated with our Scripture but do we understand it? Can we define it? When Jesus says, “hallowed be your name,” He is saying, “God let your name continue to be holy, or may it be kept holy (by your people); may your name be treated with almighty reverence.”
Isaiah puts it like this in Isaiah 29:22-24, “Therefore thus says the Lord, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob: ‘Jacob shall no more be ashamed, no more shall his face grow pale. For when he sees his children, the work of my hands, in his midst, they will sanctify my name; they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob and will stand in awe of the God of Israel. And those who go astray in spirit will come to understanding, and those who murmur will accept instruction.’”
God’s name is not meant to be treated as a common name, but as a name of distinct reverence and awe. Jesus wants to teach us that we get to have this amazing intimate relationship with a father, but we must not forget that God has holiness about Him that we ought to be aware of when we walk in His presence.
There is so much to unpack in just this one line. Take some time today to Google the names of God the Father and look at some of the names that surround our Father’s character. Some that stick out to me are these:
- El Roi = the God who sees me
- YHWH-Raah = God my shepherd
- YHWH-Rapha = God that heals me
- YHWH-Mekoddishkem = God who sanctifies me
- YHWH-Jireh = God our provider
- YHWH-Shalom = God our peace
- Adonai = True Lord and Master
Isaiah 9:6 has some great names of our Father as well.
We truly have an amazing opportunity when we pray. We are able to go before our Father and talk with Him. Please remember some of these holy attributes and make sure we recognize His holy awesomeness!