Hallowed Be Your Name-- The Lord's Prayer #2

What does “hallowed” mean?
Millions of people have prayed the Lord’s prayer, but not really understood what it meant. One of the most confused phrase is the text translated in almost all English Bibles: “Hallowed by thy name.” The difficulty with this translation is that many people are confused. The worst is the word “hallowed”. Is it talking about praise, or honor? Not exactly. It comes from the English word “holy”, and it means “to make pure, to separate out”. So the phrase actually means, “Father, please make your name holy” or “Sanctify your name.”

Isn’t God’s name already holy?
God himself is holy. He is the Most High above all powers and gods and no one can compare with Him. He cannot sin and is pure in all he does. God’s angelic servants are constantly repeating “Holy, holy holy” of God to speak of his unending holiness. But in this prayer we are not speaking of God himself, who cannot ever be unholy. Rather, we are talking about his reputation.

If we tear down someone’s “name” we are not talking about the word by which they are called. Rather, we are speaking of their reputation, or the honor with which they are held by others. So if someone’s name is dirtied, we mean that people are talking trash about that person, that his reputation is dishonored. This is what Jesus is talking about here. He is borrowing a phrase from Ezekiel 36, where God said that his people had made his name “unholy”, or, torn down his reputation, because of their sin.

So, to paraphrase our prayer, we would better be saying, “God, give your reputation honor again.” This is very similar to another prayer Jesus prayed, “Father, glorify your name.” (John 12:28). Again, it is a request for God’s reputation to be world-wide and positive.

How did God’s name become unholy?“Son of man, when the house of Israel was living in their own land, they defiled it by their ways and their deeds; their way before Me was like the uncleanness of a woman in her impurity. Therefore I poured out My wrath on them for the blood which they had shed on the land, because they had defiled it with their idols. Also I scattered them among the nations and they were dispersed throughout the lands. According to their ways and their deeds I judged them. When they came to the nations where they went, they profaned My holy name.'” Ezekiel 36:17-20

In Ezekiel 36 and in Jesus’ teaching it is clear that God’s reputation was dishonored because of the actions of his own people. The actions of God’s people were in opposition to God’s commands. And so they became hypocrites. When God’s people are sinful and hateful, then those who are looking from the outside think that there must be something wrong with God. And when God has to punish his people, then others think that God wasn’t strong enough to save them from His own punishment.

When some who claim to be God’s people do things that destroy God’s reputation, they are actually breaking the third command of ten—“Do not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.” (Exodus 20:7). Those who do not have the lifestyle of God’s people—that of a holy people (Leviticus 11:44; I Peter 1:15-16)—, but they take the name of God, they are using God’s name in a way that destroys God’s holiness. And God will not accept a people that tears down his holy reputation.

So God’s reputation is torn down because those who don’t know about God look at the inadequacies of those who claim to be God’s people and so decide that God is less than he really is. We see this today when we hear statements like “The church is full of hypocrites” and “Christianity is evil, look at all the violence it caused,” and “God can’t even take care of his own, why should I trust Him?”

What are we specifically praying for?
We want this situation to reverse. Rather than having God’s reputation be torn down, we want God to be honored by all peoples, whether they worship him or not. We are praying that everyone on the whole earth would honor God for who He is—the holy, merciful, all powerful, loving God of Jesus Christ. This will be done by the gospel being spread throughout the earth (Matthew 24:14).

But it also relates to God’s people, just as the dishonoring of God’s reputation related to his people. First of all, we are asking that God’s people who are acting as hypocrites would be judged. There will be a separating between the obedient and the hypocrite in God’s people—God is giving us the opportunity to do it ourselves, or else He will come and do it for us (Matthew 13:37-43; I Corinthians 5:12-13). Secondly, we are praying that God would give his people the ability to live for Him through his Holy Spirit (Ezekiel 36:26-27). Third, we are asking that God would forgive His people their sins and give them a second chance to be pure and holy (Ezekiel 36:25). And lastly, we are asking that God would restore good fortune to his purged, purified, forgiven people.

In the end, in praying “Hallowed be your name” we are asking for Jesus’ ministry to be completed among his people. Jesus himself separated the hypocrite from the pure in heart. Jesus himself gave his people the Holy Spirit to purify and empower his people. Jesus himself forgave the sins of the lost. And Jesus himself healed the sick and desolate who were once rejected and punished because of their sin. Jesus was in the business of sanctifying God’s name.

However, Jesus’ people seem to have forgotten Jesus’ task, despite praying the prayer daily. They are no longer concerned with making God’s name holy among the peoples. They welcome the hypocrites and turn away repentant sinners. They ignore the Spirit’s power to be holy and loving, preferring to see the Spirit as a super-power pill, or to just avoid Him altogether. They want to restore people’s fortunes through the world, rather than the power of God. They are ignoring that God’s reputation is being torn down, and they are avoiding the self judgment that they are the ones causing the destruction of God’s name to happen.

When we pray “Hallowed by thy name”, let us be asking God to act like God’s people—holy and righteous.

Our Father-- Lord's Prayer #1

Foundations for Prayer
Jesus, in giving us the Lord’s prayer, isn’t just telling us what words to pray, but he is telling us the way God wants us to pray. Right at the beginning, Jesus makes a radical statement—that we are to begin our prayers with “our Father.” But what does this mean, what is he implying? There are two basic questions that need to be answered in understanding what Jesus means in teaching us to address God as “our Father”: What does “father” mean, and who are God’s children?

Which Father?
In the first century, when Jesus taught the Lord’s prayer, there were many people called “father.” Of course, there was one’s male parent, but also his grandparent or anyone else who was an ancestor. Also, the ruler of one’s nation or one’s ultimate authority was called “father”. What did Jesus mean?

First of all, of course, Jesus stated clearly that we are not praying to any earthly father, but to our Father in heaven. This is the Most High God, the king of the universe. (Matthew 23:9) But when we are praying to God as Father, what does that mean, apart from praying to Him as Lord or as God?

Concern—A father is concerned about his children, and so wants to meet their needs. He isn’t distant or have apathy, but he is always there, always ready to help if the need arises. This is different from a distant Lord or an uncaring God. Luke 11:11-13

Protection—A father cares about his children and so he protects them from harm. If anyone is attacking his children, he is always there to deliver them from that attack.

Provision—A father wants his children to have everything they need, so he provides them with food, clothing, warmth—everything they need. Luke 12:22-30

Teaching—A father not only is concerned about his children’s physical needs, but also their social and moral ones. He wants to make sure they know the right way to live and will provide them with what they need to live that life. Ephesians 6:4

Leadership—A father guides his children, sometimes with wisdom and sometimes with commands.

Discipline—A father allows his children to go through hardship at times, not to punish them, but to help them live the life that he wants them to live. Hebrews 12:5-7

Care—But ultimately, even if he disciplines or is training them and the situation the father places his children in seems difficult, he is constantly displaying his care to them, giving them his great love and compassion toward them. I Peter 5:7

Thus, when we call God “Father”, we are not praying to a distant god or an uncaring Lord—God is with us and in tune with what situations we are in and what we really need and is ready to give that to us (Matthew 6:8, 31-33)

Which Children?
Everyone wants to recognize themselves as God’s children. And, in a sense, every human on earth is a child of God. We have all been created by God, and God provides food for all of us. God loves us all and has given us all his Son to die for us. However, does this really mean anything to us, really? After all, God loves every human, even Adolf Hitler and the man who spits on the ground at every mention of God’s name. Are we really equal children of God with these?

Jesus distinguishes those whom God loves generally from those whom God desires to grant great blessings upon. The kingdom of God and all the blessings that come with it are not for everyone, but only for some whom Jesus called “sons of God.” Who are these children, who will receive all that God has to give them?

Relationship with God—These children are those who seek God to have a relationship with Him. They do not just passively accept God’s blessings, but thank God, praise Him and act out of their love for God. Mark 10:28-30

Dependence—These children are openly dependant on God and will sometimes refuse the easy way in order to have a better relationship with God. When they refuse the easy way, they are dependant on God for his provision—taking the chance that if God does not provide, they are in trouble. Luke 18:1-8

Trust—These children trust God for his provision, asking him for what they need and relying on him to provide it to them. They know that God rewards those who love him and wait on his reward in His time. Matthew 6:31-33; Hebrews 11:6

Obedience—These children listen to God and do what he says because they know their Father cares for them and will not command them to do something that is harmful to them. Matthew 7:21; 12:50

Likeness—These children not only do what God says, but they even act like God in some ways. They love everyone as God does and they refuse to have anything to do with evil as God does. John 8:39-44; Matthew 5:9

Thus the children that cry “our Father” are not just the run of the mill children of God—they are God’s chosen, God’s people and kingdom in Jesus.

OUR Father
One last thing needs to be pointed out. When Jesus told us to call God “Father”, he told us to recognize that the Father is not just “mine”—as if a relationship with God is just between two people. Rather, Jesus told us to pray “OUR Father”—we are a part of a community of children, not just an only child trying to figure out our relationship with our parent on a solitary basis. We are not independent individuals—we are a part of a community. This means that we need to act like it. We need to be with people who are our Father’s children, pray with them and depend on them, even as we are all dependant on our Father.