God Wants Us to Hallow His Name
The First Petition of the Lord’s Prayer, “Hallowed be Thy name,” sounds obscure to our modern ears, but it simply means, “Dear Father in heaven, let Your name be hallowed – let Your name be kept holy.” We can’t make God’s name holy by our prayer; it’s already holy in itself, as we pray in Psalm 103, “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me bless His holy name!” So in the Lord’s Prayer we are asking that God would cause us here on earth to keep His holy name holy. On the other hand, it is possible for us to treat His name as unholy, so we are praying that He would prevent His name from being profaned or defiled among us. God’s name is holy in itself, but when it is misused by people, it’s like taking a beautiful diamond ring and covering it with mud; the diamond is still precious, but its beauty and value cannot be seen by others because it is covered by the profane mud.
08/08/2023 11:00 PM