February 7
“Hallowed be Thy name.”
We do not pray to make God’s name holy. His name is holy in and of itself. His name reveals to us who He is. God is God, and He is the only God. Moses wrote, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one!” Deuteronomy 6:4. The apostle Paul wrote, “There is no other God but one,” 1 Corinthians 8:4. Through the prophet Isaiah, God says, “I am the Lord, that is My name; and My glory I will not give to another, nor My praise to graven images,” Isaiah 42:8.
In this petition, “Hallowed be Thy name,” we are praying that His name be kept holy by what we say and do. We hallow God’s name when we teach the truth according to His Word. Through the prophet Jeremiah, God says, “He who has My Word, let him speak My Word faithfully,” Jeremiah 23:28. We should not replace the Word of God with the “chaff” of our own opinions. If we want to know the truth about God, who He is, what He has done for us in the past, what He is doing for us in the present, and what He will do for us in the future, we need to heed the Word of Jesus: “If you abide in My Word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free,” John 8:31-32.
In His high-priestly prayer, Jesus prayed for all believers unto the end of time. He prayed, “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your Word is truth,” John 17:17.
God’s name is also hallowed among us when we live truly Christian lives in word and deed. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus calls upon all His followers to witness to the whole world by living God-fearing Christian lives. He said, “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven,” Matthew 5:13-16.
Briefly put: Are you a Christian? Then in word and deed live like one!
The opposite of hallowing God’s name is profaning His name. We bring shame upon God’s name when we teach and live contrary to the Word of God. Through the prophet Ezekiel, the Lord said, “Her priests have violated My law and profaned My holy things; they have not distinguished between the holy and unholy, nor have they made known the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they have hidden their eyes from My Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them,” Ezekiel 22:26. In Matthew 17, speaking to the religious leaders, Jesus cried out repeatedly, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees,” because of their false teachings, by which the name of God was profaned.
As believers in Jesus, God’s Son and our Savior, who loved us and redeemed us to God by His perfect life, by His innocent suffering and death, and by His resurrection, let us hallow God’s name by what we say and do.
Thy name be hallowed. Help us, Lord, In purity to keep Thy Word,
That to the glory of Thy name, We walk before Thee free from blame.
Let no false doctrine us pervert; All poor, deluded souls convert. Amen.