The first line of The Lord’s Prayer teaches us how to approach God in prayer: “Our Father in heaven.” The remainder of the prayer petitions the heavenly Father. The first petition is, “Hallowed be your name.” Sincere prayer is God-centered. Prayer is about what God wants from us before what we want from God. To say that God wants something from us does not mean God needs anything from us.

• God is self-existence. He does not need our faith.
• God is holy. He does not need our moral support.
• God is sovereign. He does not need our permission.
• God owns all things. He does not need our money.
• God knows all things. He does not need our advice.
• God is omnipresent. He does not need our company.
• God is all-powerful. He does not need our help.

God doesn’t need anything from us. God desires, deserves, and demands his name be hallowed. “Hallowed” means to set apart or make holy. It is used twenty-nine times in the New Testament. It is used of consecrating things or people for God. The term points to God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ on two occasions. 1 Peter 3:15 says, “But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy.” Matthew 6:9 says, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.”

My name is H.B. It is not an abbreviation. H.B. is my real name. It is on my birth certificate, driver’s license, and passport. It was my father’s name. He did it to me; I did it to my son. H.B. does not stand for anything. Yet it stands for everything. My father did not leave me anything but his name. But countless doors have opened for me because of my father’s name. Proverbs 22:1 says, “A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold.”

Though only initials, my name means more than the letters H.B. God’s name means infinitely more than G-O-D. God’s name represents God himself. It reflects God’s nature, character, and authority. We should pray for his glorious name to be hallowed. This has nothing to do with making God’s name greater. The name of God is intrinsically and inherently holy. Isaiah 6:3 declares, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.”

God’s name is holy. God’s name is not always treated as holy. Sinners are guilty of spiritual defamation. Christians defend the heavenly father’s public reputation in our lives, the church, and the world. It begins in our prayers. The first order of business in prayer is to honor God’s name, not seek God’s blessings. What does it mean to pray, “Hallowed be your name”?

Know God’s Name.

“Hallowed be your name” is a prayer request, not a declaration of praise. It is a petition, not a doxology. It is a cry for intercession, not a statement of fact.  This petition is a prayer of intercession. The invocation, “Our Father in heaven,” confesses Christian faith and fellowship. God is our heavenly Father by faith in the blood and righteousness of Christ. God is our heavenly Father as brothers and sisters in Christ.

• Christians do not pray like an only child.
• Christians pray as loving siblings.

What should we pray for one another? The best thing to pray is, “Hallowed be your name.” God’s name should come before our needs. This should be our prayer for the unsaved people in our lives. From our loved ones to public officials, pray, “Hallowed be your name.” This petition is also a prayer of supplication. It is the most important prayer request. Jeremiah 9:23-24 says, “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.” People seek knowledge, power, and money. They are no help when life happens. The only one who has anything to boast about is the one who knows the Lord.

I made my weekly trip to my neighborhood newsstand. Standing in line, I stared at the tall, distinguished man in front of me. I finally established the man was a famous former college basketball coach. Then I stopped paying attention to him and became fixated on the rude young cashier. I wanted to say, “Don’t you know who this guy is?” Then it dawned on me. The cashier did not know who the coach was. I stood in awe while the cashier mocked the coach for how many magazines he had purchased.

You cannot hallow God’s name if you do not know God’s name.

• Human misery is often nameless.
• Evil refuses to identify itself.
• Negative letters are often nameless.

God does not write anonymous letters. The Lord puts his name on everything he says and does. God does not hide his identity. He has revealed himself by declaring his name. Moses asked the voice in the burning bush to identify himself. The Lord answered, “I am that I am.” God is not a force. God is a person. God has a name. To pray, “Hallowed be your name,” you must know God’s name. God reveals himself through nature. Psalm 19:1 says, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.” Creation declares God is real. But it cannot tell you God’s name. The name of God is revealed in the word of God. 2 Timothy 3:16 says: “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” Nature reveals enough about God to send you to hell. The way to heaven is revealed in the word of God.

• You do not know the name of God if you do not know the word of God.
• You do not know the word of God if you do not know the Son of God.

Hebrews 1:1-3 says, “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our Fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of his glory and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.”

Honor God’s Name.

This first petition is a positive restatement of the Third Commandment. Exodus 20:7 commands: “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.” Israel took this command so seriously that they avoided calling God’s name. Yet Israel often took God’s name in vain. Holy regard for God’s name is more than reverent speech. You mock God if you honor him with your lips, not your life. To pray, “Hallowed be your name,” is to pray, in the words of Sinclair Ferguson, “Lord, may everything I do and say show forth your glory as my Father in heaven, and may all my thoughts be focused on what will bring honor to your name.” How can I honor God’s name with my life?

Trust. To honor God’s name requires saving faith. God is holy, and we are not. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. There is no good thing in us. All of our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. But 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” At the cross, God treated Jesus as if he committed all our sin, so that he may treat us as if we performed all the righteousness of Christ.

Romans 10:9 says: “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:13 adds: “For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” To honor God’s name also requires stubborn faith. In 1 Samuel 17:45, David said, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.” David did not have physical strength, combat training, or military weapons. But he had faith in the God who never lost a battle. Psalm 20:7-8 says, “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand upright.”

In the former Soviet Union, Christians worshiped in house churches, not to around the suspicions of KGB informants. One Sunday, two soldiers entered a house and pulled their weapons.  One shouted, “If you wish to renounce your faith, leave now! One by one, attendees departed. “This is your last chance,” they ordered. “Leave or suffer the consequences.” Several more slipped out. The rest stayed. As one soldier locked the door, another said, “Put your hands up in praise to our Lord. We, too, a Christians. Not long ago, we were sent to a house church and were saved.  We are sorry for frightening you. But we have learned that unless a person is willing to die for their faith, he cannot be trusted.

Obey. During their wilderness wanderings, the children of Israel became hungry. As usual, the people complained against Moses. Moses went to the Lord for direction. The Lord commanded Moses to take his rod and speak to the rock, and water would pour from it. In frustration, Moses struck the rock rather than speaking to the rock. Water came from the rock anyway. In Numbers 20:12, the Lord said, “Because you did not believe in me, to uphold me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.” When we disobey God’s word, we dishonor God’s name. Do you desire to honor the name of the Lord?  Do what he says. Obey his commands. Submit to his authority.

Matthew 7:21-23 says, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.” The test of faith is obedience. Will you pass the test?   

In the eleventh century, King Henry III of Bavaria grew tired of court life and the pressures of being king. He sought to be accepted as a contemplative in the monastery. “Your majesty,” said Prior Richard, “do you understand that the pledge here is one of obedience? That will be hard because you have been a king.” “I understand,” said Henry. “The rest of my life, I will be obedient to you, as Christ leads you.” “Then I will tell you what to do,” said Prior Richard. “Go to your throne and serve faithfully in the place where God has put you.” “When King Henry III died, his epithet read: “The King Learned to Rule by Being Obedient.”

Worship God’s Name.

John 4 records Jesus’ conversation with the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well. The Lord’s words hit a little too close to home. Instead of confessing her sin, the woman deflected with a theological debate. The Jews worshiped in the temple. The Samaritans worshiped on the mountain. Who was right? In John 4:21-24, Jesus answered, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” The woman asked about the location of worship. Jesus explained the essence of worship.

It is not about you!

• God is the subject and object of worship.
• Worship him in spirit and truth.
• Hallowed be God’s name in worship.

Psalm 113:2-3 says, “Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time for the and forevermore! From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the Lord is to be praised!” worship is like a seesaw. Only one person can be up at a time. You cannot exalt God’s name and your name at the same time. You must forget your name to worship his name.

A rich man passed a beggar, as he walked into his bank. When he did a double take, he realized it was his college roommate. The poor man, dressed in rags, and holding a sign for help, had lost his family and career to alcohol. The rich man wrote a sizable check to help his old friend get back on his feet. When he returned, he found his friend in the same condition. He was convinced he spent his money on drugs. The friend assured him that was not the case, reaching into his pocket to produce the check. He afraid they would never accept a check from someone who looked like him. The rich man marched him into the bank, saying, “It doesn’t matter what you look like! My name is on the check!”

That is the good news of Jesus Christ. We are poor sinners. Guilt had cost us everything. We could do nothing to help ourselves. Jesus Christ lived the life you should have lived and died the death you should have died. He died on the cross for our sins. They buried him in Joseph’s new tomb. But God raised him from the dead. And he is now seated at the Father’s right hand, where he holds the keys to death, hell, and the grave. Philippians 2:9-11 says, Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

There is a name I love to hear 
I love to sing its worth 
It sounds like music in my hears 
The sweetest name on earth