FEBRUARY 2021
HALLOWED BE YOUR NAME
Article by: Bishop M. Wagner

When the disciples approached Christ with the request “teach us to pray” He responded with what we know as the Lord’s Prayer. Christ could equip His own with this prayer by drawing on the history of the prayers He had witnessed throughout the ages of mankind with His Father. The second phrase “Hallowed be Your name” is to have a two-fold effect, namely on the heart of our heavenly Father and on the supplicant. This statement sets the heart’s tone as we come close to Him. His position is holy, so our prayer needs to express the reverence we feel as we set ourselves apart from earthly, sinful thoughts when uttering this and all of our prayers. In this way, three vital aspects of our prayer will draw God’s good pleasure.

  • Our gratitude — The sincerity of our words will be genuine. All honour and credit will be given to God for that which we have been able to accomplish and obtain in our lives. After Solomon had built the temple, a true wonder of its time, and had prayed the prayer of dedication, it was God’s response to the nation’s gratitude that crowned this edifice and made it the dwelling place of God in Jerusalem (cf. 1 Kings 9: 3). So our home becomes such an abode for our heavenly Father when we acknowledge His goodness.
  • God’s will for us—When Moses was on the mountain top and came upon a burning bush, the voice of his Lord invited him close, but also told him to remove his sandals because the ground he stood on was holy. This reverend approach indicates the respect of Moses toward God. It made it possible to accept God’s plan for His people and what he wanted Moses to do. Even if Moses thought himself inadequate, by treating God’s word with respect, he was able to put his fears behind him. So we are not casual to God’s teaching but rather take our duty seriously with a keen awareness of our calling.
  • The importance of being holy ourselves — The day before the Israelites were to cross Jordan and enter the Promised Land Joshua told them to sanctify themselves because God would do wonders among them (cf. Joshua 3: 5). Here it shows that God took their lives in His hand. He was answering the petitions of their forefathers to be released from slavery and fulfilling His promise upon them, but they needed to become holy—to set aside any other thinking and influence to fully experience this great event. Our heavenly Father also asks us to remove misgivings from our hearts and to trust Him completely; to focus on what He is doing today—right now in our lives and fully benefit from His power.

With such clarity of hallowed awareness, our lives are attuned with God.

 

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Passiontide   |    Sharing faith across generations   |    Prayer works   |    Close of the year   |    Christmas   |    Thanksgiving   |    Action de grâces   |    Learning and growing   |    The communion of the Holy Spirit   |    A living faith   |    Pentecost 2023   |    The love of God   |    Passiontide   |    Pillars: Shining for God   |    Older and powerful in Christ   |    Closing of the year   |    Christmas peace   |    Loving gratitude   |    Action de grâces   |    Thanksgiving   |    Back to school   |