“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come” (Matthew 6:9-10).

“Thy”

There it is. “Thy” not “my”.

It’s not about you, not about me. It’s not about the Little Church on the Prairie nor Lakewoodgrace. It’s not about the United States nor America. It’s all about God. It’s never been about you or me. It’s always been about God.

When we pray, “Thy,” we are re-orienting ourselves from an ego-centric way of living to get our bearings on God. When we remember who God is and who we are, we begin correctly seeing everything as belonging to God – our lives, this world, time, finances, everything.

“Kingdom”

The Kingdom Jesus ushers in is not a physical location but refers to a way of living, a new reality. The kingdom Jesus refers to is a kingdom where God’s will and purpose is being accomplished. It’s the place where God’s reign rules.

This is the kingdom where God’s rule, peace, joy, and purposes are being lived out. People are living with purpose and meaning. Lives are being changed and impacted. People who are far from God find their place in God. This is the kingdom of God.

This kingdom is realized when disciples “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness” (Matthew 6:33).

“Come”

To pray God’s kingdom come means that we not only desire for God’s rule to be the reality but that we participate in the coming of God’s kingdom. God’s kingdom comes through us. God’s kingdom is established wherever disciples follow and obey God’s will and purposes.

God’s kingdom is not wishful thinking or a worthy desire. God’s kingdom is the reality which we are invited to participate and establish by following and obeying God.

So, what does all this mean for us?

When we pray, “Thy kingdom come”, it means we recognize:

• “Thy” – living a life that reflects that everything belongs to God, that this life is not about us. “Thy” tells us it’s all about God
• “Kingdom” – this is the world God created. God has given to us everything to make our lives abundant. It’s in God’s kingdom where all our lives find meaning and purpose.
• “Come” – God establishes his kingdom through disciples who “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.” God’s kingdom is established when disciples follow and obey God’s will.

Whenever we pray “Thy Kingdom Come” we get to participate in God establishing his rule and will in this world as we follow and obey God’s will.

What a prayer!

“Hallowed be thy name.”

For us, a name is just a name. It’s something we call someone. Some names are more meaningful to us because of the person behind those names.

In the Jewish culture names were far more than just something we call someone. Names reflected a person’s destiny, their character, the essence of their identity.

For us, we find certain names meaningful because of our experiences with those particular individuals. For the Jews the person became the persons that their names meant.

• God changed the name of Abram, meaning “exalted father,” to Abraham, meaning “father of the multitudes” after Abraham fathers Isaac.
• God changed the name of Jacob, meaning “heel catcher” or “trickster” to Israel, meaning “one who strives with God” after Jacob wrestled with God.
• Jesus changed the name of Simon, meaning “one who hears” to Peter, meaning “rock.”

Names weren’t merely something we called someone but describes the character, the nature, the destiny of an individual. The individual became what the name meant.

When Moses asked God what name he should tell the Israelites was the name of the God sending him to rescue them from Egypt, God replied, “Say to this people of Israel, ‘I am’ has sent me to you. The name I am is YHWH or Yahweh. The name of God YHWH is linked to the concept of self-existence.

God’s name was thought to be so holy that Jews not utter it aloud for fear of profaning God’s name. Even today, many Jews will write “G-d” in order to show reverence to God’s name.

So what does all this mean to us?

Great question.

Jesus says in John 14:14, “If you ask for anything in my name I will do it.”

Also, we end every prayer with the phrase, “We pray this in the name of Jesus.”

When we say this, we are simply saying, “This request expresses not only my wishes, but Jesus’ will too.” It reflects Jesus’ will, his interest, his character, and his authority. When we pray in Jesus’ name we are not only asking for this for ourselves. We are asking on behalf of Jesus.

Knowing this changes what we pray for. Are our prayers reflective of God’s will? If not, we are not praying in Jesus’ name.

Everything changes when we pray in the name of Jesus.

“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name” (Matthew 6:9).

Hallowed? What is that? How does one “hallow”?

The Greek word “hallowed” is a derivation of the Greek word hagiazo which means holy. The Greek word for “hallow” has the word “holy” as its root. To hallow something means to greatly revere, to greatly honor, to treat as holy, and to set apart as holy.

Notice hallowing doesn’t just happen. It is something that must be done, something that must be accomplished.

What is interesting is that this verb is written in the aorist imperative passive voice in the Greek. Let’s break that down.

• Aorist refers to a single act in the past tense
• Imperative means it is a command
• Passive voice means that it refers to an action that is done unto it. For instance, “Let the book be carried home.” The verb passive in this sentence is written in the passive voice. The book is not carrying, but is being carried.

Putting all this together. What does all this have to do with anything?

What is astonishing about this is that Jesus teaches his disciples that the disciples have an active role to play in God’s name being hallowed. God’s name is honored, revered, treated as holy, and set apart as holy and special by the actions being done by the disciples. At the same time, this means, that the disciples can live in a way that doesn’t hallow God’s name.

Not only is this a good idea, but Jesus makes it clear that “hallowing” is a command. It is something that disciples are commanded to do.

It is when disciples live lives that reflect God’s glory and holiness that God’s name is hallowed. Whether our world hallows God and God’s name is dependent upon how God-followers live and reflect that reality.

When we pray, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be thy name,” we are committing to intentionally live in a way that honors, reveres God’s holy name. Hallowing God doesn’t happen by accident nor haphazardly. It is intentional. It is a way of life that must be chosen.

As we continue to look at the rest of the prayer, Jesus will teach us how we can go about hallowing God’s name.

For today I invite you to choose to live your life in such a way that will honor God through your living.

Every day I pray that I can glorify and honor God as a husband, father, and pastor. This is my life mission statement.

That’s the lens through which I want to make every decision.

• Does this decision and decision honor God as a husband to Helen, father to Karis, Kaitlin, Kailey, and Kaleb?
• Does this decision honor God as a pastor to the Little Church and Lakewoodgrace?
• If it doesn’t I don’t do it.
• If it does, I am wholly committed to it.

Choose today to hallow God’s name. Start with writing a life mission statement for yourself. This should provide you with the framework through which you make every other decision in your life.