Today, I want to take a deeper look at what Jesus is actually asking us by telling us to spend time hallowing the name of God.
Jesus told us in Matthew 6:9 to ask God to hallow His name and we are the answer to the request. Yes, God will exalt His majesty in answer to this request, but we must participate by focusing on God and allowing ourselves to lift Him high in our thoughts. We find many examples of this in the Lord's Prayer, this “model prayer” Jesus gave us to interact deeply with the Father.
In other words, we are to ask God about when our participation is the critical component to the answer God is ready to give us in the request we make to Him. For example, we are to ask God to give us our daily bread, but if we do not see and take advantage of the opportunities God gives, then there will be no daily bread. We are told to ask God to lead us not into temptation, which God is more than willing to do. But if we do not listen to His guidance and avoid the temptations that are obvious around us, then we are the reason the request fails, not God.
In Matthew 6:9, Jesus says “worship God” in the most interesting way. He essentially says, “Ask God to hallow His name.” The idea here is to focus on God and be reminded that God is sufficient for all of your problems, difficulties, and issues.
Look at John 17 as Jesus practices this idea of “hallowing God’s name.” In this priestly prayer, His focus is on the glory of God right before His crucifixion. This magnificent prayer condenses the conversation of Jesus with God the Father as He, Jesus, agonized and interacted with God about His mission and the salvation of mankind. We know that this interaction in prayer took all night because of the various accounts in the gospels. But notice that the hallowing of God’s name is clearly there in the beginning of this prayer time. It is not wooden; it is not a one-phrase request (hallowed be thy Name), but it is an interaction about the glory of God being accomplished through what Jesus was doing and about to do.
“Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You, even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life. This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given me to do. Now Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.”
Spend time thinking about the answer to these questions. Bring them to the Lord during your next devotional time.
How are you going to let God exalt His person in your soul in this time of worship?
How is the name of God going to be glorified and hallowed through you in this day?
How are you going to exalt Him in and through your life?
I would love to hear from you and your experience with God your Father. Feel free to reach out to me at info@ptlb.com. Remember, your greatest life is just ahead.
In His service,
Gil Stieglitz
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