Hallowed Be Your Name
[Read Matthew 6:9-13]
I was talking to someone this past week who walked in a parade on the Fourth of July. At one point in the parade, they got into a conversation with a spectator and separated from their group. When the conversation was over, they hopped back into the parade and began walking with the next group of people, who happened to be a group of Pro-Life advocates. This person was happy to walk with them and promote the understanding that life begins at conception. However, this person didn’t realize the hostility that was directed toward this group. They told me they were in awe at the anger and frustration directed at this Pro-Life group in the parade. They even told me they were fearful and scared for their safety at times.
Now, I realize that the Pro-Life cause has become something that is more than just a religious issue, it’s become extremely politicized, which has increased the heat around the topic. However, it is a basic Christian teaching that life begins at conception and all life is valuable—and people are increasingly hating these teachings and becoming extremely angry with anyone who holds these teachings. And, let’s be honest, there are a whole host of other basic Christian teachings that are creating those same feelings of anger and animosity in the world.
All of this raises a question in our hearts and minds: How do we live in a world that is increasingly hostile to the Christian faith? Or another question is: How do we remain faithful in a world that is increasingly hostile to the Christian faith? How do we remain faithful when there are tremendous external pressures to reject a foundational Christian understanding of the world we live in and conform to the world around us? These are the questions that need to be on our hearts and minds more and more.
We’re not the only ones who’ve had to deal with these questions over the years. To be honest, most of the history of God’s people has been characterized by the situation in which we’re living. Moses had to deal with this. He grew up in Egypt. Not only that, but he grew up as a prince of Egypt, in the leadership structures of Egypt, in a family that identified (and was identified) as Egypt itself. The Pharaoh and his family were the epitome of Egyptian life and what everyone strived to be. There was tremendous pressure on Moses to be an Egyptian of Egyptians, but he didn’t cave into those pressures. The question is: How did he do it? We’re given that answer in Hebrews 11: “By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward.” (Hebrews 11:24–26, ESV).
How was Moses able to withstand the pressures of Egyptian culture? He considered the reproach of Christ a greater reward than the treasures of Egypt. That’s a powerful concept that every, single one of us needs to meditate upon daily. Moses saw through the fleeting pleasures of Egypt and recognized them as worthless. Moses saw through the treasures being offered to him and saw them as worthless. Why? Because he saw Christ as supremely worthy and valuable. Because he saw Christ as supremely valuable, it was much easier for him to reject the fleeting pleasures and the worthless treasures of Egypt. He rejected those things because he was grabbing hold of something much greater, Jesus Christ. That’s how he was able to withstand the pressures of culture upon him. That’s how he was able to remain faithful and stand firm. That’s also how WE will withstand these same pressures and remain faithful. We must see Jesus Christ as greater wealth than anything the world has to offer.
The Apostle Peter says something similar in his letter. He says, “But even if you should suffer for righteousness sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,” (1 Peter 3:14–15, ESV). Notice that he’s talking to a group of people who are suffering for righteousness’ sake. They are suffering because they are following Jesus. They are also afraid and troubled because of the intensity of their suffering and the animosity against them. In that situation, what does Peter tell them to do? He says, “…in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy…” (1 Peter 3:15, ESV). That’s the solution to living in a world/culture that is hostile to the Christian faith—in your hearts, honor Christ as holy. Don’t just honor him with your lips, but honor him deep within your heart as holy.
That’s what this portion of The Lord’s Prayer is about. We begin our prayer by saying, “Hallowed be your name.” It’s kind of confusing because we never use the word “Hallowed” in normal conversation. I would guess that the only time any of us actually use the word is when we recite/pray The Lord’s Prayer. The ESV gives some help in understanding what this means by adding a footnote that says it could also be translated as ”Let your name be kept holy or Let your name be treated with reverence.”
It’s also important to understand that we’re not just talking about a name. When we talk about the name of God, we’re talking about more than just the words—or the sounds coming out of our mouths. The name of God is the revealed character of God. God has revealed Himself through His Word and through what He has done throughout history—word and deed. And all of those attributes and characteristics are summed up in the name of God. The easiest way to understand this is to recognize that God’s name represents Himself. So, when we’re praying that God’s name would be made holy, we’re praying that God Himself would be made holy.
To help us understand what that means, I think it’s helpful for us to look at the opposite of making God’s name holy. Can you think of a passage from scripture that talks about the opposite of making God’s name holy? It’s the third commandment: “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.” (Exodus 20:7, ESV). The opposite of making the name of God holy is taking the name of God in vain. The word “vain” is really important to understand. I think it’s helpful to remember back to when we went through the book of Ecclesiastes and repeatedly heard the phrase, “Vanity, vanity, all is vanity.” Another way that has been translated over the years is, “Meaningless, Meaningless, all is meaningless.” That helps understand the third commandment. Don’t make God’s name meaningless. Don’t use it in meaningless ways.
But it means more than that. Taking God’s name in vain means treating God’s name as worthless—like some throwaway word. Yet, remember, it’s not just about the word, it’s about God himself. So, really, the third commandment is about treating God as—or acting like God is—worthless. And we can do that through the way we speak his name, by the way we think about him, and by the way we live our lives. We can easily think, speak, and act like God is worthless—like he’s not worthy of our time and attention, like he’s not worthy of following or devoting our lives to. This is what the catechism says is blaspheming God’s name by thought, word, or deed. The catechism says, “Help us to direct all our living—what we think, say, and do—so that your name will never be blasphemed because of us but always honored and praised.” (Q&A 122). If you think, speak, or act like God is worthless, you are blaspheming his name. It’s not just about swearing with God’s name (which is also treating God and his name as worthless) but it’s about treating God as worthless in every aspect of your life.
This is why the world lives the way they do. They think, speak, and act as if God is worthless. That’s why they don’t care what He has to say. That’s why they don’t care how He wants us to live. That’s why they live their lives as if their greatest rewards are here and now. They believe those things are worth more—more valuable—than following the God who created everything. To be bluntly honest, most people think, speak, and act as if THEY were the most valuable thing in all of creation, and that God is actually pretty worthless in comparison. And sadly, many Christians begin to fall into that same trap, which is why we’re told to pray at the beginning of every prayer, “Hallowed be your name”—Lord, make your name great.
In the midst of this, it’s also important to remember one very important thing. We don’t make God’s name great—or holy or valuable. God is already holy. God is already supremely great and valuable. So, when we’re praying this, we’re praying that the world would recognize the reality of God’s holiness, greatness, and that He is supremely valuable.
In some ways, when we’re praying “Hallowed be your name” we’re praying one of Jesus’ short parables about the Kingdom. He said, “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” (Matthew 13:44, ESV). The treasure was already there and was already supremely valuable. People just didn’t see it or recognize it. Yet, when the man finally saw how valuable that field was—and the treasure within it—he sold everything to buy that field. He gave up everything for that field. Like Moses, he considered that field worth more than anything else the world had to offer.
That’s the difference between taking God’s name in vain and hallowing God’s name. To take God’s name in vain is to treat him as worthless—unworthy of our time and effort and lives. But, to hallow God’s name means that we treat him as supremely valuable—as worthy of everything we have, every ounce of our strength and energy, every penny we own. He is worthy. And because we finally see Him as supremely valuable, like Moses, we can see everything else as a fleeting pleasure, or an unworthy reward. Because we see him as supremely valuable, we pursue Him above all else no matter what the world is saying, no matter the external pressures of the world, no matter how scared or troubled or persecuted we may be. We keep pursuing him—willing to lose everything—because nothing is more valuable to us than our God. That’s what it means when we pray, “Hallowed be your name.”
That needs to start in our own hearts before anyone else will ever believe it or see it. The world will never see God as being supremely valuable until Christians begin thinking, speaking, and living as if He is supremely valuable. And, as Peter said, we need to believe this deep down in our hearts. We can’t just say it, because if we don’t actually believe it, we won’t live it and everyone will see the hypocrisy of our lives. We must believe deep down in our hearts that our God is worth more than anything this world has to offer. He is the treasure hidden in the field, and we are willing to give up everything to have Him. And once we believe that deep down in our hearts, it will naturally change the way we think, speak, and act in the world. It has to because our God will be more important than money, than your promotion, than a nice house, than the approval of those around you.
Once Christians begin to live this way, THEN the world may begin to see God as being supremely valuable. That’s also part of this prayer. Of course, we want to see God as supremely valuable in our lives, but we also want the world to see God as supremely valuable. So, when we pray, “Hallowed be your name,” we ask God to work so that the entire world would see how valuable He is—and to do that in and through us. We’re praying that God would send us out into the world to help them see how much more valuable He is than anything else the world has to offer. The Apostle Peter tells us “but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,” (1 Peter 3:15, ESV). We must be ready to tell the world how valuable Christ is and to do it with gentleness and respect. We must go out into the world thinking, speaking, and living in ways that the world thinks, “Wow. Their God must be extremely valuable and worthy if they are willing to live, speak, and act like that.”
This is at the beginning of our prayer to remind us of why we’re on earth and how we’re supposed to live and to shape the rest of our prayers. The Westminster Confession asks the question: What is the chief end of man? Basically asking: What is the purpose of life? Why are we on the earth? And it answers the question by saying, “The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” That’s our purpose in life. That’s what we’ve been talking about. Our purpose in life is to glorify God—to see him as supremely valuable and worthy of our lives and to show the world that God is supremely valuable and worthy of their lives. That’s how we’re supposed to live in the world.
That should also shape the rest of our prayers. Martin Lloyd-Jones says, “When you come to God, says our Lord, in effect, even though you may be in desperate conditions and circumstances, it may be with some great concern on your mind and in your heart; even then, He says, stop for a moment and just recollect and realize this, that your greatest desire of all should be that this wonderful God, who has become your Father in and through Me, should be honored, should be worshipped, should be magnified amongst the people.” (Lloyd-Jones, 61). It’s a reminder at the beginning of our prayer that this isn’t all about us. Even if we’re in a difficult and desperate condition, even if we’re freaking out and filled with anxiety, we’re told to begin our prayers with the reminder that God is supremely valuable, and everything is about how valuable He is. That means the rest of our prayers should not be about our own glory or the glory of others. That means that our prayers should always be focused on God’s name being hallowed in our own lives and throughout the world.
That was the Apostle Paul’s mission in life. He says this, “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—” (Philippians 3:7–9, ESV). When the Apostle Paul finally saw Jesus Christ and the salvation that comes through faith in Jesus Christ, everything else seemed like garbage to him. It wasn’t worth anything anymore. Now, it was all about comprehending the surpassing worth of knowing Christ and gaining Christ. That was his supreme value and his only focus in life. That he would comprehend the surpassing worth of knowing Christ AND that others would also comprehend the surpassing worth of knowing Christ.
This must be our prayer if we desire to stand firm and remain faithful in a world that is increasingly becoming hostile to the Christian faith. We must continually pray that we would comprehend the surpassing worth of knowing Christ. We must daily pray that God would change our hearts so that we would value Christ over anything this world has to offer—that we would consider the reproach of Christ greater wealth than anything this world has to offer. Then we will keep our eyes on Christ in the midst of pain and suffering and persecution. And then, we will think, speak, and live so that the world can also see and begin to comprehend the surpassing worth of knowing Christ and God’s name would be hallowed above all things.