"Pray in this way: Our Father in heaven, hallowed by your name" (Mat 6:9)
One of the first things parents do when a child is born, or when an adoption is finalized, is to give the child a name. While there are many approaches to naming a child, one thing is standard in most naming practices: the child is given the family name (which we call a last name), and becomes a representative of that family lineage in the world. The same is true for those of us who are adopted as God’s children in baptism. When we are baptized, we are named as God’s children – members of God’s family. As such, we bear the very name of God, stamped upon us by our Father.
What is God’s name? God’s name has always been shrouded in mystery. When confronted by God in the burning bush, Moses asked for God’s name. God’s response was baffling: “I AM WHAT I AM,” (Exod 3:13-14). From this phrase came the tetragrammeton - those four letters that express the name of God: YHWH. There are no vowels, and so they are unpronounceable. God’s name is mysterious. So mysterious, in fact, that no human being has ever uttered it.
Yet, while God’s name is unpronounceable, it is not unknown to us. God’s only Son, Jesus our Lord, took on flesh in order to reveal to us God’s name (John 17:6). Just as a son carries on the name of his father, so Jesus, God’s Son, carries on the name of God. Jesus demonstrates that God’s name represents God’s being and character. And so God’s name is love, peace, mercy, forgiveness, hope, power, healing, grace, and kindness. Yet, above all these things, the Bible tells us that God’s name is holy (Isa 6:3). God’s name is the only name whereby human beings receive salvation (Acts 4:12). It is the name that will one day drive all people to their knees in worship and confession of God’s lordship in Jesus Christ (Phil 2:10-11).
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The unpronounceable name of God, called the tetragrammeton. In the Bible, this word is translated as "The LORD." |
Our first request in the Lord’s prayer is that God’s name be hallowed – that is, that God’s name may be made holy. Now, God’s name is already holy. There is no sense in which our prayer – or our failure to pray – will affect the holiness of God’s name. Our prayer, then, is not that God’s name would be made Holy, but that God’s name would be made holy in us who bear this name.
From the very beginning of God’s relationship with Israel, there is testimony to how difficult it is for human beings to hallow God’s name. Rather than giving praise to God’s name, human beings tend to defame it by their sinfulness. Instead of bringing glory to the name of the Father, human sin places shame on the family name. In response to our fallen condition, God gave us the third commandment, “You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God” (Exod 20:7). Jesus’ instruction that we pray for the hallowing of God’s name is not new teaching. Rather, it is the continuation of God’s call to Israel to live in a such a way as to bring glory to God’s name.
Therefore, when we pray “Hallowed be your name” we are praying that our words and deeds may reflect and bring glory to God’s name. Since God’s name is holy, it follows that our prayer is that we too would be holy – that our lives would reflect the holiness of God. To be holy is to be like God. To be holy is to be in tune with Holy Spirit. To be holy is to let our lives be a song that sings with the angels their unending hymn:
Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, God of power and might
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the Highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the Highest.
The next time you pray the Lord’s prayer, consider what a great gift and calling it is to be a bearer of God’s name. Reflect on who God is, and then consider whether or not your life is a faithful reflection of God that brings glory to God’s holy name. Then pray for God’s grace and strength to make you holy. Pray that God would shape and form you to live and be like Jesus, whose life, death, and resurrection reveals God’s name.
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