Hallowed Be Your Name

We are instructed in the Lord’s prayer, and in the passage we will study later, to “hallow the Lord,” or “to sanctify Him and His name.”  What does it mean to sanctify the Lord?

That which is holy is distinct from the common or ordinary.  Thus to sanctify God is to demonstrate that He is “high and lifted up” in power and in character, as well as in His very essence.  To fail to sanctify Him is to make Him appear helpless, indifferent, and unimportant (Oswalt).

And so we begin a new week sanctifying the Lord by putting Him first and His worship first and our priority.  But what will the rest of the week look like.  Will it look like we are sanctifying Him?  Are we hallowing His name and seeking for it to be hallowed on earth as it is in heaven?

He is the Lord and He can do whatever He pleases, whenever He pleases and with whatever means He chooses.  Nothing stops Him, nothing thwarts Him, nothing interferes with His plan and His Providence.  Will that be expressed from our lips and from our hearts and hands this week, or will it look instead as though we believe God is helpless – unable to do anything about the present situation.  Maybe we will declare by our actions that He is indifferent, that He doesn’t care or doesn’t know what is going on in our situation, our trials or difficulties.  Or maybe we will act as though He is unimportant – that there are better, more powerful, more practical gods and idols to turn to in order to make our present situation better.

But that is not the God you have come to worship.  His powerful love, His holy love, His terrible jealousy for His people and His name means that He is near, present, immanent at all times.  We see this because we see Jesus, His only Son, Whom the Father sent to be our Savior and King, our Shepherd and Friend, our Elder brother and Lord.  There is not a hair on your head, not an event in your day, not a single need in your situation that He is unaware of or unable to handle.  That is the God you have come to worship.  He has summoned you – and He cares for you very much.  Hallow His name, come and worship the Lord.