Hallowed Be Thy Name . . . Part 1

It is a rich, old Anglo-Saxon word, replete with color and feeling, much better, I think, than "sanctified." Not that it is any more accurate. "Sanctified" is exactly the word we would use in modern English to translate this Greek word. By the time, however, that this passage of Scripture was being translated into English by King James's chosen scholars the prayer was so firmly set in the minds and hearts of the common people that the decision was made to keep the word "hallowed" intact.

We still use the word nowadays, by the way. You may have once or twice found yourself standing on "hallowed ground" or roaming the "hallowed halls" of some institution or other. And we are all familiar with the pagan festival turned children's excuse to dress up in costume and gorge themselves with candy known as "Halloween" or "All Hallows Eve" or "All Saints Eve" (since it falls on the day before the Roman Catholic "All Saints Day"--November 1).

Hallowed be thy name . . .

What does it mean to hallow something? It means to sanctify it, of course. It means to set it aside or apart as something holy, something special, something above or beyond the mundane. It means to make it holy.

The name of a deity was very important in the ancient world. Recall that when Jacob wrestled all night with the angel of the Lord he asked the angel of the Lord to give him his name, but the angel refused to give it. Recall also that when Moses stood before the burning bush and received his commission from God that he wanted to know a name so that when he returned to Egypt he would have an answer for them when they asked him for the name of the God who had sent him. The name of  a deity was important because it told us something about him.

Note also that in the ten commandments, specifically in the first table of the law which encompasses the first four commandments (those which deal specifically with our actions and attitude toward God), that it is very important that we treat God's name with respect, reverence, and awe:

“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."

Without getting into a discussion of the full meaning of this commandment, let us simply note that God's name is very important to him. He wants it esteemed, respected, hallowed--the opposite of used or treated in an empty fashion.

So let's look at these first few words of the Lord's prayer . . . hallowed be thy name. It is a petition. In fact, it is the first petition of this, our model prayer. How should we pray? What should we request? What should be the first thing on our minds when we approach the throne of God?


Hallowed be thy name.

References to God doing things for his name's sake are all over the Old Testament. In fact, it is saturated with them. Here are a handful if you want to look them up. It is only a small sampling--Psalm 23:3, Psalm 25:11, Psalm 31:3,  Psalm 106:8, Isaiah 48:9, Psalm 79:9, 1 Samuel 12:22.

God's name is important to him. I think it is safe to say that God does everything that he does for the sake of his name. But what does that mean?

God's name is his fame. God's name is his reputation. God's name is how he is known to creation.

What is the ultimate charge to be leveled against sinful mankind? What is the ultimate sign of his guilt before a holy God? Is it not that we have sullied his name? As his offspring, what do our actions say about him? Would anyone look at us, at our lives, at our daily failings, and conclude that the God in whose image we were made is holy? The only honest answer is 'no.' And if our daily actions serve to sully his holy name, what right have we to approach Him whom we have habitually offended? None.

Yet he invites us approach him. That, in itself, is grace immeasurable. (How it is possible for God to do this and yet remain holy and just would be the subject of many posts. But to summarize it, it is only because of Calvary.) But make no mistake. When we approach God we are immediately confronted with this, the sum of our crime against him.

Hallowed be thy name.

In approaching him I immediately turn my thoughts away from me and my needs and my wants and turn them toward Him and what he wants. My thoughts and wants and needs are usually trivial in comparison to this . . . hallowed be thy name.

And in this petition we have also a principal that serves to explain why God does what he does in general and why it is he is doing what he is doing specifically in our lives at any given moment . . . that his name might be hallowed.

When we remember that, we change our petition. We may even drop our complaint, you know, the one that brought us before him in the first place.

This is only the first part. In my next in this series we will look at how to apply this petition specifically to our everyday lives. How shall we pray this prayer . . .