Why Do Christians Pray, “Hallowed Be Thy Name”?
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Editor’s note: This is the second installment of a series on the Lord’s Prayer, line by line. Rev. Campbell Markham is a Presbyterian minister in Perth, Australia.
“...hallowed be thy name.” — Matthew 6:9 (NASB 1977)
People flock to the stadium to cheer the sportsperson’s athletic prowess and success, or to the concert hall to praise the artist’s hard-won talent and interpretative skill. Great art and architecture, leadership, or scientific or architectural genius calls out great praise.
We should also praise those who do their ordinary daily tasks with diligence and selfless service, in the workplace or with family in the home.
You were born to praise.
It is right that we praise that which is good and great. Shame on us when we withhold appropriate praise.
On the flipside, it’s a pity when those who possess great skill and talent hide their light under a bushel. The world is poorer for their reticence.
God has not been reticent. He made the universe to show his perfect power, wisdom, creative genius, and beauty. He has displayed his awesome attributes.
God made us to praise him and his great work.
We might, looking at God in the mirror of our own egoism, see similar egoism on God’s part. The selfless spirit, however, will see the opposite—that it was loving of God to make creatures who would see and appreciate his glory, who would enjoy and praise it, and who would enjoy the exhilaration of such praise.
Praise is the first thing we pray in the Lord’s Prayer: “Hallowed be thy name.” Notice that our prayers must begin with a focus not on our needs but on God’s glory. To look away from self, to lift up our heads and raise our eyes to God, is the sanest, most helpful and happy thing that we can do.
To hallow means to make holy, to set something apart from ordinary to sacred usage. (A holiday—holy day—is by definition a day set aside from ordinary tasks to give uninterrupted devotion and praise to God.)
God’s name represents God and all that he is.
Many often use God’s name as an outburst of frustration: “God almighty!” “Jesus Christ!” Jesus’ name is not even respected, let alone hallowed.
To pray, “Hallowed be thy name,” is to pray that God’s name be set above every other name—by every tribe, nation, and tongue—for extraordinary praise, devotion, and delight.
The hallowing of God’s name is to be our first prayer, our top priority.
What a joy when it is.
This article was originally published at Beautiful Christian Life on March 19, 2021.
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