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Matthew 6:9 “Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.” (KJV, ASV, RSV)
“Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be your name.” (NKJV, NIV)
“Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.” (NASB)
“Our Father in heaven, we honor your holy name.” (TLB)
Luke 11:2 “Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.” (KJV)
Right after we learn “Pray without ceasing,” one might ask, “How do we pray?” We would share that request with the disciples (or at least one of them…look it up) when they asked Him, “Lord, teach us to pray.”
In Matthew, it does not record that one of them asked, but Jesus spent verses 5-8 with some pretty specific instructions to his disciples about prayer: Don’t pray to be seen. Pray in secret. Do not use vain repetitions. Ask the Father.
Isn’t it interesting how we have turned the words of Jesus as He instructed the disciples how to pray into what we commonly call the “model prayer.” I would in no way criticize us for praying the Lord’s prayer, as it is also called. However, it might be worth examining our hearts about our prayers if it was the only prayer we ever prayed, or even if it became a “holy sacrament” that we held above actually PRAYING. Could this model prayer even become “vain repetitions” as the Lord warned us about right before teaching it to us?
I acknowledge that the beginning of Matt 6:9 states, “After this manner therefore pray ye.” After Jesus’ instructions in verses 5-8, He states, “Pray like this…” So, obviously, Jesus put great importance on the words that followed in the model prayer.
In the Scripture-memorizing vein, I will also acknowledge that the purists of those of us learning to memorize Scripture might want to include those words, “After this manner therefore pray ye…” when memorizing Matt 6:9. However, I think it would be completely sufficient to add to our list of memorized Scriptures one which we probably already know very well and thus, a good Scripture to commit to heart: “Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.”
It is also probably noteworthy that we know that this prayer is also recorded in Luke 11:2. As we have stated before, it is extremely important to also memorize the location/verse of the Bible where our memorized Scriptures come from. Remember though, what we are aiming for is “hiding Thy Words in my heart.”
Like the very familiar Genesis 1:1 verse, we are intimately familiar with these words as well. It makes it initially easier to remember Scriptures that we probably have already quoted and prayed hundreds of times. That does not diminish the importance of hiding the Scripture and the reference where we might need it at any time.
The teaching of Jesus here is very clear. We should pray, and if we question how we should pray, here is the model. Many have shared books, teachings and preaching from the Lord’s prayer, and that should be respected. There is much to learn from all the words of this prayer and it would benefit every Christian to do an exhaustive study of them.
From this first verse, however, we learn that our Father (we are those who believe that He is and He is rewarder of those who diligently seek Him, so we acknowledge him as OUR Father) is in heaven and that His name is Hallowed or Holy. That last part should make us always careful about how we treat His name. We should honor, sacrifice to and be “fearful” of His name. It is Holy and not be treated with anything but the highest respect.
We have been told that the angels stand around the throne of the Lord and continually cry “Holy, Holy, Holy.” We should be doing the same. As already part of the Kingdom of God, we should never be fraught with fear and anxiety but should cry, “Holy is Your Name, Oh Most High!” Once we establish the direction or target of our prayer, now we can continue with our acknowledged needs and requests.
Questions to ponder: What is it that hinders us from seeing the true holiness of our Father in Heaven? In our previous chapter’s theme of praying without ceasing, should not we spend great amounts of prayer time recognizing and praising the holiness of God’s Name? If Jesus is His Name and if it is holy and righteous, how should that affect the way we live? In what way will starting our prayer with the recognition of God’s holiness affect how we pray in keeping with the rest of the Lord’s prayer? Have you ever prayed the Lord’s prayer and recognized after doing so, you have just repeated the words and not truly worshipped, praised and lifted up the Name of the Lord? Read and pray the rest of the prayer from the perspective of lifting it up to One whose name we consider “hallowed.” How does calling God your Father affect how you pray? Do you truly recognize God as your Father? Do you think Jesus actually prayed this prayer? Pray the Lord’s Prayer now…do you recognize that you actually have FIVE Scriptures memorized here? Well on our way to 100!
 
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