Hallowed be Your Name

Psalm 20:7
Some boast in chariots and some in horses,
But we will boast in the name of the Lord, our God.

Text: Matthew 6:5-15

Lesson Summary: When we pray to the Father, we are to begin by praying, "Hallowed be your
name”. The prayer is this: "Lord, may your name be treated with respect and honor because
your name is sacred and holy." You hallow God's name when you treat it with the utmost
respect.
Lesson Application: God’s name matter to God. It ought to matter to us. When you pray,
"Hallowed be your name," you are both the voice and the feet of that petition. As the very
words leave your lips, your life is part of the answer. When you pray that God's name be
hallowed, your first obligation is to live in such a way that God has no trouble answering your
prayer.
Lesson Introduction: What does the word hallowed mean? What does God's name represent,
and why does it matter so much?
Lesson Discussion:

 The Lord's Prayer is the best-known prayer in the world.

 The first petition of the prayer Jesus taught us to pray is “hallowed be your name” (v. 9)
 “The word ‘Hallowed’ means to sanctify, or to revere, or to make and keep holy”
 “Holy” simply means to be set apart—something or someone that is wholly other. To
hallow something is to make it the most important thing in your life. It is to worship it.
 To "hallow" something is to treat it as sacred and holy and worthy of the highest
veneration and respect
 What pops up on your mental screen when you hear the word God?
 To take God's name in vain means to take it lightly or flippantly. It's the exact opposite
of "hallowing" God's name. Therefore, we might say that to "hallow" God's name means
to take it seriously.
 We "hallow" the name of God because He is holy and good. We take it seriously because
God's name represents who He is and what He does.
 When we pray like this, we are asking God to "cause your word to be believed, cause
your displeasure to be feared, cause your commandments to be obeyed, and cause
yourself to be glorified."
 The very essence of this petition is that in it we pray that God may enable us to show
that we are redeemed, so that in our lives He may be glorified, and so that through us
others may come to desire the secret which we possess. This petition prays that we may
be enabled so to show Christ to men that men may desire Christ.
  When you pray it with understanding, you are really saying, "Lord Jesus, ascend to the
throne of my life."
 Whenever we pray, "Hallowed be your name," we are asking that God's name be made
great instead of our own name.
 As a Christian, I bear the name of my Heavenly Father. Hallowing his name means living
in such a way that I increase His reputation in the world. When I've done it well, people
who don't know God will look at my life and say, "He must have a great God,"
 What can the world conclude about God by watching your life? Spend some time
thinking about the answer.

Further Reflection:

1. What is it about the Lord's Prayer that attracts the reverence and respect of even
nonreligious people?
2. What is the first image that comes to mind when you hear the phrase "hallowed be your
name"? Why is this petition difficult for most people to understand?
3. How does the name of God reflect who he is? What does it mean to take God's name
lightly, or in vain? (See Exod. 20:7.)
4. Take the Three Circles test. Draw three circles and put a throne in the center of each
one. Where will you place the cross? Is Christ outside your life, inside your life but not
on the throne, or on the throne of your life?
5. State in your own words what it means to hallow God's name. What items would you
add to the list that begins, "God's name is not hallowed when . . ."?
6. Read Isaiah 6 out loud. How did Isaiah respond to a vision of God's holiness? How did
this experience help him discover God's will for his life?

AN ACTION STEP
Spend an hour studying the names of God in the Old Testament. What do the following
Scriptures teach us about the nature and character of God? Genesis 16:13; Genesis 17:1-2,
Genesis 22:14; Exodus 15:22-26; Leviticus 20:8; Deuteronomy 32:18; Judges 6:24; Psalm 23:1;
Psalm 46:7; Psalm 90:1-3; Jeremiah 23:5-6; Ezekiel 48:35.