Bent into Shape – His Praise
4/15/18
Matthew 6:9
Sunday AM
I read a story of a pastor on a mission trip who was asked to speak w/ a group of national pastors at an outdoor pavilion. As fate would have it, as he began to speak, torrential rains began to fall, and the noise hitting the roof overhead was deafening. The pastor, wanting to show his spirituality, cried out, “In Jesus’ name, let the rains stop!” And it began to rain harder. So he called out a 2nd time, “In the name of Jehovah, make these rains cease!” About that time, not only did it rain harder, but thunder shook the pavilion – so the pastor said, “Let us give thanks to God for the rain!”
To say there’s a gross misunderstanding and abuse of prayer among people today would be an understatement – and we’re not the first generation to suffer from this malaise. As we learned last week, when the disciples approached Jesus to ask Him to teach them to pray, prayer had been so corrupted by rabbinic tradition that prayers like the Shema/Shemoneh ersay had become prescribed/ritualized – and the people had no idea how to have a personal communication w/ God.
Scary – many Christian traditions have done the same w/ the Lord’s Prayer as we’ve misunderstood the intent of this prayer by reciting it as rote instead of seeing it is a recipe for engaging w/ God. Jesus gave us this prayer to keep us from using vain repetition.
pray (proseuchomai) pro = facing toward – refers to one who seeks God’s face. euchomai = to utter aloud. Meaning prayer is face-to-face encounter w/ God.
Knowing this, when Jesus taught His disciple to pray – He was clear this prayer was be a pattern/model to connect w/ God but never to be a substitute. We’re to understand it and follow it to get face-to-face and bent into shape.
When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard b/c of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. “This, then, is how you should pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. Matthew 6:9-13
Last week we launched into understanding this prayer by looking at the phrase – Our Father in Heaven… We saw how the sovereign Creator is our Abba.
Just to remind you, this was a radical invitation Jesus was issuing. Until this time, seldom did the Israelites view God as their Abba Father. In fact, it was just the opposite. He was the Creator who was to be feared/respected.
So Jesus was inviting us into our Abba’s presence yet reminding us that we must always keep a healthy tension b/w intimacy/awe, personal/powerful, meekness/majesty. We’re to never be afraid to enter into His presence, yet never forget in whose presence we’re entering.
Today we’re going to dig a little deeper into this prayer to look at the 1st priority of prayer – to hallow His name!
Our Abba in Heaven, Hallowed be Your name!
Question – What is the purpose of prayer? This might come as a surprise, but Jesus told His disciples the purpose of prayer is to glorify God’s name and to ask Him to accomplish His will on earth as it is in heaven – and in the process, we should be asking Him to align our lives w/ His will so we might participate in this endeavor.
Don’t believe me? Look at the 1st (3) phrases of this prayer. It begins w/ God’s interest – not ours! He tells us to pray for God’s name to be hallowed, His kingdom to come, and His will to be accomplished.
This means – we have no right to ask God for anything that might dishonor His name from being set apart as holy, no ambition for anything that might delay His kingdom from coming, and no desire for anything that might disturb/deter His will from occurring – NOTHING! In fact, it’s just the opposite. Jesus said our prayers should be centered on asking God to bring honor to His name, to usher in His kingdom, and to see that His will is accomplished – w/ or w/out us, but preferably in us and thru us.
So what does it mean to hallow His name?
The first thing Jesus tells us to ask God to do – the first thing – at the top of the list – above all others – most supreme – is to ask God to cause his name to be hallowed. We’re invited to plead w/ God that He would make his name supremely valuable in the minds/hearts of all people – starting in us.
This goes right to the 3nd Commandment – You shall not misuse the name of God. God’s name is to be treated w/ respect, reverence, and dignity b/c it’s a reflection of who He is and what He has done and is doing.
Hebrew Culture – a person’s name was more than a moniker/title – it speaks of one’s nature, character, and identity. And in the case of God – His name is the name above all other names. (Give examples)
hallowed be your name is to ask God to cause His name to be set apart. It’s a plea to ask Him to do something about his name so that His name would be treated uniquely differently from all other names – set apart and holy.
It makes me think of the Jewish scribes who copied the OT. When they came to the name of God – Jehovah, they’d wipe the pen and then go wash their entire bodies every time.
I think to fully realize what it means to hallow His name requires we look at a few other places in Scripture where the word shows up in relation to God.
To Hallow is to TRUST/BELIEVE Num. 20:12
As the Israelites were wandering in the wilderness, they found themselves needing water. After the people grumbled against Moses, God told Moses to speak to the rock and it’d bring forth water for the people. But Moses' had a bitter spirit, and while he did as God had told him, he was happy about it. And God wasn’t pleased w/ Moses…
B/c you didn’t trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them. Num. 20:12
B/c Moses was flippant w/ God’s name before the people – he paid a rice. His actions misled the people.
When we don’t believe somebody we profane their name. This is the opposite of treating a person as set apart. In the same way, NOT trusting God is the opposite of hallowing his name. So when we pray for God to cause his name to be hallowed, we’re asking Him to cause people to trust Him.
To Hallow is to REVERE/FEAR Isaiah 8:12
Do not call conspiracy all that this people call conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. But the Lord of hosts, him you shall regard as holy (hallow); let him be your fear, let him be your dread. Isaiah 8:12-13
God tells Isaiah to have a holy fear/respect for Him. So we hallow God by not fearing what men fear but fearing God. I’m reminded of Jesus’ words in Matthew 10:28:
Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Matthew 10:28
This means to pray hallow be Your name means when God commands you to take a stand for him in a hostile situation, b/c of your awe/respect for Him, you fear displeasing Him more than you fear the facing the wrath of man. Thus, in effect, you’re asking God to let His name be feared/revered.
We’re praying – Abba, cause people to have such a high view of you it’s a more dreadful thing to lose your approval than to lose anything the world offers.
To Hallow is to OBEY/FOLLOW Lev. 22:31
So you shall keep my commandments and do them: I am the Lord. And you shall not profane my holy name, but I will be hallowed among the people of Israel; I am the Lord who sanctifies you. Leviticus 22:31-32
We hallow God’s name when we keep his commandments – and we profane His name when we defy them. So when we pray – Father, let your name be hallowed – we’re saying – Abba, cause your commands to be obeyed – help us to live in accordance w/ Your Word.
To Hallow is to PRAISE/WORSHIP Lev. 10:3
Moses said to Aaron, 'This is what the Lord has said, “I will show myself holy among those who are near me, and before all the people I will be glorified (hallowed).” Leviticus 10:3
To hallow also means to lift up the name of God in praise and adoration so His name might be glorified. From a heart of gratitude, we set His name in the highest place so that we never lose sight of who He is and what He has done.
Recently, I stumbled across something here that caught my attention. Do you remember how in the NT there are (4) words for love – agape, phileo, storge, and eros? In the OT, there are (7) words for praise – and each one is a required action (imperative command).
Yadah – to worship w/ outstretched, held out hands.
Halal – to boast, celebrate, and clamor foolishly (football)
Zamar – to make music and celebrate in song
Towdah – to lift hands in gratitude
Barak – to kneel as an act of adoration
Tehillah – to laud w/ song – to break out into song
Shabach – to shout in triumph and to glorify
What does this mean in relation to hallow? We’re to pray asking that all the nations (starting w/ us) would be fully immersed in the active, full-contact sport of worship.
hallowed be thy name – is a request, not a declaration. And we’re asking God to cause His name to be treated uniquely! We’re asking God to cause His Word to be believed, His displeasure to be feared, His commandments to be obeyed, and His person to be glorified.
