“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name…”
This phrase, firstly, is a declaration of worship. Jesus is encouraging us that, when we pray, to begin by looking up to God and declaring who He is and so realigning our hearts and lives to His great goodness.It’s my experience that time invested in worship can completely change our perspective and mood. However, we may have read this prayer many times without really thinking about what the words actually mean.
Hallowed?
What does it mean to be ‘hallowed’? This comes from the word ‘holy’, which means to be separated from something and for a specific purpose. When we say that God is holy, we are saying that He is separated from sin and all evil, and He is separated for goodness (righteousness). So when we say “Hallowed be your name”, we are declaring that the Father is perfect in all that is truly good and beautiful.
Be your name?
Names in the ancient world had meaning; they communicated what the parents desired in their children. On occasion God, in the Bible, even renamed people in order to change their identity. God’s name in the bible is who God is. Through the Bible He gives us His name in order for us to know and worship Him. Here are a few examples:
Jesus – Jehovah saves/is salvation (Matt. 1:20-22)
El-Shaddai – God Almighty (Gen. 17:1)
Jehovah Jireh – the Lord will provide (Gen. 22:14)
Jehovah Rapha – the Lord that heals (Ex. 15:26)
Jehovah Nissi – the Lord our banner (Ex. 17:15)
Jehovah Shalom – the Lord our peace (Jud. 6:24)
Jehovah Ra-ah – the Lord our shepherd (Gen. 48:15)
Jehovah Tsiadkeni – the Lord our righteousness (Jer. 23:5-6)
Jehovah Shammah – the Lord is present (Ez. 48:35)
Father in heaven - Loving and almighty Father (Matt. 6:9)
We can sometimes struggle to say “Hallowed be your name”. In seasons of crises and perplexity, we are tempted to think that maybe God has made a mistake or is not good. Let me encourage you, in all seasons, to come back to God’s holiness - His perfect goodness and love.
Take a moment to go through the names listed, worshipping and praying out of each facet. Let’s make it a habit, whenever we pray, to begin by focusing our hearts, minds and voices on who God is; this is the Jesus method of prayer!
RESPONSE
During this series, let's aim to memorise and meditate on The Lord's Prayer.
TIPS ON MEMORISING SCRIPTURE
We will only do this, and persevere in doing this, if we believe that it's truly important to hide God's word in our heart. So get faith!
Don't disqualify yourself if it's hard - it is hard!
Write the text somewhere that's easy to find and use - a note on your phone, a post-it on the fridge...
Include the reference (book/chapter/verse) throughout the process
Read it slowly and carefully x 10 (Don't rush or dismiss this accurate repetition)
Recall it, without looking as much as possible x10
Do this a few times through the day - a habit is best formed by doing this at the same times, and places each day.
Revise regularly (and revise previously memorised verses)
Make it a habit to learn new verses - skill comes over time
USE IT! Actively use it to pray, worship, counsel, prophecy, and counter temptation and lies by quoting truth - it’s the sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17).
TIPS ON BIBLICAL MEDITATION - THE 'COME TO JESUS DAILY METHOD'.
Biblical meditation is to prayerfully read, repeatedly, a section of the bible and pray, worship and respond as God leads. Here are a few tips and questions, what I call the 'come to Jesus daily method', to help you when meditating:
PRAY - Ask for the Spirit to help you and to speak to you. Keep the goal in mind - having a relationship with God!
WRITING- Writing/journaling is often a great help as you answer the questions below. Remember, don't allow worry about spelling, punctuation, grammar, perfection... to stop you from writing - it's between you and God. In meditation, I encourage you to write in the first-person, speaking to God - "I see that you are...I sense you speaking to me about...I pray for...."
GOSPEL- What does God, through this text, say to you about salvation through Jesus?
UP- What does God, through this text, say you about Himself – His worth, character, attributes, will, promises…?
IN- What does God, through this text, say about you, His church and how we are to relate?
OUT- What does God, through this text, say about non-believers and our mission?
RESPONSE – Is there anything else that you want to pray, worship God about, do, ask forgiveness about, ask God to help you to change…?
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