Hallowed Be Your Name

What do you live for? What defines you? If your best friends were to sum up the single idea that describes your purpose and where you’re headed in life, what would it be? To put it more bluntly, “why are you here?”

Existential questions like “what is the meaning of life” have haunted humans since almost the very beginning (42!). One of the best answers I’ve read is the first one in the Westminster Shorter Catechism:

The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.

It’s simple and to the point. You and I exist to glorify God, and find joy in fulfilling the purpose for which we were made. And this is what Jesus was getting at in the next part of His model prayer.

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your Name…

We often blast right past these words. We think of this as saying simply “praise God,” and that’s not totally wrong. Jesus is starting off His prayer by reminding us of the sacredness of God’s Name. This is a good place to start any prayer, especially in a time where His Name is routinely treated commonly, or worse – as a cuss word. Our world does not hallow His Name.

But there’s more to it than that. Jesus’ words are much more active than we usually notice, I think. Jesus doesn’t say, “Hallowed IS your Name,” He says, “Hallowed BE Your Name.” These words – along with the next section of His prayer – are nothing less than a cry for God to restore Creation and undo the tragic effects of the Fall. This is the Return of the King that all of Creation longs for (Roman 8:19-23). This is the cry of the saints in heaven’s throne room in Revelation 4:11:

“Worthy are you, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they existed and were created.”

This is the catalyst in Revelation for beginning of the end, and when we pray “hallowed be Your Name,” we’re actively joining in His cause to renew and fulfill God’s Creation, to undo the tragic effects of the Fall. We might say it this way, “Our Father in heaven, may all of Creation praise your holy Name – beginning with me.” This is what we were created to do: to make His Name famous. But in working to make His Name famous, we can’t also be working to make ourselves famous. There’s only one throne. As John the Baptist wisely put it, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30).

So as you begin your day and make your plans for the weekend, step back and think about why you’re doing what you’re doing. Whose Name are you working to exalt? Does your life and mine look like praising Him and making His Name known is what we were made to do?