A Meditation on “Hallowed Be Your Name”

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One thing – David in Psalm 27

Psalms 27:4 (NIV)

One thing I ask from the LORD,

this only do I seek:

that I may dwell in the house of the LORD

all the days of my life,

to gaze on the beauty of the LORD

and to seek him in his temple.

One thing — Jesus talking to Martha and Mary in Luke 10 — it says Martha was distracted… So Jesus says to her, Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but only one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the one thing that cannot be taken away from her.

There’s something about saying Martha’s name twice that shows his care for her, and that he really wants her to hear what he’s getting ready to say. He’s talking about her whole life — being distracted by too many things because she has lost focus on the one thing she truly needs most.

Anxiety is often hidden in our body and in our mind. But it happens when the one thing stops being the main thing and just becomes another thing on a long list of too many things.

The very next sentence after Jesus talking to Martha is Luke 11…

Luke 11:1-4 (NIV)

“One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”

He said to them, “When you pray, say:

‘Father,

Hallowed be your name,

Your kingdom come.’”

Give us each day our daily bread.

Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. 

And lead us not into temptation.’”

Something about this shorter version gives us the main point. 

Father hallowed be your name

“Holy” (Who God is) — Radiant, ultimate in splendor, beauty, glory, goodness, etc.

“Hallowed” is the verb form of the word holy. It usually gets translated as “sanctify” in our English Bible (“hallowed” = “sanctified”).

And we get a better idea what that verb means when used in poetic parallel in…

Isaiah 29:23 ESV

“[The children of Abraham] will sanctify my name [same phrase as “hallowed by your name” except in the first person]; they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob and will stand in awe of the God of Israel.

So hallowed means to be in awe of God. To see him as Ultimate. God is The Most… The most worthy. The most glorious. The most beautiful. The most radiant. The most trustworthy. 

God’s ultimate-ness supersedes everything else. And everything else takes its proper place when God is your Ultimate. If you have the Ultimate, then you ultimately have everything else.

Same word used regarding Jesus in (Peter heard Jesus give the Lord’s Prayer)…

1 Peter 3:15 ESV

“…In your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy…”

κύριov

δὲ τὸν Χριστὸν ἁγιάσατε ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ὑμῶν 

Christ is The Most… The most worthy. The most glorious. The most beautiful. The most radiant. The most trustworthy. The most important by FAR.

“Hallowed” as a prayer also has the idea of “holy be in me.” “Holy be in me…” (Who

I am because God is my “Father”).

When talking about something other than God, being sanctified means something that represents God. Connected to him in such a way that it represents his name and his presence. Christ enables you to honor/hallow God’s name, because…

1 Corinthians 6:11 NIV — same exact Greek word. (“…In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ…”)

“…You were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”

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