HALLOWED

THIS IS TABLE ROCK FELLOWSHIP – PASTOR RYAN LADEN

After Jesus Christ instructs his disciples to avoid the slippery slope of hypocrisy and self-righteous worship, he goes on to give his followers an example of what real prayer looks like.

We can hear this model prayer from Jesus in the following:

“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 (time of trial),but deliver us from the evil one.’”

Matthew 6:9-13 NIV-11
(“time of trial” added by Ryan Laden)

Hallowed

This prayer begins with the words, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name”.

When we think of the idea of hallowed, we most likely think of some sort of spooky event or something related to hallowed ground.

Greek

The Greek term being translated here as “hallowed” is that of ἁγιάζω – Hagiadzō.

This word is most often used in the New Testament to describe the idea of sanctification or holiness. When it is used to describe the nature and name of the Lord God Almighty, we see the idea that the Lord is set apart from all else. That nothing is like God, that the Lord is vastly special, eternally different than all else.

This same term is also used to describe the work that the Lord has done in and for all who receive his gift of salvation through the work of Jesus Christ. In fact we can here this term being used in the following way:

“May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

1 Thessalonians 5:23 NIV-11

The idea presented in this passage is that the Lord, who is Holy, separate, special, different from creation, lifts us up (his created beings) and carries us into his presence for his own glory.

We can also hear in this passage the idea that the Lord moves us from our place of sin and rebellion, separated from his Holiness, and that by his own power and will, he carries us into his presence. We are moved from a place of sin and shame into a place made of his spotless perfection.

This is what it means to pray, “Father, Holy be your name.” This is an acknowledgement of the glory and worth of the living God. He is Holy. He alone is God. He is the Creator and we are his creation.

We need to catch this idea.

Our prayer, our connection to the Lord, our prayer to God needs to begin with a recognition of the fact that the Lord is Holy, special, different, not like us, not broken, not weakened by sin. He is separate from the sin of the world and yet he chooses to call us into his righteous presence through the gift of grace.

Prayer begins when we acknowledge that we are welcomed into the Holy presence of the Lord because the Lord has carried us into his presence, joined us to himself, so that we might be witness to his glory and grace.

Jesus Christ is calling us to come into the presence of the Living God…

As we accept this invitation and begin to pray, let’s not start off with, “me, me, me”.

Instead, let us start our prayer with the praise of, “YOU, YOU, YOU”.

Prayer

Heavenly Father,
we come to you acknowledging
that you are Holy, Holy Holy.
You are our Creator and King
and you alone are worthy
of our praise and worship.

Help us to contemplate your uniqueness today.
There is no one like you God.
We are in awe of you
and praise you for the gift of your grace.
Thank you for the work of Jesus Christ
that allows me to enter into your presence
as a beloved child and not a condemned enemy.

In Christ,

Ryan Laden

OUR MISSION AS A CHURCH

“TO ENCOURAGE AND EQUIP EACH OTHER IN LOVE TO KNOW JESUS AND MAKE HIM KNOWN”

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