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| Jesus taught his disciples how to pray...Just a picture. |
“Pray like this:
Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy”
(Matthew 6:9,
NLT).
In saying, “May your name be kept holy,” Jesus opens
his model prayer with an attitude of praise and honour to God. The first-person
plural pronounce “our” may indicate
that believers could pray it corporately.
The very first phrase of
this prayer (called The Lord’s Prayer)
contains a profound tension: We should
approach God as “Father” while recognizing that he is “holy.”
To be “holy” means to be sacred, perfect, and totally set apart. But “Father” refers to a close relationship. God is majestic and holy,
transcending everything on earth (none compare to Him!), but he is also
personal and loving. Many religious people understand that God is totally
other, and they approach him with caution, with fear, and sometimes with
complex rituals. This would have been the attitude of Jews of Jesus’ day. The Book of Leviticus highlights God’s
holiness and provides detailed instructions for entering into his presence.
Because of Jesus and his
work on the Cross as the final sacrifice, we can now come to God directly and
boldly. He is our Father, and we are his children. But the last half of this
statement – “may your name be kept holy”
– indicates that we shouldn’t come to him flippantly or casually. God wants to
hear and listen as a loving Father, but our being able to approach him is an
awesome privilege. We must enter the King’s throne room respectfully. When we
pray for God’s name to be “kept holy,”
we are praying that this world will honour his name. And we look forward to
Christ’s return when that will be a reality and all the world will recognize
the power of his name.
Think about this: The first line of this model prayer is a
statement of commitment to honour God’s holy name in how we live. As
Christians, we bear the name of Christ; thus, our words and actions reflect on
him.
THINK BIG.
START SMALL. GO DEEP.
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