Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Before we talk more about prayer, we need to look at a prior question. What is the focus of your life? We need to be clear about that first before we find clarity about our prayer life. The first three clauses of the Lord’s model prayer are clear reminders that prayer must first be God focused not need focused. But what does “hallowed be your name” mean? Here R. T. France’s commentary is helpful.
God’s “name” is a recurrent OT term for God himself . . . It is frequently described as “holy”. . . since holiness is a prime characteristic of God himself. The present clause then is not a request that it be made holy — it is holy already. Rather, it is that people may recognize and acknowledge its holiness by giving God the reverence which is his due.
(R. T. France, The Gospel of Matthew [Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2007], 246.)
The first clause reveals the heart of the one who prays. He or she is consumed by the desire that all know that God exists and that He is a God who is holy. Of course it presupposes the one who prays knows this since he/she addresses God as Father in heaven. But the person who prays also wants the whole world to know the Holy God and live their lives accordingly.
A cursory glance at the world quickly reveals much to show that people live their lives as though there is no God. So, the Lord’s model prayer quickly moves to the second clause — a cry for God’s kingdom to come. We know that one day Christ will return to usher in the new heavens and the new earth. At that time, every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord. At that time, all evil will be finally defeated and a new creation will come, free of the damage of sin. Surely all who love God and want to see His name honoured will cry out to God to finally usher in His kingdom. Maranatha. Come Lord Jesus.
But what do we do while we wait for Christ to return? The third clause guides us as to how to pray and how to live while we await His return. Now, in real time, may the Lord’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven. In heaven, God’s will is perfectly followed. For now, on earth, God gives people freedom to accept or reject His will. Because we want to see God’s name hallowed, we pray that earth will approximate heaven more closely. This prayer will be answered definitively at Christ’s return. For now, we pray that things will move in that direction.
Reading the Lord’s model prayer in the context of the rest of the Gospel of Matthew makes it clear that disciples of Jesus Christ are to be God’s servants for the fulfilment of this third clause. After all, we are called to be salt and light (Matthew 5:13–16). We are called to make disciples (Matthew 28:16–20). In other places we are called to minister to the needy, to be truth tellers, etc. In other words, we are to do God’s will in our own lives and be agents of His will in the world.
Some of us may be struggling with very heavy burdens. We may want to put God first but there is the reality of the real needs we are struggling with. Well, we will discover that when we put God first, everything else will fall into place. The subsequent parts of the Lord’s model prayer will show that God is very concerned for you and your needs. But first we make sure our heart is in the right place.
Father, we love You
We worship and adore you
Glorify your name in all the earth
Glorify your name
Glorify your name
Glorify your name in all the earth
Jesus, we love You
We worship and adore You
Glorify your name in all the earth
Spirit, we love You
We worship and adore You
Glorify your name in all the earth
(Donna Adkins, 1976)