Praying is very difficult for
most Christians; therefore, on two occasions Jesus gave a model prayer for the
disciples to use as a template. This model prayer is made up of seven petitions,
two groups of three and four respectively. The first three relate to the cause
of God and His kingdom; the last four relate to the prayers’ daily concerns.
The model teaches that one’s primary duty in praying is to die to self by giving
the Lord the preeminence in all things. We cannot pray aright unless the glory
of God is dominant in all our desires. Too many prayers are, rather, selfish
concerns aimed at making one’s own life more comfortable.
We should be warned that when prayer
becomes a stubborn insistence on one’s own way, God might answer such a foolish
and selfish prayer but send judgment also. This He did with Israel: “He gave
them what they asked but sent a wasting disease among them” (Psalm 106:15).
Israel’s prayer gave no thought to the glory of God. Thus, we are instructed to
cherish a deep sense of the ineffable (indescribable) holiness of God, and all
our prayers should reflect a longing for honor of His holy name.
We must never ask God to bestow
anything on us that would contradict His holiness. This fact is understood in
the very first petition: “Hallowed be your name.” Hallowed is an
old Middle English word that means “to set apart as being sacred.” It expresses
the desire for God’s matchless name to be reverenced, adored, and
glorified. The Greek word translated here is a passive imperative—a command to
let something be. In other words, we are commanded to let God cause His name to
be held in the utmost respect and honor and that His fame will spread abroad
and be magnified. The use of the word name points to His reputation
among men. “They that know your name [that is, your glorious reputation]
will put their trust in you” (Psalm 9:10). The divine name puts before
us all that God has revealed to us concerning Himself as in such names and
titles as the Almighty, the Lord of hosts, Jehovah, our Father, and any other
designation in which He has disclosed Himself to us. “Give unto the Lord the
glory due unto His name” (Psalm 96:8).
The Puritan, Thomas Manton, wrote: “In this petition the glory of God is
both desired and promised on our part; for every prayer is both an expression of
a desire and also an implicit vow or solemn obligation that we take upon
ourselves to prosecute [to act on] what we ask. Prayer is a preaching to
ourselves in God’s hearing: we speak to God to warn ourselves, not for His
information, but for our edification.” We mock God if we address Him in pious
words but have no intention of striving with our might to live in harmony with
all that His holy name implies.
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