January 3rd: Hallowed be your name
“Pray then like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.” (Mt 6:9).
One of the hardest things my wife and I ever had to do, each time after we found out she was pregnant, was choose a name for the baby. We spent hours, days, even weeks talking about names in an attempt to find the “right” name. After-all, it was something that they were going to have for the rest of their lives, so we wanted to make sure we got it right.
In Biblical times, names were a big deal. A person’s name carried a lot of meaning. At times names were given to convey the hopes and expectations that parents had for their children, while, at others, names were given to express feelings and sentiments that parents had about their children. Oftentimes a person’s name signified who the person was.
When it comes to God’s name, His name, likewise, caries a lot of significance. In Exodus 3, while out in the wilderness, when Moses asked God what His name was, “God said to Moses, ‘I am who I am.’…” and then He went on to say: “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.” (Ex 3:14-15).
In these verses God first describes what His name means (I AM: the self-existent, uncaused, unchanging one), before revealing what it is (LORD: in Hebrew, Yahweh). It is a unique name revealed to Israel, intended to express God’s special care, covenant love, and unwavering commitment that He had for his people (Ex 20:5; Ex 34:6 Ex 34:14) and as such, it was to be kept holy (Ex 20:1-7).
To hallow God’s name is to honor God as holy, to treat Him with the highest honor and respect that He is due.
As you spend time in prayer today, be intentional to hallow God’s name and, as appropriate, confess the ways you may have failed to honor God’s name, in word or in deed.