Hallowed be Thy name.

Without thinking very much, we say this part of the first sentence in our Christian family prayer. It just slips out of our mouths by rote. “Hallowed” is an unusual word in our vocabulary today. It means greatly revered and honoured, set apart.

I can think of two reasons why Jesus taught his disciples to say, “Hallowed be Thy name” near  the beginning of the prayer. First, as a Jew, Jesus wants his followers to keep the commandment, “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses God’s name.” (Exodus 20:7 & Deuteronomy 5: 11 NIV).  And so he says that God’s name is greatly to be revered and honoured.

A second reason seems to me to be just plain common sense and politeness. In this prayer, we are speaking with God. We have requests to make, so we begin by giving God praise. We know how important it is to honour another. It’s even more important to honour God.

Just as we give honour to our friends, our managers, our co-workers, our friends, our parents, we give honour to God. It’s just that simple. In church often the first hymn is identified as a hymn of praise. Once again, we begin by praising God.

Let’s take notice of those four words the next time we pray the Lord’s Prayer. Let’s truly praise God with hearts.