The Lord’s Prayer - “Hallowed”

The Lord’s Prayer - “Hallowed"

At the very beginning of the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus teaches us how to address God. He is our Father and He is in heaven. Jesus then makes a statement about God’s name that allows us to see who He is at His core. His name is holy. I will talk about His name tomorrow but let's make sure that we understand what holiness is.

Holiness is a characteristic of God. Just as God is loving, merciful, powerful and true, He is holy. Being holy means to be separate or different.

Think of it this way: God is in heaven, we are on earth. God is the Creator, we are the created. God is seated on the throne, we kneel before it. He is the Shepherd, we are the sheep. This is all brought together by contrasting the idea of holiness with sinfulness. God is pure and without sin. We, on the other hand, are stained by it. This is the holy nature of God. He is holy ... separate ... different.

Isaiah 55:8-9 points this out by saying, "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord. "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts."

While God has made us to be LIKE Him, we are not the SAME as Him. He is what we would call "Other.” This is what makes His love for us so very remarkable! The Apostle John said that the truly amazing thing about love is not that we love God, but that He loves us! (1 John 4:10)

So, even though He is pure and holy, He reaches out to us - sinful and unworthy creatures - and He loves us with a love that defies reason. God is holy and His holiness is what makes Him who He is. He is God and there is nothing else like Him.

1 Samuel 2:2

“There is no one holy like the Lord, indeed, there is no one besides You, nor is there any rock like our God."

Focus on God's holiness when you pray about His name. As you do, you will begin to understand the great distance between you and Him, but you will learn to appreciate the closeness that He gives to us when He says things like, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you" (James 4:8) and “The Lord is near to all who call upon Him”. (Psalms 145:18)

God is holy but He loves you and offers you a relationship with Him. Let that be your prayer today.