Hallowed be your name

Jesus teaches prayer as a model, not a formula that gets repeated without depth. The Lord’s Prayer opens the door into a personal, real connection with the Father, and it begins by making everything about Him. “Our Father” brings intimacy because believers have been adopted through the blood of Jesus. “In heaven” brings awe because the Father is sovereign, holy, all-knowing, all-powerful, and still near.

“Hallowed be Your name” is not just a statement that God is holy. This request asks that God’s name would be treated as holy, sacred, set apart, praised, and made known in all the earth. God’s name represents His whole identity, His character, His presence, and who He is. Jesus puts the focus where it belongs right away. Before needs, wants, forgiveness, provision, or temptation, prayer begins with glory going to God.

Praise puts life back into proper perspective. Problems may feel big when they are carried alone, but God becomes bigger than every problem when His greatness is remembered. Psalm 100 gives the picture clearly: thanksgiving brings a person through the gates, but praise brings a person into the courts. Thanksgiving remembers what God has done, while praise turns completely upward and says, “God, You are holy, mighty, faithful, and worthy.”

The Shepherd image also puts the relationship in the right order. Sheep are dependent on the shepherd for food, water, safety, healing, direction, and protection. Yet sheep do not exist so the shepherd can serve their every desire. Sheep exist for the shepherd’s purpose. God does not exist for human benefit alone. His people exist for His glory, and reversing that relationship becomes pride and self-idolatry.

God’s people bear His name as image bearers and reflectors of His light. A mirror clouded by sin, compromise, disobedience, unbelief, gossip, and negativity gives the world a distorted picture of Christ. Taking the Lord’s name in vain goes deeper than words spoken carelessly. Carrying His name in a false, empty, or worthless way can happen through the way a person lives. Bearing His name well is worship.

Jesus brings the whole reality home as the Good Shepherd. The Shepherd who deserves everything from the sheep laid down His life for the sheep. Jesus became the Lamb of God, the sacrifice for sin, and the gate into eternal life. The way is narrow because Jesus is the only gate, the only truth, and the only way into life with God.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Prayer begins by making it about God Prayer is not denied its place for requests, needs, and burdens, but those things do not get first place. God’s holiness, glory, and worth must shape the heart before the heart brings its list. Praise does not ignore problems. Praise puts problems under the God who is bigger than them. [47:23]
• 2. Thanksgiving leads into deeper praise Thanksgiving thanks God for breath, provision, faithfulness, and all that comes from His hand. Praise goes further and becomes fully about who God is, not merely what He has given. The courts of His presence call for hearts that are full of wonder before His holiness. [52:42]
• 3. Sheep exist for the Shepherd’s glory The Shepherd truly leads, protects, heals, and provides for His sheep. Yet God is not a tool for human comfort or self-made dreams. Life finds its right order when His people remember that they were created for His glory and His name. [60:44]
• 4. Bearing God’s name is real worship God’s name is carried through the life of every son and daughter who bears His image. Sin, compromise, gossip, and unbelief can make that reflection cloudy before the world. Walking in freedom and representing Christ well gives value to the name that is above every name. [70:29]
• 5. Jesus is the only gate to life Jesus is the Good Shepherd who laid down His life for the sheep. He became the Lamb of God so that sinners could be forgiven and brought into eternal life. The narrow gate is not narrow because God is unwilling to save, but because Jesus alone is the way, the truth, and the life.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [38:15] - Entering the Lord’s Prayer
• [40:19] - Prayer as a Model, Not a Formula
• [41:59] - Our Father: Intimacy Through Jesus
• [42:54] - Father in Heaven: Intimacy and Awe
• [43:31] - Hallowed Be Your Name
• [44:06] - Prayer Begins With God
• [46:08] - What God’s Name Means
• [48:31] - Praise Puts Problems in Perspective
• [52:27] - Enter His Gates With Thanksgiving
• [56:25] - The Lord Is Our Shepherd
• [60:44] - Sheep Exist for the Shepherd
• [62:21] - Bearing God’s Name Into the World
• [67:11] - Taking God’s Name in Vain
• [72:24] - Worship Is What Is Valued Most
• [77:39] - The Good Shepherd Laid Down His Life
• [80:43] - Jesus Is the Narrow Gate
• [82:27] - Receiving New Life in Christ

1. In Matthew 6:9, what two truths about God are held together in the words “Our Father in heaven”?
2. What comes before personal needs and requests in the pattern of prayer Jesus gives in Matthew 6? [44:22]
3. According to Psalm 100:4, what is brought to God’s gates, and what is brought into His courts? How are thanksgiving and praise described differently? [54:08]
4. What pictures of Jesus are found in John 10:11 and the surrounding discussion: Shepherd, Lamb, and Gate? What does each picture show about Him? [01:19:19]

1. “Hallowed be your name” is a request, not only a statement that God is holy. What is being asked when believers pray that God’s name would be kept holy and made known in the world? [49:43]
2. How does beginning prayer with God’s greatness change the way a person sees burdens, fears, and needs without ignoring those things? [48:20]
3. God cares for His people like a shepherd cares for sheep, yet people were created for God’s glory. Why is it important not to reverse that relationship and treat God mainly as someone who exists to fulfill personal plans? [01:00:43]
4. Jesus says He is the Good Shepherd who gives His life for the sheep, while Matthew 7 speaks of a narrow gate that leads to life. Why is the gate narrow, and what does this show about salvation through Jesus? [01:21:32]

1. When prayer begins, what usually comes first: worries, needs, plans, or praise? What might it look like this week to spend the first few minutes naming who God is before bringing requests? [47:42]
2. What is one specific burden that has felt larger than God lately? How could praising God’s power, faithfulness, holiness, and nearness put that burden back into the right perspective? [01:16:13]
3. Thanksgiving recognizes what God has done, while praise focuses on who God is. What are two thanksgivings and two praises that could be spoken to God today? [54:08]
4. Every believer bears God’s name and reflects Christ into the world. In what setting—home, work, school, online, or among friends—does the reflection of Christ most need to become clearer? [01:02:52]
5. Sin, compromise, unbelief, gossip, negativity, and words that bring death can cloud the reflection of Christ. Is there one pattern in life or speech that needs to be honestly brought into the light before God? What could repentance and a different response look like? [01:10:18]
6. Jesus is not only the Shepherd who guides and protects; He is the Shepherd who laid down His life for the sheep. How does His sacrificial love invite a response of trust, worship, and obedience this week? [01:18:20]
7. Jesus is the only gate to life. Is there an area where it is tempting to look for life, security, or salvation apart from Him? What would it mean to walk through Jesus as the gate in that area? [01:23:40]