The Book of Matthew - "Hallowed Be Your Name

Devotional

Day 1: When "Father" Meets Holiness

Jesus invites us to call God "Father" while reminding us He is no casual companion. This tension holds both intimate nearness and awe-filled reverence. Like a child respecting a loving parent, believers approach God with bold familiarity yet trembling wonder. His holiness isn’t cold distance but the blazing purity of a Dad who rules galaxies yet stoops to hear whispers. To hallow His name is to hold this paradox close. [36:54]

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” (Isaiah 6:3, ESV)

Reflection: Where does your view of God lean too heavily—overfamiliarity that forgets His majesty, or distant reverence that doubts His nearness? How might you hold both today?

Day 2: Names Unfold Like Maps of Mystery

God’s 85+ biblical names aren’t labels but landscapes of His character. Elohim thunders with creative power; Jehovah Jireh whispers provision. Each name is a foothold for faith, a lens to see His multifaceted glory. To hallow His name means studying these divine coordinates until awe rewires our prayers. [41:37]

“God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM.’ […] This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.” (Exodus 3:14–15, ESV)

Reflection: Which of God’s names feels most foreign to your experience? How might praying that name reshape your understanding of His care?

Day 3: Praise First, Petitions Second

Jesus’ prayer blueprint starts with worship, not wishlists. Before “give us” comes “glorify You.” This order isn’t ritual but reality—aligning our hearts with heaven’s rhythm. Like musicians tuning instruments before a symphony, adoration prepares us to ask rightly. [51:47]

“Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!” (Psalm 100:4, ESV)

Reflection: What percentage of your prayer time is praise versus requests? What happens to your anxieties when you reverse that ratio?

Day 4: Last Names Carry Weight

Families guard reputations; Christians bear God’s name. Every choice either polishes or tarnishes how others perceive Him. Our lives become living dictionaries where neighbors look up the definition of “Christian.” To hallow His name is to make them whisper, “If God is like that, I want to know Him.” [59:03]

“Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16, ESV)

Reflection: What recent action made God’s character clearer to others? What habit might need pruning to better reflect Him?

Day 5: Hallowed in Harvest or Hunger

God answers “hallow Your name” through blessings that showcase His generosity or trials that prove His worth. Both paths glorify Him—the healed limb and the unhealed wound alike become altars. Our job isn’t to dictate the method but to declare His worthiness in either. [01:03:17]

“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” (Job 1:21, ESV)

Reflection: Are you more prepared to thank God for blessings than trust Him in loss? How might you worship Him today for who He is, not just what He gives?

Sermon Summary

Jesus brings kingdom citizens back to Matthew 6 and shows that prayer has to be learned. The Lord’s Prayer, better called the disciples’ prayer, is not a prayer Jesus needed for himself, since he had no sin to confess. This prayer is a pattern, a blueprint, for God’s children as they commune with the Father. Prayer may sound simple, like talking to a friend, but Jesus would not have given instruction if prayer came naturally and easily to everybody.

The phrase “our Father in heaven” gives the starting place. God reigns in unmatched glory, yet through faith in Jesus, God’s children may approach him like a child comes to a good dad. God is attentive, loving, protective, wise, and near. That blessing is one of the greatest benefits of belonging to God.

The next phrase, “hallowed be your name,” brings balance to that closeness. God may be Father, but God is not a pal, not a buddy, and not “the big guy in the sky.” The word hallowed means holy, sacred, set apart. The God who invites his children near is the same God before whom angels hide their faces. So prayer must avoid a careless casualness, because God is in a league all to his own.

The “name” of God means more than letters. God’s name speaks of God’s character, nature, and identity. Elohim shows God as the powerful Creator who made everything by his word. Jehovah Jireh shows God as the provider who meets needs, not greeds. Jehovah Shalom, El Shaddai, Jehovah Rapha, and Adonai all reveal something of who God is. Most of all, Yeshua, Jesus, reveals the Father perfectly, because whoever has seen the Son has seen the Father.

“Hallowed be your name” is not only a statement. The phrase is really a request: “Let your name be hallowed.” God’s children ask the Father to make his name holy in their lives and in the world. That happens through worship, when praise comes before petition, and through walk, when conduct matches confession. God’s children carry the family name, and a watching world often reads their lives before it ever reads the Bible. God may hallow his name through blessing, or God may hallow his name through suffering. Either way, the prayer is that God would be glorified, whether on the mountaintop or in the valley of the shadow of death.

Key Takeaways

1. God is Father, not buddy God’s nearness does not erase God’s holiness. The same Father who welcomes his children in prayer is the God before whom angels cover their faces. Real intimacy with God never becomes careless familiarity, because love and reverence belong together. [37:17]
2. God’s name reveals God’s nature The name of God is not treated as a mere label in Scripture. Each name opens a window into who God is: Creator, provider, healer, peace, master, and Savior. Prayer deepens when the believer knows the God behind the name, not just the words used to address him. [41:15]
3. Praise must precede petition Jesus places worship before the request for daily bread. That order trains the heart to seek God for who he is before asking God for what he gives. Mature faith can bless the name of the Lord even when the gifts are delayed, denied, or taken away. [51:08]
4. God’s children carry God’s name A professing believer represents the family of God in front of a watching world. Many lost people may never open a Bible, but they will “read” the lives of those who claim Christ. Conduct can either hallow God’s name or defame it. [58:33]
5. Glory outweighs personal comfort The prayer “let your name be hallowed” can be scary because God may answer it through blessing or through suffering. God is glorified when sick people get well, and God is also glorified when suffering people die well. Comfort is not the highest pursuit; God’s glory is. [63:17]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[21:06] - Father’s Day Encouragement
[25:49] - Entering Matthew 6
[27:25] - The Disciples’ Prayer
[30:19] - Our Father In Heaven
[33:01] - Hallowed Be Your Name
[35:26] - What Hallowed Means
[38:41] - God’s Name And Character
[42:09] - Elohim And Jehovah Jireh
[46:02] - Yeshua Reveals The Father
[47:43] - Let Your Name Be Hallowed
[49:41] - Hallowing God Through Worship
[51:08] - Praise Before Petition
[56:08] - Hallowing God Through Walk
[62:14] - Blessing, Suffering, And Glory

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Matthew 6:9
“Pray then like this: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.” [33:42]

John 14:9
Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?”

Psalm 37:25
“I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread.”

Psalm 100:4
“Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!”

Observation questions

In Matthew 6:9, what two truths about God are held together in the opening of the prayer: “Our Father in heaven” and “hallowed be your name”?
What were some of the names of God that were highlighted, and what part of God’s character did each one show? [42:09]
In the order of the Lord’s Prayer, what comes before asking for daily bread, and what does that show about prayer? [51:08]
What are the two main ways God’s name is hallowed in a believer’s life? [56:08]

Interpretation questions

If Jesus teaches believers to pray “hallowed be your name,” what does that suggest this phrase is asking God to do, not just stating about him? [47:43]
God is Father, but not buddy. How does that truth help guard prayer from becoming either too distant on one side or too casual on the other? [37:17]
If God’s name stands for his character and nature, how does knowing God as Creator, Provider, Healer, and Savior deepen the way a believer prays?
If many people “read” a Christian’s life before they ever read the Bible, what does that say about the weight of a believer’s everyday conduct? [59:33]

Application questions

When prayer begins, is there a tendency to move straight to requests? What might it look like this week to slow down and spend real time praising God before asking him for anything? [49:41]
God is near as Father, yet holy and set apart. Is there any casualness, flippancy, or carelessness that has crept into the way prayer is approached? What would reverence with closeness look like in practice? [38:19]
God’s children carry the family name. In what setting right now—home, work, school, friendships, online life—does conduct most need to better match confession? [01:01:01]
God may hallow his name through blessing or through suffering. When life is pleasant, is there a pattern of turning the spotlight back to God? When life is painful, is there still a desire to honor him? [01:02:14]
God is worthy of worship because of who he is, not only because of what he gives. What usually reveals that most clearly in a person’s heart: unanswered prayer, loss, delay, disappointment? How has that shown up personally? [52:54]
Jesus reveals the Father perfectly. If someone wanted to know what God is like, how could spending time with Jesus in the Gospels reshape prayer and trust this week? [46:43]
“Let your name be hallowed” is a serious prayer. Is there readiness to pray that honestly, even if God answers it in costly ways? What makes that prayer difficult, and what helps a believer still pray it? [01:05:49]

Sermon Clips

60s

“Most people who are not a part of the family of faith, most people will not darken the doorway of the church. But they will watch you. Most lost people will not pick up the Bible and read the Bible, but they'll read you. And so please understand that when this world wants to know what is God like, they don't pick up the bible. They turn to you and they turn to me. This world is basing their understanding of who God is in large part based on our actions and our behavior and our conduct. They will judge God whether you agree with it or like it. It makes no difference. They will judge God in many ways by judging me and judging you.”

58s

“As we live in a world that is constantly teaching us that comfort is our greatest pursuit. God, would you help us to learn and teach us by your spirit and your word here this morning that comfort is not our greatest pursuit. Your glory is our greatest pursuit. And, Lord, I recognize that when we pray, God, may your name be hallowed in our lives, Lord. That is a scary prayer. It's scary because of how you may choose to accomplish that end. But, God, even in that, we're reminded once again that you are good, that you are sovereign, and that you love each and every one of us as your children.”

40s

“As a child of God, our greatest concern in this life, here it is, what is our number one concern in this life? It's this right here. It is that is that God's name might be glorified in us as others see our actions and our behavior. God be glorified in and through me. And so the truth is this, through our actions, two things are one of two things are happening. Either God's name is him being hallowed in your life. We're either hallowing God's name or we are defaming God's name. One of the two is happening.”

52s

“Now listen, you don't have much control over the health part or the dying part. You ain't got control over that. Let me tell you what you do have control over. You have control over whether or not you would allow the Lord to be glorified in you, whether in good times or bad times. So may this this be a part of our daily prayers. May this be a part of our daily prayers where, Lord, let your name be hallowed in my life. God, may you be exalted in and through me. God, may your will be accomplished in my life, whether I'm walking through the valley of the shadow of death or I'm flying high on the mountaintop. God, be glorified in my life.”

Ask a question about this sermon

First Baptist Church Cleveland, Mississippi This sermon · AI assistant

What does hallowed be your name mean?

How should worship relate to petition in prayer?

How does our conduct hallow God's name?