Hallowed be Your name

If there is any doubt in your mind about the divinity of Jesus, you only have to look at scripture that quotes what He said.

He has an extraordinary economy with words, that cut right to the core of the matter. The simplicity and mostly hidden complexity of statements speak of someone with intimate knowledge of the matter at hand, even though evidence suggests that He received no special education within the existing Jewish “school” system.

[Boys usually began formal schooling at the “house of the book” at age five. He would spend at least a half day, six days a week for about five years, studying at the synagogue. Parents brought their son at daybreak and came for him at midday. While not at school the boy was usually learning a trade, such as farming or carpentry. – Education in Bible Times]

Two accounts exist where Jesus provides instruction about prayer (Luke 11 and Matthew 6). For this post, I will use the slightly larger Matthew 6:9-13 example.
Because we have heard is so many times, I believe we have lost some of the severity of what we are saying when we recite this prayer.

Here are some thoughts:

“Our Father” denotes our inclusion through Jesus into the family of God. It calls for familiarity and intimate knowledge and kinship with our creator.
“which art in heaven” points to the omnipresence of God. It calls for the inclusion into our lives on a second to the second basis.

“Hallowed be thy Name” “Understand what you’re talking about when you’re talking about God, this is serious, this is the most wonderful and frightening reality that we could imagine, more wonderful and frightening than we can imagine.” – Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams

“Your kingdom come, Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.” This is an acknowledgment that God’s will is ete
al, and that through submission to it (aligning our internal will to that of God), we as Christians can possibly achieve God’s loving righteousness. This is very different from the Moslem interpretation of “acceptance of the inevitable”. It means that we are asking for His help in moving all wills on earth to a point of harmony with His.

NOTE: Please note the succession of the petition – God’s Will first and foremost! Then…

“Give us this day our daily bread” – there is much controversy around the word daily – showing that Jesus most probably spoke in Aramaean, but “what is sufficient for our sustenance” seems to be the overall consensus on the meaning of the phrase. In English, it usually translates to the provision of physical needs on a day-to-day basis, and absent is both overindulgence or excess.

“And forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven our debtors” is a powerful way to allow us to collect all of our sins, which includes sins against our neighbor, ourselves, and God. We then place these at His feet in a submissive request for forgiveness – fully expectant of receipt of forgiveness (faithfully petitioning). PLEASE NOTE the tense associated with our forgiving our debtors… The Past Tense is used in all instances. A completed act before the prayer is initiated.

“And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil” includes the request to save us from persecution, spiritual conflicts, and agony of body or of spirit. This does not mean that God would lead us to a position where our earthly desires are met with opportunity. However, Christian character is strengthened and purified by temptation, but no one can think of temptation without dread. This leads to the request for deliverance. We are allowed to ask for God’s help when faced with temptation, and in this prayer we do.

“For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.” (omitted from many versions) but powerful in that it declares our acknowledgment of His everlasting and supreme right over all things created and to be created.

As mentioned before – Jesus had an extraordinary gift in the economy of words.

I hope that this does add somewhat to your insight into just how powerful this prayer is, how far-reaching and encompassing it fits into our spiritual lives.
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Originally posted on - https://discoveringgod491609808.wordpress.com/2018/09/09/hallowed-be-your-name/