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When we start our prayers, we should come to the Father not to get but to give Him worship, lifting our heart and mind to God. We should ask nothing but to enjoy His presence.
The Prayer that Turns the World Upside Down by Dr. R. Albert Mohler, Jr.
Hallowed Be Thy Name: Jesus’ First Request
After Jesus identifies the character of God, showing us how we are to address him, he moves to the first petition, “hallowed be your name.”
This phrase is actually an appeal. Jesus is not merely saying that God’s name is hallowed; rather, he is asking God to make his name hallowed.
What does the word hallowed mean? It is an archaic word that means to “make holy” or “consider as holy.” When Jesus petitions, he is asking that God act in such a way that God act in such a way that he visibly demonstrates his holiness and his glory.
What does it mean for God to hallow his name? God’s name often refers to his public reputation, just as we speak of “having a good name.”
Herman Bavinck, the prolific nineteenth-century Dutch theologian explained this point in his Reformed Dogmatics, “All we can learn about God from his revelation is designated his Name in Scripture… There is an intimate link between God and his name. We do not name God; he names himself… Summed up in his name, therefore, is his honor, his fame, his excellencies, his entire revelation, his very being.”
By asking that the name of God be “hallowed,” Jesus is asking God to so move and act in the world that people value his glory, esteem his holiness, and treasure his character above all else. Jesus’ first request is not that his personal needs be met, but that God’s glory and holiness be known and loved as it deserves. What a remarkably God-centered prayer.
How does God “hallow his name” in the world?
First, the church is sanctified because the church is the steward of God’s name. Every single Christian who comes ot know the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior and is adopted as a son or daughter of God bears this responsibility.
We must petition God to “hallow his name” in our discipleship, in our prayer, in our preaching, in our witnessing, in our work, and in eternity. Our ultimate concern is not that our lives be comfortable, but that God be glorified, and that our lives, even our prayers, put God’s glory on display.
Faithfulness in the Christian life makes the glory of God go public.
Second, “hallowed be your name” is an evangelistic petition. This opening line of the Lord’s Prayer is a clear reminder to us that when any sinner comes to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and his or her sins are forgiven, God’s holy name is shown to be evermore holy in the eyes of the church and of the world. And the more people there are who come to know Christ, the more people exist who revere God’s character and hallow his name.
The first line of Jesus’ prayer focuses our attention on God and not on ourselves.
If we come to know and love the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we will be motivated to pray and to pray as Jesus taught us.
A Layman Looks at the Lord’s Prayer by W. Phillip Keller
“Hallowed be thy name” is not just a petition, nor is it just a pious hope, as if to say in passing, “May Your name be honored.”
Rather, inherent in this four-word phrase is a whole world of respect, reverence, awe, and appreciation for the person of God His Father.
“Thy name”—God’s name—implies the title, person, power, authority, character, and the very reputation of God.
The ancient Hebrew people represented God’s name in writing with the letters Y H W H. Later, these were expanded to Y A H W E H, which became the name Jehovah, and in our English translations, it is represented by the expression “the Lord.”
Obviously, the eternal God could scarcely be identified by any simple human title.
Putting it into plain language, what Jesus is saying in this prayer is, “Father, may Your person, Your identity, Your character, Your reputation, Your very being always be honored.”
The word hallowed has been used in most of our English translations to convey the idea Christ was teaching here. It is associated with the word holy, which again seems to be grossly misunderstood by most modern readers. For us to say, “Father in heaven, may Your name be kept holy,” sounds very trite.
What we would say today is something like this, “May You be honored, revered, and respected because of who You are. May Your reputation, name, person, and character be kept untarnished, uncontaminated, unsullied. May nothing be done to debase or defame Your record.”
Irrespective of what strata of society we move among, it is very common for men and women to degrade and defile God’s name. his name is used in blasphemy. It is used in obscene jests; His character is lampooned and ridiculed; His person is heaped with insults and abuse equal to anything hurled at Christ during His mock trial and cruel crucifixion. From very small children to white-headed old men and women there races a continuing stream of scorn, sarcasm, sneering, and cursing against the Holy One.
It is little marvel that among the first ten written commandments given by God to men there should have bene included, “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain” (Exodus 20:7).
The late A.W. Tozer, who wrote at great length about the life of the modern church, maintained that its greatest loss today was the loss of reverence for God Himself. It was His firm conviction that God would honor any group of believers who honored Him.
Like the ancient prophet Isaiah (in Isaiah 6), we would do well to have our spiritual eyes opened to see God’s very presence pervading His temple. We would do well to worship reverently. And we would do well to remind ourselves always that God our Father deserves our sincere and honest respect, our deepest gratitude.
It is as if we were to pray today, “Father, Your reputation is at stake in me today. May I live in such a way as to do Your person great credit. Because of my behavior, may men see You in me, and so honor Your name because of it.”
What does it mean for us today?
Reverence to God is not just words—it’s lifestyle. To “hallow God’s name” goes beyond avoiding misuse of God’s name to living in a way that reflects Him accurately.
As N. T. Wright puts it, God’s reputation in the world is often carried by His people through their integrity at work, faithfulness in relationships, and humility and justice.
This is a prayer against casual Christianity. It’s not treating God as ordinary or reducing Him to a tool for our goals. Instead, it calls for awe, reverence, and God-centeredness.
“Hallowed be thy name” is a deeply personal prayer, quietly asking, “Is God truly set apart in my heart?” It’s going beyond the basic question of “Do I believe in God?” to “Do I treat Him as holy in how I live, decide, and speak?”
A modern paraphrase might be something like this, “Father, may your name be honored as holy—in my life, in your church, and across the world.”