The Lord's Prayer...Week 2

"This, then, is how you should pray: 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.' " —Matthew 6:9–15 (NIV)

Hallowed Be Thy Name


When we discovered ourselves powerless over alcohol and unable to manage our own lives, we turned to a Power greater than our own.

When we have denied that Power, or ignored it, or when we have turned to that Power only mechanically, we have failed in our efforts to meet our problems. When we have turned to that Power and have done so sincerely, we have succeeded in regaining control over our lives and have progressed in the solution of our problems.

So another test of the existence of that Power, or our dependence upon it, is necessary.

That Power we recognize as being the supreme power in the universe. It has, and has had throughout history, many names. To most of us today, the name of the Supreme Power is simply God.

In our prayer, we say, "hallowed be thy Name." That means that the name of God is to be set aside as being holy; it is consecrated for sacred uses. It is revered, held in profound respect and at the same time regarded with love.

However, these are attitudes that are not limited merely to the name of God, as if the name were magical (as the ancients believed). These are attitudes that we take in our approach to God. We regard God as being apart from the profane world even though concerned with it. And in our approach to God, we are to put off all that is profane. We approach God with reverence, with profound respect, with love, and perhaps with fear. We acknowledge God's power over the universe. We acknowledge that the realm of God is the realm of the good. And we recognize that if we are to receive the help of God, we must strive consciously to separate ourselves from those things that are antagonistic to the good.

It is good for us to use restraint in the use of the name of God (the name being. for most of us, God), simply be-cause the profanation of the name tends to weaken and then destroy the meaning of the word in our minds. The name of God should call God into our minds, and should cause us to think of God's power, God's goodness, God's help to us. Through it, we should be able to shift gears from the profane world.

But again, "Hallowed be Thy Name" must mean something more to us than respect for God's name. It must be the supreme acknowledgment of God himself, and of our entire dependence upon God.

[* Reprinted from a series of eight editorial articles written in 1944 and first published in the Cleveland Central Bulletin an Alcoholics Anonymous newsletter.]





Exodus 3:12-14

And God said, "I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain."
Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?"
God said to Moses, "I am who I am . This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.' "

Daniel 2:19-21
During the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven and said: "Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his.
He changes times and seasons; he sets up kings and deposes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.

Leviticus 19:12
Do not swear falsely by my name and so profane the name of your God. I am the LORD.

Deuteronomy 5:11
"You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.

Romans 2:23
You who brag about the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? As it is written: "God's name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you."

1 Timothy 6:1-2
All who are under the yoke of slavery should consider their masters worthy of full respect, so that God's name and our teaching may not be slandered. Those who have believing masters are not to show less respect for them because they are brothers. Instead, they are to serve them even better, because those who benefit from their service are believers, and dear to them. These are the things you are to teach and urge on them.