Green Baggins

Matthew 6:9
I’m sure that you have heard this before: “I just prayed and prayed but nothing happened. I did not seem to find peace. I did not seem to get any satisfaction out of it.” Also, we ourselves seem to hate to pray. I know that I myself really struggle with this. I find it difficult to pray on a regular basis. I also find it difficult to enjoy praying. I feel as if it is something that I have to do, rather than something I get to do. Jesus has some very good words for us. And they are still helpful, even though we know these words extremely well. Let’s dig deeper and find some fresh water to cure our prayer desert.

First of all, we must remember what Jesus said right before. He warned us of two dangers that constantly beset our desire to pray. The first danger to avoid was ostentation; praying so that others might see just how pious we are. The second danger that we must avoid is that we pray in such language that we think God must hear, regardless of whether our heart is in it or not. With those two negative examples behind us, now we can turn to the positive example of how to pray. Having taught us how not to pray, now Jesus tells us how to pray. It should be mentioned in passing, that while the Lord Jesus did give us this prayer; still, it could more accurately be called “The Disciples’ Prayer.”

We should not pass over too quickly those first words of verse 9: “This, then, is how you should pray.” Notice that Jesus does not say, “This, then, is what you should pray.” In other words, Jesus is not here giving us a formula to which God will automatically respond. Of course, it is not wrong to pray this exact prayer, as we do so often in our worship, and as many of us do at home. But this prayer is not a formula. Rather, it is a model. We should model our prayers after this prayer. We should pray for the kinds of things that are in this prayer. Now, this prayer is not exhaustive. We should not think that because Jesus did not mention something specifically in this prayer, that therefore we should not pray for it. For instance, this prayer does not explicitly mention what all our daily needs are. It is a summary of what prayer should contain. It is remarkable how much this prayer does contain.

We should contrast this prayer with how some people think of prayer. For instance, some of us may be familiar with the Prayer of Jabez. That is a prayer in Chronicles that Bruce Wilkinson siezed upon as the basis for a health and wealth Gospel. He recites it as a mantra, almost. That falls into the very trap that Jesus warned us against in the previous verses. When Jesus taught His disciples how to pray, He didn’t say, “Don’t you remember that great prayer in Chronicles about enlarging your borders?” Jesus gives us a much more comprehensive model on which to base our prayers. We will examine this prayer over the next several weeks in order to refresh our minds as to its full meaning, and in an effort to help us to pray this prayer with our hearts and minds fully engage, rather than merely repeating it as an empty exercise.

Let’s take a look at the prayer as a whole briefly before we look at the first sentence. First, we must notice that the prayer starts talking about God, not about ourselves. This is what is so wrong about people who pray only when they need something from God. That approach is so wrong, because it stems from a wrong view of God. God is not primarily someone who is supposed to meet our needs. God is someone who is primarily someone to be worshipped by us. That is why the whole first half of this prayer glorifies God, seeks His righteousness, and His kingdom first, before all these others things are added. How many times do we only perfunctorily pray about God’s glory, and then rush right to our wish list, which is a mile long? Martyn Lloyd-Jones says that “We tend to be so self-centred in our prayers that when we drop on our knees before God, we think only about ourselves and our troubles and perplexities.” As John Calvin says, we think that God doesn’t love us if He doesn’t answer our prayers the way we want Him to. Oftentimes, the reason that God doesn’t answer our prayers the way we want Him to is that we haven’t even begun to address Him the right way. You wouldn’t go in front of a prince or a king without knowing the proper way to approach him. There are rules you must follow, etiquette that is important. The same thing is true of our heavenly Father. Yes, He is our Father, but He is god of the universe, and we must remember that when we come before Him.

The other aspect of the Lord’s Prayer as whole that we must look at is the outlook of the prayer. The first half of the prayer is eschatological. That is a long word that simply means that we are concerned about heavenly things. We have an eye toward the future establishment of God’s kingdom, even though that kingdom has come already. What we pray for then, is the consummation of the kingdom, the climax of Jesus’ rule on earth. That part of the prayer that is about God is also about God’s kingdom, and we pray that that kingdom will come. It is future, though the kingdom is also already here. We must always pray, then, with the future in view, and not just the immediate future, but the entire future. The second half of the prayer could be labelled “meanwhile.” As we wait for the first half to take place, we pray for more immediate things as well.

Every word in this prayer counts. The first word is “our.” There are two things to notice about that word. The first is that prayer should be corporate as well as private. He gave us instructions for individual prayer before. Now, He gives us a corporate model. The second thing we should notice about this word is that it is what is known in grammar as a possessive pronoun. That it, it indicates that we possess something. Now, we do not possess God as we might possess our car. However, the word does indicate that there is a special relationship between us and the Father. This means that we must be in a right relationship to the Father, in order to call Him “Our Father.” He cannot be ours, unless we are His children. You cannot call God “Father” if your true father is the devil. This prayer is a prayer for disciples only. This is not a prayer that anyone can pray. This is because only disciples can call God “Father.” What is true in the Beatitudes must be true for us, if we are to be in a position to pray this prayer.

This brings us to the second word in the prayer, “Father.” In what sense is God our Father? Well there is more than one way that He is our Father. He is our Father because He has created us. In that sense God is the Father of all mankind. But that is not the kind of Fatherhood that Jesus means here. Jesus is not talking about modernist humanistic agenda. D. Clair Davis, my professor of church history at Westminster Seminary, once said, “Unitarianism talks about the Fatherhood of God, the Brotherhood of man, in the neighborhood of Boston.” Well, that is not the kind of Fatherhood about which Jesus is speaking. The other kind of Fatherhood spoken of in Scripture is the far more important Fatherhood by adoption. That is, we become adopted into God’ family, becoming brothers to Christ, who is preeminently the Son of God. You see, Jesus Christ is the Son of God by right, and by eternal generation. That is a fancy way of saying that Jesus was always the Son of God, even in eternity past. His Sonship is by right and by eternal generation. Our sonship comes by adoption. We had thrown off the yoke of God before, when we fell into sin. Adam is the true prodigal son, and we are all in Adam. There was nothing left of our sonship. We disinherited ourselves. But God is the great Adopter. He loves adoption. There is no one who has adopted more children than God has. Every Christian who has ever lived is a child by adoption. The question then becomes, “How are we adopted?” This is nothing less than the question of salvation itself. The only way that we can become adopted by God is if first the legal problem of sin is dealt with. We owe God so much that we can never repay Him. That debt has to be paid if we are to become part of God’s family. That debt is what our Elder Brother Jesus Christ paid for us. And He did that by taking on our sin on to Himself. He took our debt on to Himself. He tells the Father, “I have paid that person’s debt in full. There is nothing in the way now for you to adopt that person.” And if we are adopted, then we are full heirs. We have an inheritance. When we call God Father, then, that is what we mean.

Notice here that the relationship with God as Father means that we can come to Him anytime. There is no time in which He is unavailable. He is close to us. And He runs to hear us. He earnestly desires that we speak with Him, even as we earthly fathers love it when our children come to us wanting to talk, and ask questions, and learn, and grow. So also our heavenly Father loves to instruct us and see us grow. Martyn Lloyd-Jones once said, “You will find that the outstanding characteristic of all the most saintly people the world has ever known has been that they have not only spent much time in private prayer, but have also delighted in it.” We should delight to talk with our Heavenly Father.

Now it is right here that many people have a problem. When someone tells them that God is their Father, they conjure up in their minds images of their earthly fathers, and some of those images are not very pleasant. Some of the things that our earthly fathers do are not very helpful, for indeed, they sin. Sometimes, they even abuse their children, verbally, or even sexually. We must be careful not to equate God the Father with images along those lines. That is not what our Heavenly Father is like. God is just, and God is merciful, and He is both at the same time. If you had a bad father, or one who never demonstrated his love very well, then cleanse your mind of that image and think of a different image of father: imagine a father who is always patient, who always listens, who always looks out for your true best interests, who writes so many letters to you that it constitutes an entire book, who sacrifices His true Son for you, an adopted son, who is quick to notice anything you do that is right, and praises you for it, even though it was His strength that gave you the ability in the first place, and who overlooks countless wrongs and insults given by you to His very face. That is a more accurate picture of our Heavenly Father. It is He Whom we address.

Now, there is always the temptation to go the other way, too. We can be so taken with the fact that we can approach God, that we forget Who He really is. He is not our chum, with whom we joke around. This is not to say that God is without humor; there are several passages in Scripture that indicate that God has a sense of humor, and that God created laughter. However, we are not to treat God lightly. That is why Jesus tells us that when we address God as Father, it must come also with the recognition that He is in heaven. Theologians talk about God being immanent in creation; that is, that He is present in creation. God didn’t wind up the world like a toy and then set it goin, never to influence the world again. No, God is present everywhere, and works out His will. He is immanent. However, God is also above the world. That is, He is transcendent. God transcends the world. He is not to be equated with the world, as many religions do. Hinduism, for instance, would say, “Our Father, who is in us.” New Age religions would also say that. But that is wrong. God is in heaven, even as He is also present everywhere on earth. The Jews, on the other hand, saw God as so transcendent, that they could not really talk with Him on a regular basis. They had no Mediator, such as we have in Jesus Christ. That is why they would never even call God by name. They would simply pray to “The Name.” Now, that practice was designed to make sure that they never used God’s name in vain. However, it also meant that they could never address God as Father. Understand, then, that what Jesus is saying here was rather revolutionary in Jewish circles. But to us, we need to hear the second portion of that address: God is not our buddy. He is our Friend, but He is also God of the universe. He is in heaven. And so we must avoid both extremes. We must avoid being to chummy with God, and so depriving God of that worship and adoration which we should always bestown on Him when we pray. But we should also recognize that we can indeed call God our Father. He is not a God who is far off, but a God who is near. And He is for us.

He is for us as we are in the church. The great early church father Tertullian once said, “Nor is Mother Church passed over without mention, for the mother is recognized in the Son and the Father, as it is within the church that we learn the meaning of the terms Father and Son.” Do you understand that profound statement? It is only in the church that we learn what it means for God to be our Father, and for Jesus to be His Son. That is another implication of the word “our” at the beginning of the prayer. Augustine says it this way, “You cannot have God for your Father without having the church for your mother.” and that is certainly true. To say otherwise would be to agree that an eye can live without being connected to the rest of the body, or that a hand can be used without a brain to wield it. It is absurd.

And so, we pray to our heavenly Father. It is a marvelous privilege. If you want to pray and pray and have God hear and answer, then we must consider what these words mean, what they imply. We must be disciples, concerned about God’s glory and kingdom. We must have God as our Father. We must see Him also as the transcendent God of the universe. We must have the church for our mother. That is of the essence of true prayer. To close, let’s hear from our catechisms: HC 120: Q. Why did Christ command us to call God “our Father”? A. at the very beginning of our prayer Christ wants to kindle in us what is basic to our prayer- the childlike awe and trust that God through Christ has become our Father. Our fathers do not refuse us the things of this life; God our Father will even less refuse to give us what we ask in faith. 121. Q. Why the words “in heaven”? A. these words teach us not to think of God’s heavenly majesty as something earthly, and to expect everything for body and soul from his almighty power. The Westminster Larger Catechism says this: “Q. 189 What does the preface of the Lord’s prayer teach us? A. The preface of the Lord’s prayer (contained in these words, Our Father which art in heaven,) teaches us, when we pray, to draw near to God with confidence of His Fatherly goodness, and our interest therein; with reverence, and all other child-like dispositions, heavenly affections, and due apprehensions of His sovereign power, majesty, and gracious condescension: as also, to pray with and for others.” Hallelujah! We have a God who answers prayer!

Matthew 6:9
How often do we think about our own names? It can give you a weird feeling if you think about it for too long, since thinking about your own name usually means too deep a look inside yourself. And yet, it can be healthy every now and then to look at your name, and ask yourself the question, “What does my name mean?” Often, what we’ll discover is that we don’t know what our name means, or if we do, it doesn’t really have anything to do with who we are. It is quite different with God. His name means something important. And His name is extremely important when it comes to knowing who He is.

We look today at the first petition in the Lord’s Prayer. It has to do with God’s name. Let’s take a look at this request one word at a time. The first word is “Hallowed.” That is not a word that we use very often in day to day conversation. In fact, just about the only time we ever hear it is when we say this prayer. What does the word “hallow” mean? It means “to set apart for special use.” So here it means that we do not use God’s name like we use any other name. There is something special, something different about it.

Of course, we cannot even begin to think about this petition without immediately being reminded of the third commandment: “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.” What is stated there in a negative form (do not misuse the name of the Lord) is here in Matthew stated in a positive form (you shall use it properly).

What comes to mind for most of us when we think of this commandment is swearing. Certainly, swearing is forbidden under the third commandment. So also is the use of God’s name in a joking manner, or using it as an exclamation. In fact, the misuse of God’s name should disturb us even more than common curse words. We should stand up for God’s name when it is being misused. However, there is a right and a wrong way to do that. We should stand up for God’s name in a way that impacts people with the knowledge that we really do care about God’s name. In other words, we should speak the truth in love. Here is one example of someone doing just that: the story is told by Rob Schenck: “Some years ago, after a long speaking itinerary in the midwest, I boarded a late-night flight to return home. I was tired and looking forward to a rest. Sitting behind me in the airplane were two salesmen whose conversation was peppered with profanity. I had finally had it when they began running the Lord’s name into the gutter. I raised myself up from my seat and turned around so that I was looking down on them from my perch. Then I asked, ‘Are either one of you in the ministry?’ The one in the aisle seat raised his eyebrows incredulously and said, ‘What the…would ever make you think that?’ ‘Well, I am in the ministry,’ I said with a smile. ‘And I am amazed at your communication skills. You just said God, damn, hell, and Jesus Christ in one sentence. I can’t get all of that into a whole sermon!’ They both blushed and were silent during the entire rest of the trip!”

Here is what our catechisms have to say about this part of the Lord’s Prayer: Q 122: What does the first reqest mean? A. Hallowed be your name means: Help us to really know you, to bless, worship, and praise you for all your works and for all that shines forth from them: your almighty power, wisdom, kindness, justice, mercy, and truth. And it means: Help us to direct all our living- what we think, say, and do- so that your name will never be blasphemed because of us but always honored and praised. The WLC: Q 190: What do we pray for in the first petition? A. In the first petition, (which is, Hallowed be thy name), acknowledging the utter inability and indisposition that is in ourselves and all men to honour God aright, we pray, that God would by His grace enable and incline us and others to know, to acknowledge, and highly to esteem him, his titles, attributes, ordinances, word, works, and whatsoever he is pleased to make himself known by; and to glorify him in thought, word, and deed: that he would prevent and remove atheism, ignorance, idolatry, profaneness, and whatsoever is dishonorable to him; and, by his over-ruling providence, direct and dispose of all things to his own glory. The Heidelberg Q. and A. is fairly self-explanatory. The WLC requires a brief summary: what it is saying is that even this petition is not divorced from the Gospel. We cannot worship God correctly in and of ourselves. Instead, we would do anything rather than worship God correctly by bringing honor and glory to His name. Therefore, this petition is also a request for God’s Good News to spread through all the world. The name recognition for God is to be expanded until all people in the world recognize, acknowledge, and bow before that Name above all names.

We are unable to worship God and use His name properly in and of ourselves. If left to ourselves, we would dishonor God by dragging His name through the mud, spitting on Him, and finding any way possible to bring disgrace on to God. We are rebels. But, of course, God’s honor cannot be stolen in an ultimate sense. God will be glorified in all things. Even through the rebellion of mankind, God will be glorified. That is, He will overturn evil, and good will triumph.

Now, imagine for a moment that you are going to come before the President of the United States. Wouldn’t you want to seek counsel about how to approach him; what etiquette might be involved? Now imagine that you are a traitor to the United States, that you had sold state secrets to a foreign country. Now, how would you want to approach the President of the United States? We should approach God with penitence and humility. We can only approach God if we have Jesus Christ as our Mediator, since only He has opened the doors to paradise. Hebrews says that there is only one Mediator between God and man, and that Mediator is Christ Jesus. We cannot expect God to listen to us if we are in rebellion to Him. So the call to God that His name be hallowed is also a call to us that we hallow His name by calling on the name of Jesus for our salvation.

Furthermore, when we pray that God’s name be hallowed, we are also praying that salvation will come to the world. I know that we have looked at this a bit already, but I want to drive this point home: honoring God’s name is a way of sharing the Gospel. For instance, in that example I gave earlier about the two men on the airplane, the pastor was sharing the Gospel in a way, since the men were not honoring God, or holding His name as sacred. They could not do so, since they were in rebellion. My old pastor in Philadelphia, Phil Ryken, says this: “When non-Christians use God’s name- even in vain- it shows that deep down they know there really is a God. Their rage is direct rebellion against His honor.” When we confront in a loving way this dishonor of God’s name, we are confronting that rebellion against God in which they are engaged. Tconfronting rebellion is part of sharing the Gospel to people. It is not the whole of it. But it is a part. And it is a very important part.

If we pray that God’s name be hallowed, that should strengthen us to do just that. How do we hallow God’s name? We must be careful here not to limit the application too narrowly. This hallowing of God’s name has a very wide application. For instance, we hallow God’s name when we worship Him properly. We hallow God’s name when we avoid grumbling and complaining, since it is against God’s goodness (and hence against His name) that we grumble. We hallow God’s name when we give the same honor and glory to Christ the Son as we give to God the Father. Some people deny the divinity of Christ. For instance, the book that has now become a movie, The Da Vinci Code, asserts that Jesus was just a man, a prophet, and no more. But if that is true, then Jesus cannot take our sin upon Himself. Only God can carry the infinite burden of sin and do away with it. If Jesus is not God, then we are still in our sins, with no hope of salvation whatsoever. We hallow God’s name when we obey the Scriptures that God has given to us. In that sense, hallowing God’s name cannot be a sort of shorthand for the entire Christian life. All that we do is to be for the honor and glory of God’s name.

Here is an appropriate analogy to help us understand how to treat God’s name. This illustration is from Gary North, quoted in Phil Ryken’s book on the Ten Commandments: “One way for a modern American to begin to understand this…is to treat God’s name as a trademarked property. In order to gain widespread distribution for His copyrighted repair manuel-the Bible- and also to capture greater market share for His authorized franchise-the Church- God has graciously licensed the use of His name to anyone who will use it according to His written instructions. It needs to be understood, however, that God’s name has not been released into the public domain. God retains legal control over His name and threatens serious penalties against the unauthorized misuse of this supremely valuable property. All trademark violations will be prosecuted to the full limits of the law. The prosecutor, judge, jury, and enforcer is God.” That is what the third commandment means when it says, “God will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses His name.”

Well, how do we misuse God’s name? How do we not hallow it? We misuse God’s name when we use the name of God carelessly or in an exclamation such as “Oh, my God!” “What the heck?” “Good Lord!” “Gosh darn it!” I believe that these expressions do not bring honor and glory to God’s name. We misuse God’s name when we fail to stand up for God’s name when it is being misused by others. And we misuse God’s name when we fail to bring all the honor and glory to God’s name that we should bring. By that count, as we should recognize, none of us honor and glorify God’s name as we ought. Sins of omission here are just as bad as sins of commission. We misuse God’s name when we do not take advantage of ministry opportunities as we should.

I hope we realize by now that none of us are sufficient to hallow God’s name properly. And that is exactly where God gives us grace. What is impossible with man is possible with God. Won’t you start honoring His name today? And not just partially, but fully. That is the call. May God truly help us in this endeavor