Something to Pray About
9. After this manner therefore pray, “Our Father which art in Heaven, Hallowed be Your Name.”
10. “Your Kingdom come. Your will be done in earth, as it is in Heaven.”
11. “Give us this day our daily bread.”
12. “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.”
13. “And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil: for Yours is the Kingdom, and the Power, and the Glory, forever. Amen”
Matthew 6:9-13
Why Pray?
None of us know the full worth of prayer, but all of us should know that praying to God is a Divine privilege. Some would argue, why pray if God already knows what we need? It is true that God knows what we need before we ask and yet the Scripture admonishes believers to pray. One of the greatest verses on the need for prayer is found in 2 Chronicles 7:14. If My people, who are called by My Name, shall humble themselves and pray, and turn from their wicked ways, and seek My Face, then I will hear from Heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. Considering the fact that all of us still struggle with sin, we need to constantly pray to God.
Even the heathen is admonished to pray and seek after God that they might find Him. We pray then, to recognize God as the sole authority over our life. We pray to honor God. We pray in order to present our petitions before the Lord. We also pray for His guidance for the future. We pray because we need God. Even though God Almighty knows what we need, we pray to show our submission to His Power. Those who refuse to recognize God’s authority will not pray nor will they submit to His Will. Those who claim to have all the answers will not pray because they consider themselves to be gods. So, the child of God prays because they know that they need the Lord. It all points to the fact that if Jesus said we need to pray, then prayer is a necessity. Furthermore, if Jesus prayed to His Father, then we are to follow Christ in all things and that includes prayer.
It was John Wesley (clergyman who founded the Methodist Church) who said, “God does nothing apart from prayer and everything through prayer.” Saint Augustine, the renowned theologian of the late Third and early Fourth century A.D. said, “whether we believe it or not, prayer is the encounter of God’s thirst with our thirst” … “God thirsts that we might thirst for Him.” Our Lord Jesus said, “men should always pray and not faint.” Luke 18:1. You would think that with such an emphasis on prayer, our souls would be eager to engage in this wonderful venture and journey. Yet, many of us will admit that we find it hard to pray except when things go wrong. While it is good to pray during times of adversity and trouble, what do we do when things go well? Someone has said, we are in more danger during times of ease than we are during times of struggle. Our soul is more prone to drift from Grace on good days of sunshine than it is when we encounter the storms of life. So, we must answer the question of why can’t we be more consistent in prayer? How do we remain steadfast in our prayer life?
Finding Something to Pray About
Clearly from Jesus teachings, our prayer begins with God, and it also ends with God. Also, clearly from Jesus teaching on prayer, it should be my priority to pray for others as I pray for myself. Jesus elevated prayer from a ritual to a right that is given to every child of God. Prior to Christ teachings, prayer was made to God through priests, made by prophets, and by means of animal sacrifices. While these were the requirements of the Old Testament or Covenant, Jesus gave us a New Covenant which in turn, give us confidence to come before God as His children and not as sinners in fear of judgment. After this manner therefore pray, “Our Father which art in Heaven, Hallowed be Your Name.”
Jesus gives us something to pray about other than our need. While need-based prayers are certainly welcomed in Heaven, there is a better way of praying and Jesus gives us that more excellent way. Start with your relationship with God and the high priority of praise. That is something to pray about.
Notice, the verse tells us to “Hallow God’s Name.” What does that mean? I did some research and found that the word “hallow” is another term for “sanctify, reverence, respect, and honor.” It blesses God when we Hallow His Name.
Do you not know there are people all across this planet that abuse God’s Name and use it profanely? Do you realize the people who blame God for every bad thing that goes on in their life, even the things they cause? With all the dishonor that is directed towards God, we the people of God should make it our priority to bless God, by telling Him how wonderful He is. We should bless the Lord at all times. That alone would be enough to build our prayer on. So hallowing God’s Name gives us something to pray about. But that is not the only reason we Hallow God’s Name. We don’t just praise the Lord because the heathen is cursing His Name. We praise and hallow God’s Name because it conditions our heart for prayer.
You might look at Hallowing God’s Name as the true preparation for prayer. When the believer “blesses God’s Name” something happens in the heart. God is magnified and exalted as Holy, True, and All Powerful. We need to be reminded of that. So often, we have been guilty of rushing into prayer due to a crisis and as a result have ended the prayer with doubts and fears as to whether God will do anything about the problem. To Hallow God’s Name is a way of recognizing that God is in control even when we are not and even when we are facing our worst situations. Hallowing God’s Name establishes God’s Authority as Supreme Ruler and reminds us that the earth belongs to God. After this manner therefore pray, “Our Father which art in Heaven, Hallowed be Your Name.” That is something to pray about.
Hallowing God’s Name becomes the precursor to praying. Never engage in prayer with uncertainty of who God is in your life. Honor Him and He will exalt you over the situation. This reminds us of Abraham who engaged in prayer over the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham addressed God’s Sovereignty and Power by saying, “far be it from You to destroy the righteous with the wicked … shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” Abraham sanctified God as the Judge of all the earth. In making his petition to God, he was confident that God would execute perfect judgment. When we hallow God’s Name, we too can expect God to answer our prayer with confidence.
The “Hallowing of God’s Name” goes even deeper. The fact that we struggle in our faith will lead us to pray weak and ineffective prayers. When your prayers start with praise, they end with power. To offer praise in advance gives such a boost to our spirit that we know that God has heard our request. This is called praying with confidence, not necessarily that God will give us exactly what we ask, but more so that God Almighty has heard us and honored our request. The Psalmist David is a classic example of someone who made it a priority to exalt and honor God’s Name. He personalized the attributes of God. The Lord was his Light and Salvation. The Lord was his Shepherd. The Lord was the Hightower of his Life. God was his Strength. You can do that in prayer and build up your confidence. It does not mean that you will get up off your knees knowing how or when God will move in your life. But because you have honored God’s Name, the Lord gives you confidence that your prayer was heard. The Apostle John, in 1 John 5:13-15, said it like this: These things I have written to you that you may believe on the Name of the Son of God … and this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask anything according to His Will, He hears us … and if we know He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him. If the prayer starts with praise, it will end with power. That is something to pray about.
Another application of Hallowing God’s Name in prayer is the declaration of God’s Power over the need. Hallowing God’s Name shows dependence on God’s Name as the Supreme solution. When you begin and end your prayer with God’s Name, you have declared His Lordship over the situation. Throughout the Bible, the prophets used God’s authority when they approached a problem. How did they know what to say and how to say it? God told them. While they were praying, they not only talked (or petitioned God), but they also listened for God’s answer. When you and I Hallow God’s Name, we are requesting an answer from God. When they got the answer from God, they signed their arguments with “Thus says the Lord.” We do the same with our declaration of God’s Power. We say to problems, “the Lord has declared that you will not overtake me.” We say to situations, “the Lord God has decreed that I shall live and not die.” When we Hallow God’s Name, we have declared that no weapon formed against us will prosper and every tongue that rises against you in judgment you shall condemn …this is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of Me, says the Lord. Isaiah 57:14. In prayer, you must Hallow God’s Name for that is the only way to pray.