Friday, August 26, 2011

Hallowed Be Your Name - Jesus' instructions to Christians

Prayer
I know a ‘Christian’ who has sincerely told me that God answered her prayers by sending to her ‘her boyfriend’.  Many people pray for God to send them their soul mate; sometimes He does, sometimes He does not.  That this particular ‘Christian’ is thanking God for a man who is already married is absurd, delusional, offensive, and an insult to the honor of God.  

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.  And forgive us our debts,  as we also have forgiven our debtors.  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”  Matthew 6:9-13

That is not an easy prayer.  Oh, I know all ‘Christians’ have “The Lords Prayer” memorized, but Jesus instructed us how to pray, not what to pray.  Very few ‘Christians’ pray like Jesus instructed.

We say the opening just fine, “Our Father in Heaven”; we are very quick to claim our relationship with God, a relationship of undeserved, and unconditional, yet practical love However, we are not so quick to do as our father tells us, and because we don’t it is the second statement that stops us in our tracks. 

“Hallowed be your name” Hallowed or honored - bring honor to your name.  Essentially, you are asking from your father that regardless of your desire, above all you want your thoughts, words and actions to honor God.  Is that what you really pray; is that what you honestly mean?  It’s easy enough to do when someone approaches you and asks you to pray for them so that they get a job they really desire.  We recite a short prayer, insert into our prayer that whatever happens let it honor God and be His will; then it’s off to watch the game. 

Do you trust God enough that you want whatever God knows will bring Him honor when your child is sick, or when you are faced with losing your job?  Do you want to honor God when you are tired of your spouse and just want out of your marriage?  Do you trust God enough that you keep your promises and vows regardless of the personal cost to yourself, so that He can be honored by your action? 

On the other hand, are you afraid to mean those words in your prayers, because God might do the opposite of what you want?  God might say no.  Your child may not recover, you may lose your job, you will stay married, keeping your promises may cost you thousands of dollars, or even friendships.  We pray out of our fleshly desires, God sees the soul temporarily contained within that flesh, which means God may not agree that what you desire, your thoughts, words and actions actually bring Him honor.  

But we want what we want, and if we get it then we say “praise God, my prayers have been answered, I must be doing things God’s way.”  In truth because we do not honestly desire or mean ‘Hallowed be your name” the rest of our pray cannot possibly be truthful either.  
“Hallowed be your name”; if you will not trust God in your prayers, you will not honor him in your thoughts, words or actions.  And that gets you a little closer to understanding 'What is Christianity'.

The Purpose Driven Life (QR Code Enhanced Edition): What on Earth Am I Here For? (Purpose Driven Life, The) 

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