Hallowed Be Your Name

God be merciful to us and bless us,
And cause His face to shine upon us...
That Your way may be known on earth,
Your salvation among all nations.
God shall bless us,
And all the ends of the earth shall fear Him.
(Psalms 67:1-2,7 NKJV)

"I do not [act] for your sake, O house of Israel, but for My holy name's sake, which you have profaned among the nations wherever you went. And I will sanctify My great name, which has been profaned among the nations ... and the nations shall know that I am the LORD," says the Lord GOD, "when I am hallowed in you before their eyes."
(Ezekiel 36:22-23 NKJV)

Jesus said to them, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified... Father, glorify your name." Then a voice came from heaven, "I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again!"
(John 12:23,28 ISV)

The Lord is my Shepherd, who restores my soul and gives peace. He also leads in paths of righteousness, for His name's sake. When His people forget to hallow His name by which they are called, and give others an excuse to speak against Him, we provoke His anger.

God is merciful to us and blesses us and causes His face to shine upon us because of His great love for us. But He is also motivated by faithfulness to His name and character. He desires to make Himself known among the nations. If we show Him to be less than He is by our behavior, and misrepresent Him, we provoke Him to counter our actions, for His name's sake.

If we claim to be Christians, then whatever we do in word or deed, good or bad, is done in the name of the Lord Jesus. When Jesus teaches us to pray, the first priority of business is, "Hallowed be Your name."

Our Father in Heaven, Hallowed be Your name by us. Please put in us the fear of Your name which turns us from sin. Please empower us to worship Your name in spirit and truth as pleases You. Please cause us to so greatly love Your name that we readily surrender ourselves to You and receive Your fullest blessing.

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Copyright 2008, Anne Lang Bundy