"Whenever you pray, say, 'Father, your name be honored as holy." Luke 11:2
Last week I committed to praying "The Model Prayer" (also known as "The LORD's Prayer") each day asking God to make it part of me. The intent was not just to recite it as if checking a box, but to pray through it, even appending requests that flowed from my own heart to each phrase that is applicable. I'd like to share some thoughts on how God is changing me as I continue to pray this, and what my petition is in each phrase. My hope is that anyone reading this would be encouraged to take up this practice and ask God to work in their own hearts as He makes Himself known to them.
"Your Name Be Honored As Holy"
In Isaiah 48:11, God says He will act for His own sake because He will not permit His name to be defiled. He refuses to share His glory with another. God says in Ezekiel 20:44 that He will deal with Israel for the sake of His name as opposed to dealing with them in accordance with their evil ways. Both of these instances are descriptions of God showing mercy and giving grace by honoring His covenant. Isaiah 14:24 also tells us of God's promise to destroy Assyria (who dealt cruely with God's people). All through Scripture, we see God acts in accordance with His own glory. He has mercy on whom He will have mercy and hardens whom He will. (Romans 9:18). The opening of this prayer is for Him to do this, for Him to act so that His name be honored. It is a prayer for Him to work in and through me in a way that I act in a way that sets His name apart as holy.
This is not a prayer that I act "holier than thou", rather a desire that through my word and deed, The Father is glorified through me as well as by those who observe. It's not so that I can say "I thank Thee that I am not as that publican…" but rather so "that they may see [my] good works and glorify [my] Father in heaven. It is a prayer that I am asking my Father to do. "Father, your name be honored as holy." This is not me, praying to myself that I honor His name. It is that HE sanctify His own name. Praying this prayer and then going out to effect it on my own is to negate what I prayed. This saying has been attributed to Ignatius, Agustine, Fr. Benedict Viviano, etc: "Pray as if everything depends on God. Work as if everything depends on you." I honestly don't care who said it; it is antithetical to Scripture. To live as if it all depends on you is to not believe in the God of prayer. It is to "Christianize" hypocrisy; which Jesus vehemently condemns (Luke 12). My prayer is for God to sanctify His name, and I submit to God in that. This is not to say I do not desire to act, but my desire is to act as Jesus did when He said, "Truly I tell you, the Son is not able to do anything on his own, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, the Son likewise does these things."(John 5:19)
This is also a prayer, not just regarding my actions and outward appearance to others; but also the place His Name occupies within my own heart. It is a prayer for Him to sanctify His name IN ME. Not just in how I act, but in how I relate to Him. When no one else is around; the communion I have with Him. When He speaks, I desire to listen. When He leads, I will honor my Father with joyful obedience. This is not just a prayer for outward sanctification, but inward sanctification. The desire is to live from the overflow, and for that to happen He must fill me from the inside out. As His child, I bear His name. This is a prayer for Him to act as He sees fit to sanctify His name. It is a submission that rests in His design, in whatever He brings to pass; trusting Him because He is good and His glory is of the utmost priority. It is knowing that I am engrafted in Him and He in me in such a way that He is my life, and regardless of the seemingly "traumatic" events and circumstances, He is acting in a way that He will be glorified and therefore it is also to my utmost benefit. My benefit is directly related to His glory. He is good. He is love. He is my Father.
"Father, Your name be honored as holy."
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