Hallowed Be Thy Name

Hallowed be thy name…

“7 You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not acquit anyone who misuses his name.” -Exodus 20:7


“13 But Moses said to God, “If I come to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of
your ancestors has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” 14 God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” He said further, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ” 15 God also said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, ‘The LORD, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you’:
This is my name forever, and this my title for all generations.” - Exodus 3:13-15

What’s in a name? For you and me our name is how others identify us. It is the way our parents chose to distinguish us from our siblings and all the other children of our age.

But what about God’s name? In Hebrew thought and in the Jewish faith, if you know the name of something, you have power and control over it. But it must not be so with the name of God. God’s name was revealed to Moses at the burning bush, but is never uttered or written. In fact, many translations of the Bible use the word “LORD” in capitals, when they refer to the divinely revealed name of God.

In the Lord’s Prayer when we say, “Hallowed be thy name…” we are praying that we would give the name of God the honor and respect it deserves. We pray and remind ourselves that God’s name is not to be misused or taken lightly.

We also recall that the God we worship is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Moses, who has done great things throughout human history and continues to write history today with our lives. This is God, who is, who was, and will be forever.

Every attempt we make to define God falls short, for we can never truly capture or comprehend all that God is and does. That is why we pray that God’s name is to be hallowed, or holy. We can never totally know God, but we can always know that God loves and hears us, totally. May God’s name be hallowed, forever.


God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob hear our prayers this day. Point your ear in our direction as we call upon your hallowed name. May we never loose sight of all you are and may we know that you are listening to us always. This we ask in the confidence that comes from knowing you are God. Amen.

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