Series: Student Ministry: The Sermon on the Mount
- The Blessings of Christ’s Kingdom (Matthew 5:1-12)
- The Blessings of Christ’s Kingdom: Blessings One and Two (Matthew 5:3-4)
- The Blessings of Christ’s Kingdom: Blessings 3-7
- The Blessings of Christ’s Kingdom: You Will Be Persecuted, But Yours Is The Kingdom of God (Matthew 5:10-12)
- Sermon on the Mount: Be Who You Are In Christ (Matthew 5:13-16)
- God’s Word Will Always Stand And It’s All About Jesus: Matthew 5:17-20
- The True Meaning of Adultery (Matthew 5:27-30)
- Adultery and the Seriousness of the Marriage Commitment (Matthew 5:31-32)
- Be People Of Truth (Matthew 5:33-47)
- Giving Grace Instead Of Vengeance (Matthew 5:38-42)
- What Does It Mean To Love Your Neighbor? (Matthew 5:43-47)
- Our Only Hope Is Jesus (Matthew 5:48)
- The Lord’s Prayer: Our Father
- The Lord’s Prayer: Our Father In Heaven, Hallowed Be Your Name
- The Lord’s Prayer: Your Kingdom Come
- The Lord’s Prayer: Your Will Be Done On Earth As It Is In Heaven
- The Lord’s Prayer: Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread
- Forgive Us Our Sins (Matthew 6:12)
- The Lord’s Prayer: Lead Us Not Into Temptation
- The Lord’s Prayer Activity
- Forgiven People Forgive (Matthew 6:14-15
- Fast Toward God, Not Others (Matthew 6:16-18)
- Live For What Will Last (Matthew 6:19-34)
- Judge Not, But Do Judge (Matthew 7:1-6)
- God Gives So That You Can Give (Matthew 7:6-12)
- Which Gate Have You Gone Through? Which Path Are You On? What Is Your Eternal Destination? (Matthew 7:13-14)
- Beware the False Prophet (Matthew 7:15-18)
- You May Think You Know Jesus, But Does Jesus Know You? (Matthew 7:21-23)
- All Other Ground Is Sinking Sand (Matthew 7:24-27)
Last week we discussed the great honor of being able to call God Father. It is only through the finished work of Christ that we have the right to call God “Father”. So, now we will begin looking at the petitions that Jesus gave in the Lord’s Prayer and how that applies to us.
In Heaven
Jesus begins this prayer by saying, “Our Father who is in Heaven” (NASB), though I have it remembered more along the lines of the KJV, “Our Father, in Heaven” and you probably do as well. Where is God? He is in Heaven.
Well, I think we need to be as accurate as possible about how we speak of God. If you were to ask me today where God is my answer would be “everywhere”. Because that is what we read in Scripture. And we do not just read this once, we read it repeatedly (1 Kings 8:27; 2 Chronicles 6:18; 2 Chronicles 2:6; Psalm 139:7-12; Jeremiah 23:23-24). So, what does Jesus mean when He says that God is “in Heaven”?
Where is God’s primary residence? Where is God’s throne? That we find to be “in Heaven”. So, though God is present everywhere, His throne is in Heaven. He rules and reigns over the entire Earth and is present everywhere, but His throne is in Heaven. God is ruling and reigning over all things. He is present on Earth while residing in Heaven. This is a statement about God, whom we have the right to call Father through the finished work of Christ, ruling and reigning over all things.
The LORD is high above all nations;
His glory is above the heavens.
Who is like the LORD our God,
Who is enthroned on high,
Who humbles Himself to belhold
The things that eare in heaven and in the earth?”
Psalm 113:4-6 NASB
When we say “Our Father, in Heaven” we are addressing God who is above all things. He is the one who is in control of all things and rules and reigns. He “is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases.” (Psalm 115:3 NASB) He is sovereign and He is in complete control and works “all things according to the counsel of His will.” (Ephesians 1:11 NASB) This is who we are praying to. This is our Father who is in Heaven.
Where is God? He is ruling and reigning the whole Earth, present everywhere, but in Heaven.
God is ruling and reigning. He is in control of all things and is your Father. Can God, who is your Father and King take care of you? Absolutely, He can. And what is the first thing that we ask for from God?
Hallowed Be Your Name
To hallow means to honor as holy. It is like saying, “may your name be kept holy” both in my life, in the Church, and in the world. We are praying for God’s name to be honored as holy both in places that we have control over and places that we do not.
The first thing we should consider here is how this applies to our lives. When I ask that God’s name be kept holy I have to ask myself if I am keeping His name holy in my life. Am I using God’s name in vain? Am I honoring Him with my life? And so when I ask for God’s name to be honored as holy I first ask God to help me honor Him as holy and attempt to honor Him with my life.
The second thing we should consider is what I can do to help my Church family honor God as holy. Are there things that go on at my church that should not. Is God’s name being incidentally made to be less than holy through something done at my church? What can I do to help in that area? Are friends of mine who go to church with me taking God’s name in vain or acting poorly and not honoring God as holy?
The third thing we should consider here is an area that we have very little control over, and that is the world. We pray for God to be honored as holy in the world. We try to help with this by sharing the gospel with others and doing our part to make more God-fearers out in the world, but many people in the world will not honor God as holy. But there is coming a day when God’s name will always be hallowed by every person everywhere. And we long for this day to come.
God is our Father and He is our King. Not only is He our King but He is the King over everyone and everything. God is to be honored and revered. Is it appropriate to bow our heads to pray? What about praying on our knees at times? Those are signs of respect in our day. In other eras, people prayed differently, but we see that in our culture these are signs of respect.
We are praying for God’s name, or His reputation to be honored. How do we do that with our lives? What do we do to help God’s name to be honored by other people?
R. Dwain Minor
