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The ABCs Of Christian Survival And Growth 5. When We Pray... A. "Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name" ...

The ABCs Of Christian Survival And Growth
5. When We Pray... A. "Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name" ...

"Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name" ... the opening of what we refer to as the "Lord's Prayer" in the King James translation in Matthew chapter 6. What does the word "hallowed" mean and why did He open His prayer this way? Let's begin with the definition of the word hallow from Wikipedia:
"Hallow is a word usually used as a verb, meaning "to make holy or sacred, to sanctify or consecrate, to venerate". The adjective form hallowed, as used in The Lord's Prayer, means holy, consecrated, sacred, or revered."
As followers of Christ, we know that the life of our precious Savior gave us a wealth of examples to follow. And in His example of what our own communication to the Father should look like, He gave us a gift of extreme value from one who knew better than any how to communicate with our God. After all, who could be more intimate with, or experienced in the art of communicating with the heart of God the Father than His own Son? So what can we learn?
We tend in this day, to be very casual about our conversations with each other. We often chat about worldly things in worldly ways and take liberties in our conversations to speak in generalities that make little difference for eternity. The conversations we witness in society these days can commonly lack respect and honor. But when we speak to our God, we need to remember who He is and who it is that we're speaking to. Our conversations with Him can have life altering implications and eternal consequences. We may regard each other commonly as equals, but our Lord God has NO equal. So our conversations with Him must be held in a completely different frame of mind and posture. I was told by one of my mentors that it's important as we begin to pray, to first enthrone our God - to place Him on the throne of our hearts and minds in worship. There are two important aspects of this exercise; 1. It reminds us of who He is - who we are about to speak to as we honor Him, and 2. Offers to our God a sacrifice of praise of which He is more than worthy and that invites His presence. Psalms 22:3 But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel (KJ).

By "enthroning Him", our hearts and minds are prepared for a conversation between "the created"- us, and "the Creator". If you find that you're having trouble getting your heart and mind in a proper position to enthrone Him, then I might suggest reading our Lord's response to Job. In the book of Job, He essentially describes what He has done and continues to do on a regular basis that we might sometimes take take for granted. Or, the description of the Lamb in the book of Revelation. Both of these have had a profound effect on my personal ability to be reminded of who I am speaking to and having relationship with. If you read Revelation for this purpose, don't get caught up in trying to decipher all of the complexities of the writing, just focus on how Jesus is described. His description is one of unparalleled worthiness, magnificent power, purity and awesome presence. There is no match in heaven or earth for the greatness of our God. We do have the tremendous and outstanding honor and privilege of approaching our God as a child to it's father, but we can't afford to forget who our father is. This is no earthly father, this is our true and eternal Father, the Father over all creation.

One thing that I can't resist mentioning as we contemplate the subject of enthroning or praising Him. Maybe I need your prayers for this, but it's something that the Holy Spirit has challenged me on personally. If I say that I praise Him, am I actually praising him or just saying that I do? There's a difference between describing an act and actually performing it. In other words, if I just say "Lord I praise you" He might ask me ... "when?" But if I say: "Lord God over all that exists, your greatness is unmatched in all of the universe! In all that exists, there is no one worthy to stand in even the mere shadow of your greatness to be compared against it! You are the author and source of all that is Holy and truly good. Your generosity and compassion to us flow without end and your mercy and grace are like rivers of life to us. We are totally dependent on your goodness and mercy. You stand alone as God, there is no other like you, there is none higher. The awesome and unequaled presence of your Spirit gives us true wisdom and understanding - a light in the darkness that helps us find our way to you. Lord God we are grateful for your mercies and your tenderness toward us. We take great joy in, and celebrate all that you are!" ... I just praised Him.

I would ask you to search your own heart and thoughts on this. But if you find a conviction in your heart like I did, to go deeper - to put the words into true and meaningful heartfelt action, ... you might want to buckle your seat belt ... because you're in for an awesome encounter ... :)

My friends, brothers and sisters in Christ, I love you and pray for His will to be done in your lives and in my own according to His great plan for each of us...
Jeff

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