Jesus taught, “Pray then like this: “Our
Father in heaven, hallowed be your name” (Matthew 6:9, ESV).
This is not an
assertion in prayer. This is a
petition. It is the chief petition. It is the all-encompassing, all-important
petition. It is the petition that
governs our prayer life. “Jesus is not
saying, ‘Father, Your name is holy,’ but, ‘Father, may Your name be hallowed.’
That is, He is teaching us to ask that God's name would be regarded as sacred,
that it would be treated with reverence, and that it would be seen as holy.”[1]
This prayer, I contend, is the prayer that
seeks to obey the Third Commandment: “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who
takes his name in vain” (Exodus 20:7, ESV).
This might include swearing and blaspheme, but it is far more than that.
The word “vanity” or vain speaks of
emptiness – nothingness. Moses said,
“Don’t take” or don’t carry the Name of God lightly. Don’t treat God as inconsequential. It is possible to treat God as irrelevant, as
unimportant or as insignificant. Don’t think that God’s not there for you. Don’t think that God can’t conquer whatever
your afraid of. Don’t think that God
can’t satisfy your heart’s desire.
Let me give you an example of how we might
err in this. You are single. You desire deeply to be married and to be
loved. As your heart cries to God, don’t
forget to carry with you the truth that God is really all you really need. God is enough. God is not nothing (NB: the double negative). God is not inconsequential.
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