Nov 21
21
Baptist Catechism 108
Q. 108. What do we pray for in the first petition?
A. In the first petition, which is “Hallowed be thy name,” we pray that God would enable us and others to glorify Him in all that whereby He makes Himself known, and that He would dispose all things to His own glory. (Matt. 6:9; Ps. 67:1-3; Rom. 11:36; Rev. 4:11)
Scripture Reading: Psalm 67
“TO THE CHOIRMASTER: WITH STRINGED INSTRUMENTS. A PSALM. A SONG. May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, Selah that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations. Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you! Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth. Selah Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you! The earth has yielded its increase; God, our God, shall bless us. God shall bless us; let all the ends of the earth fear him!” (Psalm 67, ESV)
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Please excuse any typos and misspellings within this manuscript. It has been published online for the benefit of the saints of Emmaus Reformed Baptist Church but without the benefit of proofreading.
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Last Sunday afternoon we considered the preface or the introduction to the Lord’s Prayer. I stammered over my words a bit at the beginning of that sermon, saying, these words, “our Father in heaven”, are not a part of the Lord’s Prayer, and then I quickly corrected myself. Here is what I had in mind, but failed to clearly communicate: the words, “our Father in heaven” are introductory. With these words, we address God in prayer. But the first petition or request is this: “Hallowed be thy name…”
So then, we are to address God Almighty as Father, for he has set his love upon us in Christ Jesus. And the very first thing that we should pray for is that God’s name is “hallowed”.
The first thing that we should notice is that this request is to be our first request, and that itself is very significant. First words are important in any conversation, for they reveal what is most important to you. If you meet with someone and immediately begin talking about business, whatever the business may be, that is very rude. And why is it rude? Because it reveals that you care nothing about the person, but only about the business or the issue at hand. This is why we typically begin conversation with statements like this: hello, how are you? How was your day? How’s the family?, etc. before getting on to business. This communicates that you care about the person. And hopefully you really do!
Similarly, the way in which we begin our prayers reveals a lot about the condition of our hearts. Now, don’t get me wrong. There are times when we may get straight to business with God in prayer, just as there are times when we get straight to business in our conversations with others. It is not wrong to cry out to God in a moment of fear, frustration, or desperation and to immediately bring your concerns or needs to him. But typically, when bowing before the Lord in prayer we ought to begin, not with requests concerning our own needs, but a request that God’s name be hallowed. This should be our first request, not only because Christ said that it should be, but because it is the highest concern of our hearts.
When we pray that God’s name be hallowed, we are praying that God would be honored, revered, exalted, glorified. Notice, that is what our catechism teaches, saying, “In the first petition, which is ‘Hallowed be thy name,’ we pray that God would enable us and others to glorify Him in all that whereby He makes Himself known, and that He would dispose all things to His own glory.” That God be glorified should be the leading concern of our hearts, and it should be the first thing we pray for.
Notice that our catechism helps us to think about the various ways that God may be glorified.
In the first petition, which is “Hallowed be thy name,” we pray that God would enable us… to glorify Him…” So then, when we pray to God our leading prayer should go something like this: Father in heaven, use me to bring glory to your name today. Be exalted in my thoughts. Be exulted through my words. Be exulted through my deeds. We pray that God’s name be hallowed, we are praying that God would enable (empower) us to live for his glory.
And because we are to pray, not only for ourselves but also for others, we should pray that “God would enable [empower]… others to glorify Him” too. Lord, we exulted through my spouse and my children. Be exulted through my brothers and sisters in Christ as they live for you in this world. Be exalted through your church as she gathers to worship and serve you Lord’s Day by Lord’s Day.
The phrase “in all that whereby He makes Himself known”, reminds us that God is to be glorified in all things. As Paul says, “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31, ESV). I’m afraid that Christians sometimes assume that God is to be glorified in the chapel and through praise while forgetting that God is to be glorified in every place and through all things. He is to be honored in our eating and drinking, in our thinking and speaking, in our working, and in our recreation. The Christian should do all things to the glory of God, and that is what we are to pray for in this first petition. Lord, empower us to do all things to the glory of your name.
The phrase, “and that He would dispose all things to His own glory” should remind us to pray that God be glorified, not only through us but in all places through all circumstances. You know, one thing we have witnessed in our study of the book of Exodus is that the Lord will be glorified both in his gracious dealings with man and also through his judgments. When we pray, our Father in heaven, hallowed by your name, we should pray that God would be glorified in all the earth and in all things. He will get the glory at the end of time, this we know. But we are to pray for that. And we are to pray that God would get the glory even now.
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Conclusion
Perhaps you are beginning to see that each one of these petitions of the Lord’s Prayer can be greatly expanded and elaborated on if we are thoughtful…
Q. 108. What do we pray for in the first petition?
A. In the first petition, which is “Hallowed be thy name,” we pray that God would enable us and others to glorify Him in all that whereby He makes Himself known, and that He would dispose all things to His own glory. (Matt. 6:9; Ps. 67:1-3; Rom. 11:36; Rev. 4:11)
