The first priority in all prayer (The Father’s glory and kingdom)
Jesus said:
Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
• God’s Name and Glory
Whenever we pray, at any time of crisis or non-crisis, God’s name, God’s glory and God’s kingdom should dominate our thinking. It is staggering to realize when you read through the Bible that God does everything for His Name sake, for his glory.
When Jesus taught us to pray, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your Name” what did he mean?
The name of God refers to the Person/s, the being of God. It stands for who He is, the sum of his attributes. Over and over when you read Genesis and Exodus, you see God reveals Himself by different names. As Jahwe, the Covenenat God, who makes and keeps his promises. As El-Shaddai, the All Sufficient One, as El-Rohi, the God who sees, as Jahwe Jireh, the Lord who provides, as Jahwe Rapheka, the Lord who heals, and so on. God reveals His attributes, his nature by giving us different Names. So when Jesus taught us to pray, “hallowed be your Name” it means we should pray that God’s being or Persons should be exalted and respected and glorified. That is the main message of the Bible. God does everything in creation, in sustaining creation, in providence, in salvation and in judgment for the sake of His Name, that He be glorified. That is why God created, saves a people for Himself and why He judges the wicked, so that His holy Name be honored, respected and glorifIed. That should be our first concern when we pray, the manifestation and exhibition of God’s glory
We must in all our prayers, pray that God be glorified. When we pray during times of coronavirus, or uncertainty or confusion, we should pray that God be glorified in the death, and healing of everyone of the multitudes of people in South Africa and the world. Whatever brings God most glory we should pray for. It may be that the coronavirus is what the world needs to trust in Christ. People have come to faith during this time of coronavirus. And as Christians we should rejoice that God has used times of uncertainty to build his kingdom. The exaltation of the Name of God should concern us from day to day, and our whole lives should be focused on giving Him glory.
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your Name. Amen
INTERETHNICMISSIONS 