Hallowed Be Your Name

When we pray it is easy for us to get absorbed in our own concerns to the point that we betray our chief end, namely to glorify God and enjoy him. God does want us to ask him for the help we and others need. Aside from the introduction and conclusion the Lord's Prayer is a flurry of requests. Because God is our powerful heavenly Father, it is not audacious to ask of him what we need. It is perfectly appropriate. Our asking pleases God.

But the first request of the Lord's Prayer grounds us in the reason for our praying in the first place. We are praying for the integrity of God's reputation, that God would make his name hallowed, or holy. That he would be glorified or honored as the one who matters most. We should be preoccupied with God's glory (Ps. 67:1–3; 99:3; 100:3–4)