So it’s probably no surprise that when Jesus was teaching his disciples to pray, he included the words, “Your Kingdom come.”

On Sunday night we looked at a few elements of the Kingdom of God and what they might mean for us to pray them.

Nowhere does Jesus actually define what he Kingdom of God is. It is clear it is not a geographic place, but instead something more like the rule or reign of God. We could even use words like the ‘impact’ or ‘influence’ of God. But we do get little glimpses of some of the characteristics of what this impact is like. We looked at just four of those on Sunday

The Kingdom of God is forcefully advancing and there’s nothing we can do to stop it (Matt 11:12)

The Kingdom of God is all inclusive, embracing the unclean and the outcast, where everyone is equal (Matt 9:20-22)

The Kingdom of God is counter culture, valuing many things the world does not (Matt 18:1-5)

The Kingdom of God is worth everything we have (Matt 13:44-46)

And most surprisingly, the Kingdom of God is within us (Luke 17:20-21)

So for all of these things to become a reality in our world, for God’s Kingdom to have a lasting impact on lives and communities, then it happens through us.

These three words, “Your Kingdom come”, become the most powerful part of the Lord’s prayer because not only do they change us in dramatic ways, but they change the world around us too.

It takes a bold person to pray this prayer. Feeding the hungry is a sign of God’s Kingdom breaking into the world, so if we pray “your Kingdom come” we should expect to be eating with the hungry, giving up our own food if necessary. We should expect to be rubbing shoulders with the homeless, the outcast, the addicted and the different because this is all part of the impact God has through his people.

The worst thing we can possibly do, is pray the prayer and not expect to be part of the answer.

Hallowed, or holy, is not really a word we use much now apart from describing an extra special place. For instance, the ground of the MCG if sometimes described as ‘hallowed turf’.

The dictionary defines hallowed/holy as something that is extra special, something that is devoted to or used by God. So when we pray this part of the prayer, we are asking that God’s name be set apart and regarded as more special than any other names.

But what is God’s name?

The story of Moses in Exodus chapter three helps understand a little bit about God’s name, as well as how we can understand what holy means.

Moses, at this point in the story, is a shepherd, looking after his sheep on Mount Horeb. There he sees a bush that is on fire, but not being consumed. Out of the fire, god speaks, telling Moses to take off his sandles for where he is standing is holy ground. This place, and this point in time, is special becasue it is the beginning of the exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt and the birth of the Jewish nation. Moses is unsure if the people will respond to what God is asking him to do, so he asks God to reveal his name to convince the jews that his story is legitimate. God responds with I AM WHO I AM.

It might seem a strange name, but it speaks of god presence with us at every point in the past, presence and future. In everything that happens, I AM.

So the Lord’s Prayer is asking that at every point in time, the name of the eternal, ever present God be regarded as special.

There is a danger to think that because we are praying this prayer, somehow God’s name mustn’t be holy already. Of course, the Bible tells us that it is, and there is nothing that will ever change that. However, we’ve also heard that we are the ones that are changed the most when we pray.

In Galatians, Paul describes us as God’s children and heirs. As such, we, as a community, bare God’s name. When people look at us, they form opinions of God.

For God’s name to be kept holy thus means that our words, thoughts, actions and attitudes as individuals and as a community must never take away from the holiness of God’s name. We must never cause people to curse God nor should we simply stand by and let God be ridiculed. It’s a fine line, but one that we need to be conscious of all the time.

We finished the night with a challenge to write I AM WHO I AM on a piece of paper and write it in a prominent place where it would be seen at least once everyday. Every time we saw it, we were to pray the words “Hallowed be your name” and then be open to whatever it is the Spirit might be saying to us through the circumstances of the week.

If you’re reading this for the first time, give the exercise a try and let me know how it goes!

On Sunday night we began a new series
on prayer, using the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6:5-15 as a framework for
our exploration. I’ve spoken on prayer many times now, but this time
around I wanted to avoid getting into the theological/academic
questions surrounding prayer and just look at what it was Jesus was
teaching when he spoke these words to his disciples.

The sort of questions I’m avoiding are things like, “If God knows
everything, why do we have to pray?” It is good to ask these 
questions, and searching for the answers makes prayer, and faith, more
fulfilling. But for the purpose of this series, I’m assuming prayer is
something we are required to do because Jesus himself prayed and he
taught others to do the same. If it was essential for Jesus, it must be
for us.

On Sunday night i concentrated on the first four words of the Lord’s prayer; Our Father in heaven.

Given the paragraph that comes immediately before the Lord’s prayer,
it seems strange that the first word of the prayer is ‘Our’. Jesus has
just described prayer as an action where you disappear into a private
place in your home, where nobody can see or hear you, and where it can
be just you and God. You would expect a prayer in this setting to begin
with a personal address to God, but the word ‘our’ acknowledges that
even when we are alone, we are still part of the Body of Christ. Faith
is expressed the community of people known as God’s. So we are a group,
owned by God.

There are many instances where more personal expressions of prayer
are recorded in the Bible, with Jesus’ “My God, my God…” from the cross
being the most well known. But in this teaching about prayer, Jesus
seems to make the point that prayer is a community task, and the
community is owned by God. We don’t engage in new age spirituality or
post modern belief that constructs faith as a personal possession that
can be manipulated and changed. Together, we are part of something much
bigger than ourselves.

The next word of the prayer has been a stumbling block for many when
it comes to prayer. Calling God ‘father’ is an impossibility for anyone
who has had bad experiences with their own father. “If God is anything
like my old man, then I don’t want anything to do with him…” is
something I’ve heard a few times now. But in context, I think we can
move beyond the word itself to see what Jesus was getting across.

The Jews had an instruction book called the Talmud, which outlined
the rules for living as a Jew. The instructions for Jewish fathers were
quite specific – teach your kids the Torah (things of faith), teach
your kids a trade (the things of education/work), and teach your kids
how to swim (be involved in their upbringing). Addressing God as
‘father’ thus meant an acknowledgement that God was involved in every
part of life.

You might choose to use a different name for God, but I think it’s
helpful to use a name that reminds us of the action of God in every
part of life. “Living God, “Loving God”, “Creator God” and so on are
all fine to use. I guess the good old “Dear God” is fine too, but to me
it seems a little bit limp without some sort of expression that
describes how God is involved in our lives.

The final part of the first line is “in heaven”. At first glance, it
seems to run counter with what we’ve just said about God being involved
in life. “In heaven” makes God seem distant and far away, not involved
in anything we are doing on a day to day basis. But we are always in
danger of thinking of God as part of creation when we only
think in terms of our daily lives. The reality is that God is not part
of creation but is THE creator. God is far more than we can see, feel,
taste and touch, and can’t be limited to our experience of life.
Addressing God ‘in heaven’ reminds us that this is the same God that
reaches out to embrace us, his creation, and be involved in our lives
as individuals and as a community.

The more I think abut it, the more I’m amazed at the profound truth
that is contained in the first four words of this prayer. I’m also
convicted about my own prayer life and how much I take for granted how
I address God – I know we talk of the relationship with God as
important, but after looking at this part of Scripture, something
doesn’t seem right about viewing God just as one of my mates. God is so
much more than that…

Anyway, we will continue to look at the Lord’s prayer next week and
tackle “hallowed be your name”. What does ‘hallowed’ mean afterall. And
what exactly is God’s name?

Feel free to leave any of your own thoughts or questions in the comments section below!