God First in Prayer

Of the many observations to be made about what is commonly known as the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9, Luke 11:2), the following is another reminder of the necessity of humility in our approach to God. Aside from the initial use of the possessive adjective in the address to “our Father,” notice that the first three lines of the prayer say nothing directly about us. It’s about God, His Name, His kingdom, and His will. We must acknowledge Who He is before we offer any thanks or make any petitions.

“Hallowed be Thy Name” and not the names of any of the gods of this world or any other world for that matter. No other god is worthy of our veneration; no other god can “give us our daily Bread” of eternal life; no other god can “forgive us our trespasses;” no other god can “deliver us from evil.” So we must not make these requests until we acknowledge the greatness of the One Who is worthy of our worship and requests. Why do we make petitions of Him? Why do we even acknowledge Him? Who does He think He is?

He is the God “which art in Heaven.” It is His Name Which is to be hallowed. It is His kingdom to which all other kingdoms must submit. It is His will that is to be done in His heaven and in His earth, since He is the Maker of them both. It is all His, and it is by Him and for Him, as we are reminded not only at the beginning but also at the end of the prayer. It’s His kingdom, it’s by His power, and it’s for His glory.

Only in this recognition of our omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent God can we really exercise the faith to know that He hears us and that “whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him.” (I John 5:15) “The LORD He is God; there is none else beside Him.” (Deuteronomy 4:35)