The Lord's Prayer Blog Post Series by DUO Inspirations - - Part One

“After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.”
                               Matthew 6:9 (KJV)
 




Hi friends,

     How are you today?  This week, I am starting a series of devotions based upon the verses of the Lord’s Prayer, given to us by Jesus.  I pray that God gives me the words to give you during these special devotions.  (Actually, I pray that God gives me the words for every post.)  Have you ever looked at the words of the Lord’s Prayer a verse at a time and carefully pondered their meaning?  I encourage you to do so.

     So, let’s look at the first ten words of the Lord’s Prayer in which Jesus gave us to pray.  What do they mean to you?  “Our Father which art in heaven….” Do you consider God to be your Heavenly Father?  Do you treat Him as a Father above any earthly father?  Do you go to Him as a child would to a good and faithful father?  Do you love Him as you would a beloved part of your family?  Do you acknowledge that He is the one who created you and that you wouldn’t have been born without His love for you?
   
     “…Hallowed be thy name.”  Do you hallow God’s name?  Do you treat His name as above all others and give it the respect God deserves?  I hear God’s name taken in vain quite often.  Swearing of all sorts seems to be a growing cultural habit.  Yet, this particular type of swear is more repulsive than others.

     We don’t go around saying, “John damn it” or “Jane damn it.”  Yet, we do have people going around taking the Lord’s name in vain.  How would we feel if it people started taking our name in vain?  My guess is that we wouldn’t like it.  People are pretty touchy.  (That is why we have so much trouble with political correctness, etc.)  So, if we wouldn’t like it if people took our name in vain, why are we complacent when people take our Heavenly Father’s name in vain?  Why do some of us take our Heavenly Father’s name in vain?

     Jesus himself told us that we are called to treat and acknowledge our God as our Heavenly Father.  We are to keep His name holy.  We are called to give God, our Heavenly Father, with the love, reverence, and respect that He deserves.  And, here is the kicker, quite frankly, if we are the Christians that we pledge to be, we shouldn’t need to be told by Jesus or anyone else to do all this.  We should love God, because He is who He is!  We should hallow His name, because He is the most beloved out of our entire beloved, He is the most holy out of the entire holy.  We should respect Him and love Him, because He first loved us.  We should keep His name hallowed, because we love Him so. 
 
Heavenly Father,
     Thank you for loving us and creating us.  Thank you for sending your only begotten Son, Jesus, to be our savior and to be our ultimate role model.  Thank you for sending us your Holy Spirit to guide us and show us the way and to intercede for us and pray for us when we can’t for ourselves.  Thank you for giving us your Word in scriptures to guide us and show us the way to you.  Help us to love you, to pray to you, to respect you, to acknowledge you, and to obey you.  Help us to keep your name holy.  Help us to pray the Lord’s Prayer and not just recite it.  I ask you this through your Son, Jesus.  Amen.
 
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Reflective questions for Matthew 6:9 (KJV):
*What does Matthew 6:9 mean to me?
*Do I recite the Lord’s Prayer or do I pray the Lord’s Prayer?
*Do I think about and ponder the words of the Lord’s Prayer?
*Do I follow and heed the words of the Lord’s Prayer?
*Do I acknowledge, love, and respect God as my Heavenly Father?
*Do I keep God’s name holy?
*Am I repulsed when someone else doesn’t love God or keep His name holy?
*Do I say something when someone doesn’t keep our Heavenly Father’s name
 holy?
*How would I feel if someone took my name in vain?
*How would I feel if my children didn’t love me or honor me, as they should?
*How would I feel if my loved ones didn’t love me in return as I thought they
 should?
 
Now, it is your turn.
     I would like to know your thoughts.  Let me know in the comments.  Thank you.  I appreciate you being here and taking the time to read my posts.

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