Sometimes it seems we have become a little too familiar with God. While such certainly sounds a bit strange since a part of our spiritual journey involves knowing God in a more intimate and personal way, it is also true that He is not like the best friend who lives up the street. When Jesus was teaching His disciples about praying, He taught them to pray, "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name..." (Matthew 6:9) As He taught them to pray, He was also giving them instructions to view with reference the name of God. Instead of surrounding His name with familiarity, it is better to let it be shrouded with awe and mystery.
Back in the day when the Ten Commandments were etched in stone on the mountain, the third Word was, "You shall not take the name of the Lord Your God in vain..." (Exodus 20:7). Earlier when Moses was a wilderness man trying to get out from under the compelling call of God, He asked God, "...What shall I say to them?" when the people ask Your name. And in response God said, "I am who I am." (Exodus 3:13-14) And, of course, there also came a time in the Hebrew's response to God when His name became to sacred to speak.
When we pray what we have come to know as the Lord's Prayer, there are those words early on which remind us of the sacred nature of the God to whom we pray. Not only should His very name be spoken with whispered awe, reverence, and respect, but such should also infiltrate our attitude toward Him. We are invited to offer our prayers to Him not because we are privileged people who walk alongside of Him as an equal, but because of the unmerited favor known as grace which He showers down upon us. The One to whom we pray is God. God is not like anyone else. And though we are created in His image, we are still not like Him. We need not worry about putting Him on a pedestal, He already sits on a throne "high and lifted up." (Isaiah 6:1)
When we pray what we have come to know as the Lord's Prayer, there are those words early on which remind us of the sacred nature of the God to whom we pray. Not only should His very name be spoken with whispered awe, reverence, and respect, but such should also infiltrate our attitude toward Him. We are invited to offer our prayers to Him not because we are privileged people who walk alongside of Him as an equal, but because of the unmerited favor known as grace which He showers down upon us. The One to whom we pray is God. God is not like anyone else. And though we are created in His image, we are still not like Him. We need not worry about putting Him on a pedestal, He already sits on a throne "high and lifted up." (Isaiah 6:1)
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