God is above all things. He is greater than everything, and deserves recognition for that! That is what we mean when we say ‘hallowed be your name’, or in another version ‘Your Name be kept holy’.

To hallow something is to treat it with the highest of honour, and to set it apart as Holy.

We are doing two things when we say this phrase. Firstly, we are declaring to all that God is above all, and that God is holy. Secondly, we are praising God for who He is, before we even consider asking for anything!

Declaration

Our declaration is not just a public declaration to others, but a personal declaration, that in our life God is the most important thing. He is greater than our kids, our spouse, our computer, our smartphone, ourselves or even our Facebook account. God is Greater. God is more important; God is held highest in our lives.

What does this mean? This for me is a reminder – God is above all, and comes first. The will of God is greater than anything else. Especially in our individualistic western society, this is a reminder that we could all do with, more than once a day! God is greater! God is greater than my needs! God is greater than my wants! His Kingdom is greater than mine! Everything I do should first be passed through the filter of ‘God is greater’. Is what I am doing against God, or His revealed will? Is what I am doing advancing His kingdom, or mine only?

By declaring God is above all things, including our personal lives, we are reminded not to be selfish, not to be self-centred, not even to be focussed on the needs of others, but to put Him before all things.

Praise

Secondly, by declaring that God is above all things, we are also praising Him for that same fact. By declaring God is first in our lives and that He is holy, we praise God in our actions.

And important part of this praise though is that it is the first action after we have addressed our prayer – we praise God for who He is. We hold Him higher than anything else. We declare that He is indeed holy.

Hallowed be your name.

By declaring God is holy and above all things, and by praising Him at the same time, we put everything else in perspective. God IS greater. Everything we pray after this comes in the light that our Father in Heaven is the greatest being there is, and that He deserves to be in the highest place in our lives.

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