Matthew 6:9-13 (NRSVCE)
9 “Pray then in this way:
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
10 Your kingdom come.
Your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And do not bring us to the time of trial,
but rescue us from the evil one.
Amen.
What a beautiful prayer! When Jesus was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” And then Jesus made this as their guide and for all generations to come on how we should pray. But as he wants us to pray in this way, he is also teaching us many things in this beautiful prayer. First and foremost, he wants us to know that our Almighty GOD is our Father and GOD’s name is Our Father. Jesus taught that to pray is not merely to memorize the Lord’s Prayer, but to process ourselves on how we can enter into the holy presence of GOD.
And before anyone could fervently believe in or pray to GOD and to enter in His holy presence, he must first know who is HE, and it starts from knowing His Name. To know His Name is to know His Divine Nature and Character. Romans 10:13-14 says “…. 13 For, “every one who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.” 14 But how are men to call upon him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without a preacher?” Now let’s begin to know Him.
In the beginning, GOD is our creator at first and His Name is Elohim, an interesting plural form of One GOD. Elohim is also called Elohay and Elah or El in other form combined with the word that describes who is GOD. Throughout the Holy Scriptures, GOD continues to work and reveal His Nature and Character through His Name. In the Old Testament, here are some of the Names of GOD Elohim to reveal Who He is: El Elyon - The Most High God (Gen. 14:18), El Roi – The God Who See (Gen. 16:13), El Olam - The God Of Eternity (Gen. 21:33), Elohay Elohim - God Of Gods and El HaGadol - The Great God (Deut. 10:17), Elohay Kedem - God of the Beginning (Deut. 33:27), Elohim Kedoshim - Holy God (Lev.19:2, Josh 24:19), El De'ot - The God Of Knowledge (1 Sam 2:3), El/Elah Yisrael - The God Of Israel (Psa. 68:35, Ezra 5:1), Elah Sh'maya V'Arah - God of Heaven and Earth (Ezra 5:11), Elah Yerush'lem - God of Jerusalem (Ezra 7:19), Elah Sh'maya - God of Heaven (Ezra 7:23), Elohay Selichot - God Of Forgiveness (Neh. 9:17), El HaKadosh - The Holy God (Isa. 5:16), Immanu El - God Is With Us (Isa 7:14), El Yeshuati - The God Of My Salvation (Isa. 12:2), Elohim Chaiyim - Living God (Jer 10:10), El Echad - The One God (Mal. 2:10),… Those names indicate His relationship or roles to the people whom He revealed Himself.
But before we proceed to GOD’s Name in our time, let’s see how the Scripture sums up all those attributes when GOD revealed who is HE to Moses in the burning bush. HE is YHWH (Yahweh) or YHVH (Jehovah), translated as LORD which comes from the Hebrew word “to be” I AM WHO I AM. This is the Eternal Name of GOD (Exo. 3:14-15) which declares the absolute being of GOD being Who HE is, HE is. Here are some examples of YHVH found in the Old Testament: YHVH Elohim - LORD God (Gen. 2:4), YHVH Yireh - The LORD Who Provides (Gen. 22:14), YHVH Shalom - The LORD Of Peace (Judg. 6:24), YHVH Tzidkaynu - The LORD Our Righteousness (Jer. 33:16), YHVH M'kadesh - The LORD Who Sanctify (Ezk. 37:28),…
Now in the time of Jesus early ministry, Lord Jesus revealed to them that the Name of Our God is Our Father in Heaven. And this Name is also to us and will be forever. Yes, HE is our Father. His Name is Avinu shbaShomayim - Our Father in heaven (Matthew 6:9), our Abba in Mark 14:36. This is His plan for us in the New Covenant. John 1:12-13 says; “But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave the power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” GOD, our Father in Heaven wants us to be His children to believe his Name and be consecrated in His Name. The Word of God, Dvar Hashem (Rev: 19:13), that became flesh who is Jesus Christ, our Lord, our Savior. But until we say AMEN in its true sense, or declare our faith to the fulfillment of His Word in our lives, believe and accept His promise, as True and Faithful Witness (Rev 3:14), we cannot be called His children. It is important that we know, understand, and believe that the GOD who we are calling and we praying to every day has a Name for us: Our Father in Heaven, Our Abba, believing in His Word, declaring AMEN because we truly understand His Word in our hearts through the helper, the Spirit of God.. Saint Paul said in Galatians 4:6, “And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”.” In Jesus name, we are given the power to call GOD, “Our Father”. Jesus said this is how we pray, “Our Father in Heaven, Hallowed be thy Name...” we have to call Him not only “Lord, Lord…” but by His Name, “Our Father”. 1 John 3 says, “See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.”
How blessed we are to be called children of GOD because of His Name, Our Father to us. But as children of GOD, we are required to be holy for Our Father is holy. So when we pray again this time, we should be able to recognize that as we approach GOD who is our Father, He is Holy and Holy is His Name. AMEN
Comments