Keeping God's Name Holy

Keeping God's Name Holy – January 7, 2020

Today I read the passage in Matthew where the Lord’s Prayer is recorded. I have been reading the New Living Translation for a while now and I love how it phrases some of the very familiar passage.

Our Father in heaven,
    may your name be kept holy.
¹⁰ May your Kingdom come soon.
May your will be done on earth,
    as it is in heaven.
¹¹ Give us today the food we need,
¹² and forgive us our sins,
    as we have forgiven those who sin against us.
¹³ And don’t let us yield to temptation,
    but rescue us from the evil one.

I love the phrase “may your name be kept holy.” What an amazing thing to pray every day. In a world where the name of God is often spoken of with hatred or in jest, this is my cry. I want God’s name to always be holy. How flippantly do we use God’s name? I find myself in moments of carelessness using his name in such a way that does not bring glory to it. Oh, may the Lord forgive me those times when I do this. We should stand apart from the world in this regard. We should use his name in such a way that others around us know that we love him.

I have gotten very lax about this with my children. The speech that comes from them is, at times, not very honoring to God. They are always arguing with me that a specific word may or may not be a bad one. I know one word that we have had a lot of discussion about lately is “suck.” I know that they have picked up different words from television and videos and friends and, if I am being truthful, from me. It is not a word I use regularly but I have said it. Something will not go our way and we automatically say, “That sucks.” Some people would think that it is not a big deal. It is something that the Lord has convicted me on. As soon as I say those words, I know that it does bring honor to God. When I hear my children say it, I cringe.

I have been purposing in my heart to call my children and myself out on when a word we say is not honoring to God. My heart just keeps being drawn back to Ephesians 4.

²⁹ Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.

³⁰ And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own,^[e] guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.

³¹ Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. ³² Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.

I keep reminding my children that if it does not bring encouragement to someone then they should probably not say it.  This verse is my prayer for my children right now. That they would desire to be kind to each other and have their words be holy ones that bring glory to God. I need to seek the Lord’s forgiveness for setting a bad example to my children. For allowing them to get flippant with their words. For being lax with my own speech. For letting them treat each other in ways that are not honoring to God. For not pointing them continually to Christ as the perfect example in how to treat each other.

Lord, forgive me and give me a renewed heart to call my children to follow you.

I was reading my devotional, Praying Through the Bible For Your Kids this morning and the prayer today just struck me as one I need to be praying daily.

“Father, may we keep you name holy. May our home be an outpost of your Kingdom, and may all who live here gladly conform to your will and your ways. You are the source of everything we need, and we ask you to provide as you see fit. You are the only one who can grant us forgiveness and the grace to forgive each other. You are our only source of power to say no to sinful desires, and our only source of rescue from the evil one who wants to claim us and our children as his own for eternity.”

May this be prayer today and every day.