Teaching his disciples how to pray to God, God's beloved Son, Jesus Christ, began the model prayer with, "Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
" (Matthew 6:9, American Standard Version) When we pray "Hallowed be thy name," we are seeking sanctification and glory for God's name.
Putting this at the start of his model prayer, Jesus indicated that our first priority in life should be glorifying God's name.
But in order to glorify God's name, we first need to know what it is.
The Old Testament (Hebrew Scriptures) tells us God's personal name nearly seven thousand times.
His holy name written in the Hebrew Scriptures is YHWH (written Biblical Hebrew uses no vowels), from which scholars get "Yahweh," meaning "He Chooses to Become" or "He Who Causes to Be.
" The English form of this name is "Jehovah.
" What a perfect name for this Awesome Creator! Truly, no other could rightfully own this name.
Now that we know God's name, we must keep it strictly holy and sacred.
In Exodus 20:7, Yahweh tells us: "Thou shalt not take the name of Jehovah thy God in vain; for Jehovah will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
" We take Yahweh's name in vain when we use His name or "God" in meaningless ways, such as saying, "God bless you" when people sneeze, exclaiming "Oh, my God!" as an interjection, and cursing, "God d*** it.
" We also take His name in vain when 1) we do something bad and say God told us to do it, 2) blame Him for our problems, 3) do anything sinful in His name, 4) joke about Him, His name, His nature, and His plans and purposes; and 5) when we do not honor Him for who He is.
Therefore, God's name means more than simply a label.
His name signifies His nature, His essence, His complete and absolute glory.
Hence, when we sanctify God's name, we are sanctifying more than a name--we are sanctifying Yahweh Himself.
But how do we glorify God's name? Is saying, "Oh, God, let your name be sanctified" all we need to do? No, that is not enough.
How can we truly glorify His name? "Glorify" means to praise, honor, exalt, extol, and to show respect.
To glorify God is to show our highest devotion to Him, to hold Him in the highest place in our hearts.
It is worshipping our very Life-Giver.
In essence, glorifying Yahweh is loving Yahweh; it all boils down to true love.
As you can imagine, we have countless ways to glorify Yahweh.
Paul, one of the greatest apostles of Jesus Christ, said, "Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.
" (1 Corinthians 10:31, ASV) How do I personally glorify Yahweh? When I'm able to overcome my blindness and multiple physical disabilities, I glorify God.
When I'm able to recognize all of the blessings Yahweh has graciously bestowed upon me, I glorify Him.
When I put all my dreams, hope, and faith in Him, I glorify Him.
When I learn about Him, I glorify Him.
When I spread His Word, I glorify Him.
Simply put, all my works are to glorify God, just as all of Jesus Christ's works are to glorify God.
But I don't do all this on my own--Yahweh helps me with everything.
How about you? How do you personally glorify Yahweh?