October 20, prayers first priority. Pray then like this, our Father in heaven, hallowed be your

name. Matthew 6.9. In the Lord's prayer, Jesus teaches that the first priority in praying is to ask our Heavenly Father

to cause his name to be hallowed in us, in the church, in the world, everywhere. Notice

that this is a petition, a request. It is not a declaration or acclamation.

It is not an expression of praise, but petition.

For years, I misread the Lord's prayer as if it began with praise.

Praise God!

The Lord's name is hallowed, revered, honored. But it is not acclamation. It is supplication.

It is a request to God that he would see to it that his own name be hallowed.

It is like another text, Matthew 938, where Jesus tells us to pray to the Lord of the harvest

that he would send out laborers into his own harvest.

It never ceases to amaze me that we, we laborers, should be instructed to ask the owner of the farm who knows the harvest better

than we do to add on more farm hands. But isn't this the same thing we have here in

the Lord's Prayer? Jesus is telling us to ask God, who is infinitely jealous for the honor of his own

name, to see to it that his name be hallowed, which means honored, revered, exalted,

as supremely precious. Well, it may amaze us, but there it is, and it teaches us two things.

One is that prayer does not move God to do things he is disinclined to do.

He has every intention to cause his name to be hallowed.

Nothing is higher on God's priority list, but we should ask anyway.

The other is that prayer is God's way of bringing our priorities into line with His.

God wills to make great things the consequence of our prayers

when our prayers are the consequence of His great purposes.

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