The prayer guide of Jesus

Jesus gave us a guide to prayer. He tucked it right in the middle of his sermon on the mount (Matt. 5-7). We call it the Lord’s Prayer. It begins: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name (Matt. 6:9).  The word hallowed is closely connected with the word holy, and it means to be set apart. Another way to think about this is that “God is God, and we are not.” Because he is God we are to reverence him.

This is a great way to start your prayer (Matt. 6:9), and to end it (Matt. 6:13).

But how do we remember this truth daily? How can this idea of reverencing God become a natural part of our prayer time? Perhaps the answer is also found in that opening line of the prayer: “hallowed be your name” What if we recited and reflected upon the names of God in our prayer time? We could also include his attributes in this list. How might that shape and deepen our time of prayer? I’ve included a PDF listing of those names and attributes of God that I trust you’ll find helpful. It is not exhaustive, but a good start. The Hebrew names have been transliterated with a phrase giving their meaning.You may access the list here:  The names and attributes of God

My recommendation is that when you pray you take a few of these qualities and dwell upon them. Express your thankfulness to God that He possesses these attributes. Following Jesus’ pattern, give significant time to praising God before you move on to the rest of your prayer time. In this way your prayer, just like Jesus’, will begin with a time of reverence.

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things. Blessed be his glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with his glory! Amen and Amen!  (Psalm 72:18-19)