I’m sure it comes to no surprise to you that I enjoy reading old letters and books. It’s amazing to see how the style of writing has changed over the years. Even in my lifetime, writing has become a lot less formal. Many of the grammar rules that I grew up learning are not being used anymore because people say they’re too formal. I guess in some ways that’s good. But in some ways we’re losing something. One of the ways it’s most noticeable is in our written communication. I have just recently been introduced to the world of cell phone texting. I am becoming more and more convinced that texting will be the downfall of the English language as we know it. I thought email was bad. Texting is worse. Especially if you get a text from a teenager. Nothing is spelled out. It’s all abbreviated or in some kind of undecipherable code language. Every time the send button is pressed, Noah Webster turns over in his grave. But seriously, it is interesting to compare the way we write things with the way things were written in the past. Some grammar rules have changed. Some word meanings have changed. Some of the way we use punctuation has changed. Everything is a whole lot less structured and formal. And there is no place where that is more noticeable than in the way we begin. In the past, books and letters always began with a very formal greeting. I have some reprints of some books from the 1800s where the greeting goes on for hundreds of words. Here’s an example that most of us are familiar with. Many King James Bibles include the original title page greeting in the front. I don’t know if you’ve ever taken the time to read it, but you might want to sometime. It brings attention to how different the world of the translators was from our own. One of the ways it was different was in their greeting. It starts off, “To the most high and mighty prince James. By the grace of God, King of Great Britain, France, and Ireland. Defender of the Faith, etc.” Now, you compare that to the typical email greeting today. At best, it’ll have your name and a comma. Most of the time there’s nothing there at all. We’ve gotten out of the greeting business. And, unfortunately, many times we carry that over to our prayer life. At best, we might start off, “Lord, comma.” But that’s not how Jesus told us to pray, is it? We started off reading the entire Lord’s Prayer. But tonight we’re going to focus on just the first part in verse 9. Tonight we’re going to focus on the greeting. How do you greet the Lord in prayer? Do you greet Him formally like an 18th century letter? Do you greet Him casually like we greet each other? Or do you completely leave out a greeting to the Lord like we do in emails today? However you have greeted the Lord in prayer in the past, I trust that you will leave here tonight seeing how Jesus taught us to greet the Lord in prayer. Because the way you greet the Lord in prayer will tell you a lot about who He is to you. As a matter of fact, the way you greet the Lord in prayer speaks loudly and clearly of three things. First, it speaks of your relationship.
The way you greet the Lord in prayer speaks of your relationship. Jesus said that when you pray, you are to call on your Father. In our society, Satan attacks the family more than any other institution. More than human government. Even more than the church. Why is that? Because when the family is destroyed, God’s pictures are destroyed. God gives us His Word in written form in the Bible. But the Bible doesn’t come with pictures. That’s because God gave us pictures in the world around us. He tells us all about the relationship between Jesus and His church in the Bible. But He shows us a picture of it in the marriage relationship. In the same way, God tells us all about His relationship with those He’s saved in the Bible. And He gives us a beautiful picture of it in the relationship between a father and his children. Now, tell me how well that picture comes through when a child is beaten or abused by his father. Tell me how well it comes through when a father is worthless or lazy or drunk or unloving. Tell me how well it comes through when a child doesn’t even know who his father is. Satan is working overtime to destroy the pictures that God has given us of His love… the pictures of His intimate relationship with those He’s saved. But whatever picture you have in your mind of your earthly father… if Jesus has saved you, God is your heavenly Father. He is intimately involved in every aspect of your life. He knows you better than you know yourself and will never reject you. He will never abandon you, leave you or forsake you. He will lovingly supply all your needs. And He will chastise you and discipline you when you need it. When Jesus saves you, you are adopted into the family of God. You become heirs and joint heirs with Jesus Christ Himself. Galatians 4:4-7 says, “But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.” That word “Abba” is an Aramaic word. The New Testament was written in Greek, but Aramaic was what most of the Jews spoke in their everyday conversations. And Abba was what little children would call their fathers. It wasn’t formal like “father”. It was tender and innocent—more like “daddy”. If Jesus was speaking the Lord’s prayer to his disciples, that’s the word He would have used. When Jesus saves you, your relationship with God is such that He wants you to cry out to Him as your daddy. He loves you more than any earthly father ever could. 1 John 3:1 says, “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.” There is nothing that my children could ever do or say that would cause me to quit loving them. And I’m just a flawed, weak human being. How much more is the Father’s love for His children? How much more faithful is He in hearing your cry? How much more thrilled is He to hear your voice and relish in your love and adoration for Him? How much more willing to give you exceedingly abundantly more than you can ever ask or think? That’s the kind of relationship your greeting in prayer speaks of. It speaks of God as your Father. But not only does the way you greet the Lord in prayer speak of your relationship, it speaks of your reference point.
The way you greet the Lord in prayer speaks of your reference point. Jesus said that when you pray, you are to call on your Father which art in heaven. Just as we begin to get caught up in the fact that God is our Daddy, Jesus gives us a little reality check. Oh, yeah—this Daddy you have is no ordinary daddy. I have a very dear friend who was at one time an aide to one of the most powerful generals in the Air Force. Over time, they became very close. They spent all hours of the day and night together and trusted each other implicitly. They enjoyed each other’s company and their families spent off-duty time together. They even went on some vacations together. They were as good of friends as you can imagine. But the fact remained that my friend was a captain. And this man was a powerful 4-star general who controlled the majority of our nation’s nuclear arsenal. A lowly aide. And a man who was responsible for world peace through deterrence. And was capable of complete global annihilation. So, when I asked my friend how he addressed the general in private, it made sense that he still called him general and sir. If nothing else, it reminded him of who the general was. And it reminded him of who he was in relation to the general. That is the same thing Jesus is telling us. Yes, God is our Father. He loves to hear us cry out to Him as our daddy. When Jesus saves us, we have an intimate relationship with God that is closer than you can ever imagine or describe. But the fact remains that He is God. He is the only truly Holy One. He is the One who Isaiah saw, “high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.” He is the same God that Ezekiel saw in Ezekiel 1:26-28: “And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it. And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about. As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake.” He is the same God that John saw in Revelation 1:13-16: “And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.” Yes, we are to have such an intimate relationship with God that we see Him as our loving and caring Daddy. But at the same time, we always remember that He is God and we’re not. You always need to keep a heavenly reference point. Remember that God is everywhere at all times, but His throne is in heaven. That is the center of His rule and reign. That was the place where He spoke the universe into existence. And that is the place where He will bring about the events in 2 Peter 3:10: “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” That is the God who you are addressing in prayer. That is the reference point you need to keep. The way you greet the Lord in prayer speaks of your relationship with Him as your Father. And it speaks of your eternal reference point with Him ruling and reigning from Heaven. Finally, it also speaks of your resource.
The way you greet the Lord in prayer speaks of your resource. What an awesome resource we have in God. When the Bible speaks of someone’s name, it speaks of their character. It speaks of their nature. It speaks of who they really are. So when Jesus says that God’s name is hallowed, He’s not just talking about what to call God. He’s speaking of God’s essence. Who He really is in His being. Hallowed is an old King James word that just means to be holy. In plain English, what you are saying is, “our Father who is in Heaven, your name is Holy.” When God is holy, it means that He is set apart. He is categorically different than anything else. He is to be praised and magnified and exalted above all others. He is worthy of all honor and glory and praise because of who He is. Because of the name that He holds. God reveals His nature to us in His names. In the Old Testament, God reveals His nature using eight different compound names. He reveals Himself as YHWH Tsid-kenu. That is “The Lord our Righteousness.” He reveals Himself as YHWH Makaddesh. That is “The Lord who Sanctifies.” He reveals Himself as YHWH Shalom. That is “The Lord our Peace.” He reveals Himself as YHWH Shammah. That is “The Lord who is there.” He reveals Himself as YHWH Rapha. That is “The Lord who Heals.” He reveals Himself as YHWH Jirah. That is “The Lord who Provides.” He reveals Himself as YHWH Nissi. That is “The Lord my Banner.” He reveals Himself as YHWH Rohi. That is “The Lord who is my Shepherd.” I want you to think about how it would change your prayer life if you were to hallow each of those names for God. Think about the times when you are struggling with a sin problem. What a resource to be able to call on the name of God who is the Lord of your Righteousness. Think about the times when you really see how far you fall short of what God expects of you. How comforting to call on the name of God who is the Lord who Sanctifies. Think about the times when you are stressed out and full of worry and anxiety. What a relief to call on the name of God who is the Lord of your Peace. Think about the times in your life when you are lonely and hurting emotionally. What a blessing to call on the name of God who is the Lord who is there and never leaves. Think about the times when you are sick and physically hurting. What a comfort to call on the name of God who is the Lord who Heals. Think about the times when you can’t seem to figure out how to make both ends meet. When an unexpected expense makes you wonder how you’ll get it all paid. What a resource to call on the name of God who is the Lord who Provides. Think about the times when you don’t know which way to turn. Or the times when you just feel like you have no meaning or purpose in life. What a relief to call on the name of God who is the Lord your Banner. Who is the One who stands before you with your purpose and direction. And think about that time when you will walk through the valley of the shadow of death. What a comfort to know that you can fear no evil when you call on the name of God who is the Lord your Shepherd. Those eight names are wonderful and hallowed. They are an ever present help in times of trouble. But there is one Name that is above all names. Hebrews 1:1-3 says, “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.” Jesus is the name above all names. His name is to be hallowed above all names. It is only at the name of Jesus that every knee will bow and every tongue confess.
Is Jesus your resource tonight? Is His name hallowed in your prayers? Is His name hallowed in your life? One time Jesus was speaking to a group of Pharisees. He called them a generation of vipers because their words didn’t match their lifestyle. He said, “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.” Do the words of your prayers match the life you live? Do you call on a holy God with the same mouth you gossip or slander or curse or backbite? Today is the day to set things right. Today is the day to call on the Lord intimately as your Daddy. Today is the day to call on the Lord reverently as your infinite reference point. And today is the day to call on the Lord humbly as your resource. He will provide. He will sustain. He will comfort. And He will save. All you have to do is call on Him and He will answer.
