Revered as holy, respected, honored. It starts there. Without this foundation, all else is but a dead religion of laws and rules and works. Truth starts with the hallowed name of God, reverence for greatness and power that we can not even fathom.

Hallowed begins at the revelation of that greatness, the overwhelming glorious righteousness, the unending power to speak universes into existence. There is none like this but God.

Our prayers, our walk, our lives must be rooted in the foundation of due respect for God’s holiness and sovereignty. It must be real, the guiding force of our every act. The “fear of God” which gives birth to wisdom comes from this realization of unfathomable power.

What if the “lords prayer” stopped there? What if it was so true and all the world walked in reverence to the hallowed holy name of God? There would be no more crime, no more abuse, no more cheating, no more suffering, no more evil at all, because men would remain in awe of the god of creation. All prayers would be answered in this one truth…

Hallowed be thy name.

Not me, not you, not your favorite personality, not your favorite author or group, but God and God alone. He is so far above all else, all else is but “filthy rags” by comparison. We put God alone as worthy of praise, no one else.

Any man, any, that draws attention to himself, in any way, violates this. Any man that claims ability of himself is deceived. Any man who claims success of himself, deceives others. Truth is in our humility because all good things come from above, not from within. Are we to steal God’s glory? Are we to claim ourselves worthy of praise? Heaven forbid! Only God’s name is to be revered. Only His name is to be praised. He is not one of many, He is all.

Jesus said to start prayer with this, hallowed be thy name, because this is the beginning of all. Go to the Father and give Him proper respect, ask Him to reveal His holiness to you. Ask Him to let you see His glory! Moses did… And God allowed it. He, your loving Father, wants to reveal Himself to you too. Just ask.

It all starts with respect, with honor, with revelation of who God really is. Let our prayer be to truly honor our Father with the sovereign respect He deserves. Once we experience that in a deep and personal way, everything else falls into place.