Priority Hallowed

What’s Your Highest Priority?

The issues [real-world problems] themselves are real and must be dealt with in their place. But it is tragic that, in paying attention to them, so many in our day seem to have been distracted from what was, is, and always will be the true priority for every human being—that is, learning how to know God in Christ. J. I. Packer

The skylines of most major cities feature large buildings with huge signs atop them. Corporations have long recognized the economic benefit of hoisting their names as high as possible. The higher the name, the greater the visibility. The greater the visibility, the more exposure to the masses. The more exposure you get, the better your likelihood of being known. And the more known your brand, the more used it will be. There is a direct connection between exaltation—lifting your name high—and profitability.

What about God? Jesus said, “hallowed be thy name.” Andrew Murry wrote, “In this name of Love all the holiness and glory of God are now to be revealed” God’s name needs to be higher than any corporate sign.

As followers of Jesus, we ought to be motivated by a desire to see God’s name exalted, or hallowed, throughout our lives. No other name deserves more prominence. Biblically, there’s no confusion or fogginess about this. In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus prayed that His Father’s name would be seen with incredible clarity—as if in bright lights on a cloudless night and tall, bold letters on a sunny day. Looking back on the practices of the ancient nation of Israel, we can see how the people failed to make God a priority and live the hallowed. At the end of King Solomon’s reign, Israel began descending into national idolatry. They placed many of the altars on “high places.” These idolatrous worship sites became so entrenched in ancient Israel’s culture that they remained in place through the reign of fourteen kings totaling more than 200 years. Not until Hezekiah were they torn down.

The name Hezekiah means “the Lord strengthens.” During his reign of twenty-nine years (715–687), King Hezekiah needed God’s strength to accomplish all that he did. Hezekiah was different. “He did right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father David had done. He removed the high places and broke down the sacred pillars and cut down the Asherah. (2 Kings 18:3–4)” This powerful act by Hezekiah glorified God’s name. Hezekiah had his and his nation’s priorities clear He placed God first and hallowed His name.

Do you have your priorities straight? Are you putting God in the “high place” of your life? Every one of us is born with a “high place” inside us, a personal throne that is our cherished seat of life and power. Today pray the Lord’s Prayer and say, with conviction, “Hallowed be Your name” is so urgent because we are constantly inclined to seat our personal pride and ego in the seat that’s rightfully God’s. We’re trying, like those signs atop the skyscrapers, to make a name for ourselves. We’re putting ourselves as our top priority, instead of God.

Working through the “hallowed” portion of the Lord’s Prayer exposes the roots of our self-centeredness and motivates us to a God-first life.

King Hezekiah didn’t waste any time putting God first in his life and getting his nation back to worship the true and living God. He knew that “hallowing” the name of God, was his first priority. What’s your first priority? Is it work? Is it building wealth? Is it merely holding on during all the chaos and uncertainty of this world? Whatever your first priority is, stop and change it right now to hallow God in all things and commit to praying with Jesus, the Lord’s Prayer.

Portions of this blog post were taken from Brilliant: Unleashing Life Through the Lord’s Prayer. Available at Amazon.