So you shall keep my commandments and do them: I am the Lord. And you shall not profane my holy name, that I may be sanctified among the people of Israel. I am the Lord who sanctifies you, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God: I am the Lord.
– Leviticus 22:31–33
I’d want to draw the connection between these verses and the way Jesus teaches us to pray in the Lord’s prayer in Matthew 6 and Luke 11. The whole picture here in Leviticus is God saying, “I am the Lord. I am holy. And you are my people who represent my holiness to each other and to the world around you.”
Leviticus 22:31–33 shows how obedience reflects God’s holiness.
This is why he says here in Verse 32, “You shall not profane my holy name.” He’s calling them to glorify, honor, His name as holy in their lives, and their community, and their relationships with each other, and their relationship with the nations around them. That’s the whole picture.
All throughout the law, from Genesis to Deuteronomy, God is saying, “I’m giving you commandments to follow.” Deuteronomy 4 really spells this out super clearly and says, “When you follow these commandments, you will show my wisdom, and my goodness, and my love to the nations around you. And they will see my goodness and my love, and my holiness in the way you live.” Now, anybody who’s read the Old Testament knows God’s people did the exact opposite. They profaned his name. They didn’t obey his commandments. As a result, God’s name, God’s holiness, God’s goodness, and God’s glory were not displayed through them the way God desired, and designed for them.
Leviticus 22:31–33 teaches us to make God’s glory our first priority.
So we get to the New Testament and Jesus teaches us to pray. And what is the first thing He says? “Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be your name.” Pray for the name of God, our Father, to be hallowed, to be honored as holy. And now make the connection with your life, my life today. Is this the supreme desire of our lives today? The first prayer from our lips, God glorify your name through our lives. Glorify your name, cause your name to be honored in my thoughts today, in my desires, in the words that I speak, in the way I live, in everything I do.
And, God, cause your name to be hallowed in and through my family, my friendships, and then through the way I work. Cause your name to be glorified, cause your name to be hallowed in the community and the city where I live. Cause people to see your name is great. And help me and the church family I’m a part of to live toward that end.
This verse teaches us to honor God’s name through obedience.
Oh, I’m already starting to pray, so let’s just dive in. God, we pray this, hallowed be your name in all the Earth, in every facet of our lives. We pray today. Just like you taught us to pray Jesus. And just like you said to your people here in Leviticus 22. Oh God, help us to obey your commandments today. Help us to be holy in all the ways you call us to be holy,… Including what we prayed in Leviticus 19… With the way we love others as ourselves today. God, in ways that exalt your name. Lord, we want to show the greatness of who you are, your goodness, your love, your mercy, your justice, your kindness, with the way we live today, that others, in a Matthew 5:16 kind of way, might see our lives, our good works, and give glory to your name.
God, we pray for whatever situations we find ourself in right now in our lives. We pray for the circumstances surrounding us. We pray for everything on our schedules today, tomorrow. Hallowed be your name, oh God, cause your name to be honored through the way we live. And, God, we pray for this in the cities where we live, and the churches we’re a part of. God, cause your name to be known as holy through our churches. Cause your name to be known as great in our cities, in our nations, and wherever we live.
Prayer for the Malay People
God, we pray that you would cause your name to be known as great among all the nations… Among all the people groups of the world… For the Malay of Malaysia… For 18 million of them who need to hear the good news of your name… That haven’t heard your love in Jesus. Lord, we pray that the Malay people would be reached with your love, your grace, your mercy, that they might hallow your name.
God, we pray for the hallowing of your name in all the Earth… And in every facet of our lives today, tomorrow, in everything. Sanctify us that your name might be hallowed through us. Make us holy that the world might know your holiness, your goodness, your grace, your mercy, through us as your people. We pray this in light of your word in Leviticus Chapter 22. In Jesus’ name, amen.
David Platt serves as a Lead Pastor for McLean Bible Church. He is also the Founder of Radical, an organization that helps people follow Jesus and make him known in their neighborhood and all nations.
David received his B.A. from the University of Georgia and M.Div., Th.M., and Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Some of his published works include Radical, Radical Together, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, and Don’t Hold Back.
He lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area with his wife and children.
