Jesus begins the Lord's Prayer not with our needs but with God's glory. Long before we consider our daily needs, forgiveness and protection - we are taught by our master that our chief concern is God's glory. God's name is to be honored above everything else. As C.H. Spurgeon reminds believers, "Prayer is not first for our benefit but for God's glory. We begin where heaven begins, adoration."

The chief purpose of prayer; the chief purpose of our lives is that God, our God, be worshipped, revered and glorified.

Elders in a local body do not simply instruct the congregation, protect and oversee the life of a church but shepherd the flock of God with joyful worshipful hearts, magnifying God's name in the office he has given to the church. Similarly, deacons do not merely serve tables but magnify God's name through faithful service. In the church, every act of mercy, administration, generosity, humility and love should direct attention away from ourselves and toward the holiness of God.

To "hallow" means to treat as holy, sacred, honored and worthy of reverence. God's name is already perfectly holy (Isaiah 6:3). Luther observed in his small catechism, "God's name is indeed holy in itself, but we pray in this petition that it may be kept holy among us also."

Therefore, this petition is not asking God to become holy but asking Him to cause His holiness to be recognized and honored throughout the earth - throughout our neighborhoods, and especially in our own hearts.

Spurgeon in his work The Gospel of the Kingdom meditating on Matthew 6:9 reflects, "The first petition is a lesson in Holy reverence. We desire above all things that God may be known, loved, honored and obeyed."

His "name" represents His entire character :

His holiness

His justice

His mercy

His faithfulness

His sovereignty

His saving grace

This petition drives us to reflect on His attributes, His characteristics, All that He is. To the end that His character be treasured, His reputation honored, His glory displayed.

Our Master does not begin with: "give us" or "forgive us" or "protect us." Instead, He begins with God Himself.

This echos the first table of the law and Jesus' summary of it, "to love the Lord your God with all your heart" (Matthew 22: 37).

A rightly ordered prayer begins with worship.