We pray to a holy God. Read Matthew 6:9. Prayer is conversation with God. Jesus taught us to pray what we now call “The Lord’s Prayer". We begin our prayer addressing God as “Our Father". This title describes the kind of relationship we have with God. God is a loving God who cares for us and provides for us. We are God’s children. Don’t get too caught up in the gender of the title. God is neither male nor female. God is a spiritual all-powerful Creator being who is also loving, kind, and nurturing. We pray to a God who is in heaven. Heaven is a spiritual realm, but in some contexts that includes the physical universe with its infinity. Our phrase “in heaven” is more of an acknowledgement that God is not contained to the earth or any specific location. Then we pray “Hallowed be thy name". "Hallowed" means "holy". Holy is pure and set apart, untainted by evil. God’s name in Hebrew is YHWH. It is considered so holy that people were forbidden to speak it out loud. If a Jewish Rabbi was reading the Torah (Hebrew Bible) and came across the word YHWH, he would say “Adonai” instead. God’s name was so holy that people did not want to taint its holiness by speaking it with sinful lips. Regardless of what prayer we pray or what name for God we use, we must pause to consider that we are praying to God Almighty, Creator of the Universe, whose name is holy. 



Let’s pray. Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty. We come to you seeking your love, mercy, and favor for this day. Empower us with your Holy Spirit and make us holy as you are holy. Amen.