Was the Doxology of the Lord’s Prayer Included in Jesus’ Original Composition?

Posted on October 8, 2011 by Stephen Nielsen

 Its source.  There seems to be quite a disagreement as to whether this last line, “For yours is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever,” was included in Jesus original composition.  The RSV, the ASV, the NIV, and the New Living Translation are among those Bible translations that do not include it.  However the KJV, the NKJV, the NAS and the NASU are among those that do include it.

Those who say that this doxology was not included in the original prayer generally agree that it was added by the early church when the church began to use the prayer for its liturgy (in order to round out the prayer).  However, as MacArthur states in his book, “Some commentators say it would have to have been included originally because the Jews would never have closed a prayer on a negative note.”

I agree with what MacArthur said.  It makes a lot of sense.  I also believe that the doxology was originally included because of the way it ties the prayer together and fits so well with the first three petitions.  It is a fitting end to the prayer.  You may also observe that it is similar to many of the praises and doxologies of the Old Testament.  It is almost the same as David’s praise to God in 1 Chronicles 29:11, and it also corresponds with the doxology used at the temple services (e.g. Ps. 72:19).  These things I believe help to identify its true author—Jesus Christ. 

Its meaning.  The meaning of the doxology is really quite clear.  “Yours is the kingdom,” means that God is the king and the kingdom is His.  As king He is in charge of everything.  “The power” suggests that He is all-powerful, and that He has the power to accomplish anything, which would include answering any of our prayer requests.  “The glory” means that all glory is His.  He is the only one truly worthy of glory, and in the end He will receive all the glory.

Its purpose.  Although there are many purposes in this doxology, three stand out to me.  Let’s examine these three together.

 1.  To tie the prayer together.  This doxology is sort of a summary of the entire prayer and helps to bring it together.  For as we pray these last words we find ourselves returning right back to the first three petitions and on to the second three.  It brings new meaning and significance to each of the petitions.

 2.  To give a reason why we can expect God to answer the petitions.  Here we are saying to God, “Answer these petitions because [or on the basis of the fact] that You are the king, You have the power, and because You have the glory.  Show to us and to the world Your greatness.  Prove now Your power and glory and kingship by answering these requests.”  Here then with these words we find great strength in our petitions, great hope that God will answer them, and an exuberant expectation that when He does answer them His reign, power, and glory will be manifest before our eyes.

3.  To praise God.  This doxology not only ties the prayer together and gives a basis for its answers; it also provides for us a form of praise to God.  Hence, just as the prayer began with praise by saying “Hallowed be Your name, it is quite fitting to end it in praise by saying to God that the kingdom, the power, and the glory are all His. 

Let this doxology forever be in our mind to instruct and encourage you in your praise to God.

 

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And Lead Us Not Into Temptation, But Deliver Us From Evil

Posted on October 6, 2011 by Stephen Nielsen

We have been looking at the Lord’s Prayer and we have been trying to practice praying as our Lord outlined for us. We have come to the part where it says, “And lead us not into temptation…

So, after we have prayed for daily bread and forgiveness, we are made clean and strong, ready for duty and for battle.  But before we go out into the world we must pray that God would lead us and protect us.

The petition here for leading is really a plea for mercy—that God would not lead us into situations where it would be too difficult for us to bear under trials, so that we would give into sin.  The second part, that He “deliver us from evil,” is the answer to the first part.  That is, if He does not lead us into temptation, what He does is the opposite—He delivers us out of it, out of the evil that it brings to us.  Trials are good for us as long as we are able to bear under them.  But when they overcome us, we fall into sin and ruin.

Hence, this petition is that we will be free of the trail that is too hard for us to bear.  It is a prayer that He will give us a way of escape from those trials (1 Cor. 10:13), or a way to go through the trials without being harmed or corrupted, that the trial would instead serve to build us up in faith.

So when we pray we ought not to pray against the trial, but rather against evil and against the devil.  For God will use the trial to build you up (Ja. 1:2-3), but the devil wants to use the trial to destroy you.  The way you should pray is by the use of the Word.  For it is by the Word that we can resist the devil.  Therefore, in your prayers claim verses like 1 Corinthians 10:13—that He will provide for you a way of escape; and like 2 Peter 2:9—that you will be rescued out of trials.  You could also pray James 1:12—that He will help you to persevere under trials, so that when the trials test your faith they will produce in you patience, which will work to make you perfect and complete, lacking nothing (Ja. 1: 2-4).

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It Is the Lord’s Will and According to His Nature to Beautify Your Home – Exodus 25-26

Posted on October 2, 2011 by Stephen Nielsen

 While Reading in the book of Exodus in the Bible about all the plans and instructions God gave Moses for the tabernacle and its furnishings, I was impressed by all the detail and the beauty that would go into it.  I was particularity impressed by how the linen sheets for the tent coverings were to be decorated.  They were “to be decorated with blue, purple and scarlet yarn, with figures of cherubim skillfully embroidered into them” (Ex. 26:1, NLT).

 Now someone (like me) may ask, “Why?  Why all the bother?  It’s just a tent!  A tent in the middle of the desert.”  Well, the answer to that is that though it was just a tent, it was God’s tent and God’s home.  And God loves beauty.  He is a God of beauty. 

And He has made us in His image.  So we should love beautiful things too.  If we don’t, I think we are just lazy and don’t care; and we are not following His plan and direction in our life.  I think if we really were sensitive to God’s will in regard to our homes, we would do all that was in our power to beautifully decorate them—for ourselves and for Him.

What are some beautiful things that you like?  How have you beautified your home?

 

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19 Reasons Why Moses Had To Stay On Mount Sinai for 40 Days and 40 Nights

Posted on September 30, 2011 by Stephen Nielsen

 

How long does it take to receive 10 commandments?  Why should it take 40 days and nights?

 This is what I once thought.  But now I know better.  Moses was up on the mountain not only to receive the 10 commandments, but also for the following reasons:

1.  To receive instructions from God on what the people may voluntarily bring Him as an offering: to be used to build the tabernacle, the tabernacle furnishings, and for the priest’s garments, the ephod and chestpiece (Ex. 25: 1-9).

2.  To receive from God all the plans and instructions to make the Ark (Ex. 25:10-22).

3.  To receive from God all the plans and instructions to make the Table of Showbread (Ex. 25:23-29).

4.  To receive from God all the plans and instructions to make the Lampstand (Ex. 25:31-40).

5.  To receive from God all the plans and instructions to make the Tabernacle Ex. 26:1-37).

6.  To receive from God all the plans and instructions to make the Altar of Burt Offering (Ex. 27:1-8).

7.  To receive from God all the plans and instructions to make the courtyard (Ex. 27:9-21).

8.  To receive from God all the plans and instructions to make the clothing for the priests (Ex. 28:1-5, 31-43).

9.  To receive from God the plans and instructions to design the Ephod (Ex. 28:6-14).

10.  To receive from God the plans and instructions to design the Chestpiece (Ex. 28:15-30).

11. To receive from God the instructions for the Dedication of the Priests (Ex. 29:1-46).

12.  To receive from God the plans and instructions to make the Incense Altar (Ex. 30:1-10).

13.  To receive from God instructions on how to collect money for the Tabernacle (Ex. 30:11-16).

14.  To receive from God the plans and instructions for the Washbasin (Ex. 30:17-21).

15.  To receive from God instructions on how to make and use Anointing Oil (Ex. 30:22-33).

16.  To receive from God instructions on how to make and use incense (Ex. 30:34-38).

17.  To receive from God instructions on how two craftsmen, Bezalel and Oholiab were to make things for the Tabernacle (Ex. 31:1-11).

18.  To receive from God instructions for the Sabbath (Ex. 31:12-17).

19.  To receive from God the 10 Commandments written by the finger of God (Ex. 31:18).

 

Wow, I would say Moses had a lot to do in just 40 day.  I wonder if he wrote all the plans and instruction down on something, or if he somehow memorized it all.  That would have been some task if he did memorize everything. 

 

Let me know your thoughts.

 

 

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And Forgive Us Our Debts, As We Forgive Our Debtors

Posted on September 28, 2011 by Stephen Nielsen

 Here is the petition that is the most needed to maintain our relationship with God.  It is the petition that helps to keep our mind and soul pure so that we can commune with Him in prayer.  Hence this petition for daily forgiveness makes it possible to be satisfied with our daily bread, and also makes it probable that He will guide us and deliver us from evil when we ask Him.

The forgiveness that we ask for is according to our debts to God.  For God has given us His laws and we have not obeyed them, we have not been righteous as He requires.  Thus, because of our sin against God, we owe Him a huge debt of consequence.  How can we pay this debt?  It is so immense, so gigantic that we will never be able to pay it back.  Therefore, all we can do is cry out to God for mercy and to ask Him to forgive us and cleanse us.

Our crying out with confession must be genuine and sincere.  For that reason, this petition states that as we ask God to forgive us we must also forgive our debtors.  Hence, we must have a repentant heart, a heart that has already begun to show forgiveness to others.  For unless our relationship with others is right, our relationship with God will not and can not be right (Matt. 5:23-24).

Moreover, if we do not forgive others, He will not forgive us or hear our prayers (Read the story in Matthew 18:21-35, which illustrates God’s forgiveness and how we ought also to forgive others.  Read also Psalms 66:18).

But the question that will eventually come up is this: How do we forgive someone whom has abused us and hurt us, and when we feel so bitter inside?  To start with I suggest praying about it.  Then think about how God has forgiven you (Eph. 4:32).  He placed all our sins on His Son Jesus (Is. 53:6).  He died and paid the penalty for our sins.  And now, because our sins are paid for, He remembers them no more (Jer. 31:34).  For they have all been blotted out (Is. 43:25).  This is what God has given us in Christ when you placed your faith in Him.

This forgiveness I have been speaking of is positional forgiveness, a forgiveness by God toward us that guarantees our eternal salvation.  But we also need relational forgiveness.  This is what we must pray for every day, and what this petition is about.  And if we have a repentant heart, one that is proved by our forgiveness to others, then we have the promise in 1 John 1:9—that He will forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

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5 Possible Meanings of “Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread”

Posted on September 26, 2011 by Stephen Nielsen

 This is an excerpt from my book Purpose of Prayer.

Here is the first of three petitions that describe our own personal needs.  The first three petitions are for God’s desires.  The next three are for our needs.  And we must always remember to pray for His requirements first; then He will show us what our real needs are, and He will lead us to pray for those things.  Moreover, when we concentrate on His priorities first, He gives us a true and right perspective on things; hence, He shows us what our priorities should be, and He puts us in a better mind to pray for ourselves and for our friends. 

This first of these personal petitions is for our daily bread, and is normally thought of as a petition for all our daily, physical needs—for our food and shelter, etc.  For the most part, I think this is right, but I wonder if, to some extent, “daily bread” also means our daily mental and spiritual needs.  Most of the commentaries I have read believe that daily bread means physical needs.  But there are a few very good and godly authors who believe that daily bread also means our mental and spiritual needs.  I’m not real sure on this myself.  I don’t think there is anything wrong with going either way.  Some see “daily bread” as physical because the other two petitions appear to be mental and spiritual—the petition for forgiveness seems to be more for mental and emotional needs, and the petition for guidance seems to be more for spiritual needs.  Thus they reason that it is how God designed it, that each one—bread, forgiveness, and guidance—fits under these different categories; hence, they conclude that bread always means only physical needs.  Overall, I can see this, but I think we need to be careful about putting these in such tight compartments.

From my reading and study I have come up with the following five ways to look at this petition and to the meaning of “daily bread.” 

1.  It is a petition for the things necessary for our daily existence.  I think this is the most common interpretation of “daily bread,” and seems to imply only physical needs.  However, some would argue that our existence also has much to do with our mental and spiritual needs.         

2.  It is a petition for everything we need for each day.  Hence, by this petition we are encouraged not to worry about anything; that is, not to grieve over past failure, or to be anxious over future things.  But we are to take each day at a time, to pray and trust God each day for the things we need for that day (Read Phil. 4:6, 7 and Matt. 6:25-34). 

3.  It is a petition that would include praying for work everyday, because God will provide for us through our work.  John MacArthur, from his book, Jesus’ Pattern of Prayer, reminds us that man, after the fall, was commanded to earn his bread by the sweat of his face (Gen. 3:19).  Therefore, work is how God has designed that He will provide for us.  Hence, if we don’t work we shouldn’t expect that we will be provided for.  I suppose this is why Paul says to the Thessalonians “…if anyone will not work, neither shall he eat” (2 Thess. 3:10). 

As for how to pray for work, Nelson’s Bible Dictionary points out the fact that in Jesus’ time workers were hired on a daily basis; therefore, it is very probable that Jesus had in mind here that we should pray for daily work.  That is, we should pray for work every day just for that day.

4.  It is a petition for our natural being and is for the aim of improving our spiritual being.  Matthew Henry, in his commentary, said, “…Our natural being is necessary to our spiritual well-being in this world.”  Some would disagree with this statement, but I think it is true.  When I pay attention to my body to keep it healthy and in good shape I will feel better and stronger.  And when I feel better I am able to get more in touch with God.  I’m not saying that I need to eat a lot to make myself “feel good”, and to build my muscles up to look like superman.  I think that is overdoing it and will only hinder our spiritual being.  But if we are moderate in our eating and exercise, and watch to see that we get plenty of sleep, etc., then we will be more alert and have more endurance to work on our spiritual life—to read and study the Bible, to pray, and to witness. 

5. It is a petition for our daily needs, whether they are physical, mental, or spiritual.  G. Campbell Morgan said, “There is nothing omitted from that prayer.  Our daily sustenance—physical, mental, spiritual—it is all there in “daily bread.” 

I like this view.  Though I am not sure if this is what Jesus had in mind, this view really rings home to me, because I know I need to depend on Him every day for everything in my life, whether it is physical, mental, or spiritual.

 

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How Can I be Close To God? – Thoughts from Exodus 24:2

Posted on September 25, 2011 by Stephen Nielsen

I think, if we are a Christian, this is a question that is always with is.  It is part of us.  I think at our conversion we were given the inner desire to be close to God and to fellowship with Him; but of course, because of our flesh it’s difficult.

 In Exodus 24:2 we are told that only Moses could come near the Lord; all the rest of the people had to keep their distance.  This is the way it was in the Old Testament.  Only a select few like Moses could come near to God or they would be struck dead.  And whenever they wanted to contact Him it would be through a priest and by bringing sacrifices.

 What a privilege we have today—anybody—to be able to come near to God at any time.  In fact, He invites us to come to Him and take our rest (Matt. 11:28).  In Revelation 3:20 we have a picture of Jesus knocking on our hearts door asking us for fellowship. He says: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.”

 Yes, it is much different now then it was in the Old Testament.  What made the difference?  How are we able to come near Him now?  The answer of course is Jesus.  He has made all the difference.  He died for us to save us from our sins, and through Him we can come close to God.

 There is no reason for anyone not to be able to come near to God.  Everyone can come near Him.  Jesus died for us to save us from our sins so that we can come near God.  All you have to do is admit your sin and believe in Jesus–that is, believe that He died on the cross to save you and that His blood was shed for you, and trust Him to help you live for Him.  If you do that, God gives you the right to become a child of God.

  John 3:16

 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

 John 1:12

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.

 

If you have believed in God and recieved Jesus into your life what you need to do is continue on in that belief and live a life that is holy and pleasing to God.

 1 John 5:13

These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God. NKJV

Heb 12:14

Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.  NKJV

Matt 5:8

8 Blessed are the pure in heart,

for they will see God.  NIV

 

 

 

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Your Will Be Done On Earth As It Is In Heaven

Posted on September 23, 2011 by Stephen Nielsen

An excerpt from my book Purpose of Prayer .

As we pray for God’s name to be hallowed, and for His kingdom to come, with the same breath we should pray also for His will to be done.  For the holiness of God and the kingdom of God is established by the will of God.

Here we are praying that God would do His good will to overcome what is sinful and evil in the world, that He would do whatever He wishes to do, so that the earth would be as heaven.  And since He wishes that all would be saved, and thus be conformed to His image, this prayer is really a prayer for the salvation and sanctification of all those in the world.

Now, since God has given all men and women a choice, we know that many will choose not to be saved and to go against God’s will.  For that reason I think the aim of this petition is to change the will of man.  Hence, let us pray here that our will would be conformed to His will, that we would willingly, obediently, and cheerfully do His will as it is done by the angels in heaven (Ps. 103:20, 21).  Moreover, because of our tendency to disobedience and laziness, we should pray here that God will make us desire and love His will (which includes everything in the Bible), that we would say with David, “I desire to do Your will, O my God; your law is within my heart” (Ps. 40:8).  Let us also pray that we would be like Job, who said, “I have treasured the word of His mouth more than my daily bread” (Job 23:12).

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Your Kingdom Come

Posted on September 20, 2011 by Stephen Nielsen

 Here we will cover just three points: the meaning of the petition, the purpose of the petition, and how to pray this petition.

 What this petition means.  God’s kingdom referred to here is a place or a realm of His rule, where He exercises His great plans for us—plans of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom. 14:17).  When we pray “Your kingdom come” we are praying that His kingdom or His rule would come to us and that we would be a part of it, hence, that we would enjoy all of His plans for us.  Moreover, when we pray this petition we are asking God to put the Spirit of Christ (who is the king and ruler in His kingdom) in us and over us, to reign over us and be Lord over us.  And since the Holy Spirit controls all those in His kingdom, we are asking the Holy Spirit to control us and to cause us to be willing servants under His rule.  This is the spiritual meaning.  But we are also praying that God would come to us physically in Christ, that He would soon come bodily to rule and reign on this earth.  For the last words that Jesus said to us is “Surely I am coming quickly” (Rev. 22:20)

Why we should pray this petition.  Here are four reasons why we should pray “Your kingdom come:”

 1.  Because Jesus Christ, who is the King of kings, has a right to rule and reign everywhere in the universe, even on this earth.

2.  Because we are sinful and cannot rightly govern ourselves.  We need one who is holy and true to govern us.

 3.  Because we need to be delivered out of the bondage of sin.  For we were all born into sin and into Satan’s kingdom, which is a kingdom of darkness, suffering and bondage; and the only way out is through the deliverance that Christ offers us through His own blood (Gal. 1:4).  Hence, by the power of Christ’s blood, when we pray and ask Him, He conveys us (or transfers us) into His kingdom (Col. 1:3).

4.  So that God’s promise of a kingdom would be fulfilled.  For in 2 Samuel 7:12 God spoke to David through Nathan the prophet and promised to him that through him one would come whose kingdom would never end (Read also Lu. 1:32-33 and Is. 9:6-7).

 How to pray this petition.  First of all, we ought to realize that this petition is surrounded and aided by the first and third petition, and therefore, should never stand alone.  The first petition, that God’s name would be hallowed, is the most important.  It is the aim.  This second petition comes next, because we cannot hallow His name unless His kingdom comes to us.  But the kingdom will not come to us unless we are willing to do and pray for His will.  So we pray the third petition, “Let His will be done.”

Now the way this second petition comes to us is that it grows out of the first petition.  Therefore, as we are praying for His holiness so that His name would be hallowed through us, we naturally will realize that we cannot truly be holy unless we dwell in His kingdom and do His will.  So we pray for His kingdom to come to us, and for His will to be done in us.

I would pray something like this:  “Lord we seek Your great holiness; but we cannot be holy and your name will not be honored without your rule over us.  Come Lord, rule and reign over us and in us.  Show us how to obey our laws.  Let Your gospel penetrate our heart and let it go out into the whole world.  Lord, let Your kingdom come into the heart of all those who seek You; and come soon also bodily to reign and rule on this earth.”

Now when you pray this petition, pray always with a great hope for the answer.  For God has promised us that His kingdom will come—spiritually as well as physically.  It comes to us spiritually when we put our faith and trust in Him; for then He gives us a new heart and makes all things new (2 Cor. 5:17).  It will come physically when Christ returns as He promised (Rev. 22:20).

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How to Hallow God’s Name — from Matthew 6:9-13

Posted on September 18, 2011 by Stephen Nielsen

First of all we should discuss why we should hallow His name?  There are several reasons to hallow His name.  Two reasons stand out to me.  First, the most obvious reason is because He deserves it.  He is God and He is holy; therefore we ought to treat Him as holy.  He is the one that is high and lifted up.  Hence we ought to cry out daily (in our mind or even verbally) as the angels do, saying, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory” (Is. 6:1-3).

A second reason to treat God as holy is so that others around us will treat Him as holy, and likewise, believe and obey Him.  For when we show God (or anyone) respect, others who observe us will tend to follow our example (Heb. 13:7).  But when we disrespect God (or anyone), those around us likewise will tend to follow our poor example.

It is especially important that leaders respect God, because they are the ones that we all look up to as role models and who we tend to believe and trust.  Hence, God places on them a much greater accountability (Heb. 13:17).

Moses and Aaron were great leaders; and they gave to the people of Israel (and to us) a very good example of holiness.  But when they did not follow God’s instructions to the letter by striking the rock instead of speaking to it (Num. 20:7-12), God regarded that act of disobedience as a huge sin.  For in their disobedience they gave to the people a bad example, and were in effect leading them to disrespect God and to regard Him as less than perfect in holiness. Consequently, by this act of disobedience they were not allowed to enter the Promised Land.

Whether we are leaders or not (we all are leaders in some sense) we ought to give heed to this story of Moses and Aaron.  For it shows us most dramatically how important it is to hallow God’s name.

 How to hallow His name.  In order to hallow God’s name we must first understand that we can not do it by ourselves.  He hallows His own name through us.  If left to ourselves we will always fail; we will always deny God.

Therefore, God must intervene. And He has intervened throughout history.  For when Israel sinned and was scattered, God granted them repentance and forgiveness, and restored them to the land that He promised them.  Thus, by His continuing forgiveness and restoration, and by the fulfilling of His promises to Israel, He sanctified His great name among the nations.  And He did it not for their sake but for His sake (Read Ezek. 36:22 ff.).

And He does it yet for us.  We go astray constantly, but He is always faithful to forgive us and restore us to fellowship.  Again, He does it not for our sake but for His own reputation—so that others will look at us and say, “Look, they are the people of God whom God loves and whom He delivers and cares for.”

Now, if God hallows His name through us, what can we do to allow that to happen?  What can we do to become a channel of His glory?  If you think about it, the answer is easy: you have to be yielded and submissive to Him.  You have to be willing to do all that He wants you to do.  Mainly, we have to be models of His glory and holiness.  Just as He has been a model of holiness to us, we must be a model of holiness to others—a model that reflects His holiness.  For, in fact, we represent Him; and His holiness shines through us.  Hence, it turns out that whenever we are obedient in holiness we glorify Him and hallow His name.  Therefore, with our lips let us always be holy in our conversation; with our mind let us reject all evil thoughts and think on things that are good and pure; and with our whole body let us do all our work to please and glorify God.

 How to pray for His name to be hallowed.  If you recall our conversation earlier about the composition of this Lords prayer, I pointed out that Jesus meant it to be just an outline of prayer.  Therefore, when you pray for His name to be hallowed, never be satisfied to just say, “Hallowed be Your name.”  Instead pray in your own words what you believe these words mean.  Expand them as much as you can.   Here are six points to guide you and give you some ideas of how to unfold and enlarge this first petition:

1.  Begin to thank and praise God for His holy character.

2.  Thank Him for showing you, and the entire world, His holiness.  Thank Him for all the ways He has hallowed His name, especially through you—by saving you, forgiving you, and by sanctifying you.  And then thank Him for hallowing His name by granting repentance and sanctification to all those He has chosen to believe in Him (Ezek. 36:16-24).

3.  Next, ask Him humbly to continue to hallow His name through people as He promised He would according to His New Covenant (Ezek. 36: 16-27, Jer. 31:31-34).  Ask Him to cleanse you from all your filthiness and idols (Ezek. 36:25, Eph. 5:26-27).  Ask Him to give you (and all who repent) a new heart and a new spirit (Ezek. 36: 26, 2 Cor. 5:17), and to put His own spirit within you, and  cause you to walk in His statutes (Ezek. 36: 27, Gal. 5:16, Rom. 8:9).

4.  Ask Him to show you His own holiness.  Pray that you would see His holy nature in the Word of God, in people, and in all of His creation.

5.  Pray that God would help all believers to desire His holiness; that we would make it our aim to be holy like Him; that the Word of God (which shows us His holiness) would reign supreme in our heart so that we will believe and obey Him in everything, and so we will be filled with the glory of God.

6.  Petition that the Father would help all believers to properly honor, esteem, revere, and regard His name as holy; that He would help us to separate Him and ourselves from earthy, sinful things; and that we would exalt Him above all the evil things of this world.

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