This second statement of the Lord's Prayer leads us to think about holiness. Both God's holiness and ours. If we are to learn how to pray, "Holy be Your Name," we need to understand what holiness is.
The Australian theologian, Graham Cole, helps to explain this concept of holiness.
The Australian theologian, Graham Cole, helps to explain this concept of holiness.
"Fundamental to the biblical characterization of God is the idea that God is holy. Holy in two senses. The Creator is separate from creation. He is transcendent. he stands apart from it. God stands in an asymmetrical relation to creatures. They depend upon Him. He does not depend upon them. God minus creation = God. But creation minus God = 0.
Holiness is also a moral quality. God is morally pure. God's people are to image His character. he is holy, and so should we be. The new life which the Holy Spirit brings to God's people is a holy life."
A.W. Tozer has some thoughts to share on why holiness is so important.
"Holy is the way God is. To be holy He does not conform to a standard. He is that standard. He is absolutely holy with an infinite, incomprehensible fullness of purity that is incapable of being other than it is. Because He is holy, His attributes are holy; that is, whatever we think of as belonging to God must be thought of as holy. God is holy and He has made holiness the moral condition necessary to the health of His universe. Sin’s temporary presence in the world only accents this. Whatever is holy is healthy; evil is a moral sickness that must end ultimately in death.... Since God’s first concern for His universe is its moral health, that is, its holiness, whatever is contrary to this is necessarily under His eternal displeasure."
QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF
- How does understanding God's holiness impact your mind and heart as you pray?
- How does an understanding of your holiness lead you to pray?
Although it is pricey, Graham Cole's book, He Who Gives Life, is a great read on the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. Try google for some alternate source options.
Tozer makes his quote in a neat little book called, The Knowledge of the Holy. I won't tell you where as it is worth reading the book to find it. You can probably find some alternate google sources for this book too.
Tozer makes his quote in a neat little book called, The Knowledge of the Holy. I won't tell you where as it is worth reading the book to find it. You can probably find some alternate google sources for this book too.