As we begin this new year, we are intentionally setting aside time to seek the Lord in prayer. It is fitting that we start not by examining our circumstances, but by reordering our hearts. When Jesus teaches us to pray, He begins with God. Before we speak of our needs, our struggles, or our plans, we are taught to lift our eyes to who God is and to desire His glory above all else.
The prayer Jesus gives us is familiar, yet it remains deeply formative. It was given because the disciples watched Jesus pray and longed to learn how to speak with the Father as He did. What we are given is not a rigid script, but a pattern that reshapes our instincts. Prayer is not meant to begin with us. It begins with God.
The Lord’s Prayer brings together the majestic and the mundane. The opening petitions draw our attention to God’s name, God’s kingdom, and God’s will. Only then are we led to ask for daily bread, forgiveness, and protection from evil. This order matters. It teaches us that prayer is not about centering God around our lives, but about centering our lives around God.
When we pray, “Our Father,” it is not a sentimental phrase. It is a gospel reality. Scripture is clear that this relationship is not something we are born into naturally. We are reconciled to God and adopted into His family only through Jesus Christ. Because of His sin-bearing death and victorious resurrection, those who repent and believe can draw near to God with confidence and intimacy. Every time we pray “Father,” we are standing on grace. We are reminding our hearts that we belong to Him.
Yet our Father is also “in Heaven.” He is near, but He is not small. He is loving, yet infinitely powerful. Heaven is His throne, and He reigns with absolute authority. This truth anchors our prayers. We do not pray to a distant observer or a powerless helper. We pray to the sovereign King who rules over all things and works all things according to His will.
The first request Jesus teaches us to make is also the most important. “Hallowed be your name.” This is not merely a statement of praise, but a plea for God to act. We are asking that His name would be honored, treasured, loved, and cherished as holy. God’s name represents His character, His perfections, and His glory. To pray this sincerely is to ask that God would awaken hearts, including our own, to value Him above everything else.
God is the one who teaches us to make Him first in prayer, because God is passionate about His own glory. And His commitment to His own glory is not opposed to His love for us. It is the very way He loves us. He knows that we were created to find our deepest joy not in ourselves, but in Him. By magnifying His glory, He gives us what is best. He gives us Himself.
As we devote ourselves to prayer this week, we are learning again that prayer begins with acknowledging who God is and seeking the glory of His name. He is the beginning, the middle, and the end of our prayers. May the Lord use this time to reorient our hearts, deepen our dependence, and grow us in God-centered praying for His glory and for our joy.