Holy

Re:Verse passage – Luke 11:1-4 (day four)

Jesus dictated to the disciples what many of his prayers consisted of, but it’s not just a stream of consciousness or a few nice thoughts strung together. Jesus gave these instructions on prayer with intentionality in every word. He begins with, “Father, hallowed be your name.” He instructs us to begin our time in prayer by declaring that God is holy.

Of course, we know that God is holy. But when we declare it in prayer, it does something in our hearts. It orients us to who we’re praying to. It helps us remember that while we are finite, limited, and sinful, God is infinite, boundless, and perfect. At first it may seem intimidating to approach a perfect God, but Scripture reminds us that God in his perfect holiness is also perfect in grace. He invites us to approach him boldly in prayer because he is a perfect Father, who sent his son as a perfect sacrifice to reconcile us to God. This is perfect grace.

When we begin by declaring God’s holiness, we can then pray in confidence for our daily needs, for forgiveness, for freedom, because we already know the One we’re praying to is perfectly able to do all these things for us. Let God’s holiness draw you into his presence.