The First Petition

These words are a little obscure and not good German. In our mother-tongue, we would say: Heavenly Father, help that only thy name may be holy. Now, what do we mean by praying that God's name may be hallowed? Is it not always holy? The answer is: Yes, in itself it is always holy, but not in our use of it. God's name has been given us upon our becoming Christians through baptism, and we are called children of God and enjoy the sacraments, by which he so unites us with himself that all that is God's may serve for our use. So we are under the great necessity of duly honoring his name and keeping it holy and most sacred, regarding it as our highest treasure and our sanctuary; and of praying, as godly children, that his name, which is hallowed in heaven, may likewise be kept holy on earth by us and all the world.

Now, how is this name hallowed among us? The plainest answer is, by our teaching and life when they are godly and Christian. Since in this prayer we call God our Father, it is our duty always to conduct ourselves as godly children, that we may not disgrace but honor and praise him. Now, the name of God may be profaned with words or deeds; for all that we do upon earth must be comprehended in word or deed, in speech or action. In the first place, it is profaned in preaching, teaching and speaking in God's name that which is false and misleading, thus adorning a falsehood to make it pass for truth. In this way, the name of God is profaned and dishonored in the vilest manner. Again, the holy name is profaned when it is used as a cover for swearing, cursing, conjuring, etc.

Further, it is profaned by openly wicked lives and deeds, when those who are called Christians and people of God are adulterers, drunkards, swollen misers, given to jealousy and slandering. Here, again, God's name is dishonored and profaned on our account. Just the same as it is a shame and disgrace to an earthly father to have a wicked, corrupt child, disobedient in word and act, on whose account he must suffer scorn and reproach; so God is dishonored if we who are called by his name and enjoy his manifold blessings do not teach, do not speak and live, as the godly children of a heavenly Father, but so that he must hear it said of us: They are children of the devil rather than of God.

Thus you see that in this petition we pray for just that which God requires in the second commandment: That his name be not taken in vain, as is done by swearing, cursing, lying, deceiving, etc., but that it be used to the honor and praise of God. He who uses God's name for any wrong purpose profanes and desecrates the holy name; as formerly it was called desecrating a church when a murder or other crime was committed therein, or when a sacrament or a shrine was profaned, thus rendering unholy by profane use that which was holy in itself. This petition, then, is easy and clear as soon as we understand the language, that to hallow means, in our way of speaking, the same as to praise and honor with word and deed.

Now, note the great need of such a prayer. Since we see that the world is filled with sects and false teachers, and they all use the holy name as a cover and pretense for their devilish doctrines, we ought constantly to cry unto God against all who preach and believe falsely and against those who persecute and oppose our Gospel and pure doctrine and would suppress us, as the bishops, tyrants, fanatics, and others do. Likewise, we need to pray for ourselves, who, while we have God's Word, are ungrateful for it and do not live according to it as we should. When you pray this petition from your heart, you may be certain that it is pleasing to God; for nothing is more acceptable to him than that his honor and praise be exalted above all else and that his Word be taught in its purity and be valued and cherished.