The failure to recognize that our prayers carry his name has brought much disaster to many Christians. His name is quite “unhallowed” in the way we see God in relation to ourselves, if the contemporary expressions of worship that we often engage in are any indication. This vacuous understanding of the sacred may be part of the reason for the collapsing foundation of Christianity in the West.

“Hallowed be your name” is the opening line of the prayer recognizing both the sovereignty of God and the character of God—a character that is holy and will not lie or deceive, in contrast to our own deceitful hearts. “Father” brings him near, while “hallowed be your name” creates the legitimate distance between a holy God and his creation. His love for us is balanced by his protection of us from that which will make us less than what God intends us to be. That is the pivotal first half of “the equation” of prayer: God is love and God is holy. – from “Has Christianity Failed You?” by Ravi Zacharias