In Matthew 6:9 Jesus tells his disciples to address God as Father, but he's not just our Father. He is our Father in heaven and his name is holy. In one verse we see that we have intimate relationship with God but we must never forget that he is God. Craig Blomberg says, "The phrase 'in heaven' balances this intimacy with an affirmation of God’s sovereignty and majesty."
Do we recognize who we are praying to? Are we in awe of his greatness when we pray?
The phrase "hallowed be your name" is both a posture and a petition. It is a posture because when we approach God in prayer we should do so in reverence to his great name. In our American way of thinking and culture names don't mean a lot, at least not in the way that they did in biblical times. In the Bible the name was always attached to the identity and character of a person.
Throughout Scripture we see several names for God and they all reveal an attribute of God's nature and character. For instance, when God told Moses that he is the I AM, he was saying that he is the eternal self-existent One. Can we just let that sink in for a moment? Our God is eternal which means that he has no beginning and no end. Wow! Our finite minds cannot grasp such greatness. He always was, always is, and always will be. He is all-powerful, all-knowing, and present everywhere at all times yet in different ways. He is the creator of time and space and yet he moves and acts within time and space. He is God alone and there is no one like him. So our posture should be one of humility and reverence before him.
Now the petition is that his name would be regarded as holy. This has to start with us. Do we regard the name of God with honor? Are we careless with the name of God in our mouths? Is our walk humble and upright before him? One of the ten commandments tells us not to take his name in vain. That means that we must honor his great and holy name. May the name of God be hallowed in our lives and in all of creation. This understanding helps to set the tone of worship that should be present throughout our prayer lives.