Good morning,
God’s names reveal his character. They tell us who He is and what He does. As we study these names, we will have a better understanding of whom we pray to and to whom we serve.
10 Names of God And How To Pray Them
Most often, when we come before God, we call Him “Lord” or “Heavenly Father,” but God has a name! The Bible mentions multiple names of God, and you need to know them because names are important and meaningful.
In biblical times, names were considered to reveal a person’s character or trait and were chosen with great care. For example, if parents named their child Joy, they expected their child to be joyful. We can see this in Genesis 17:5 when God renamed Abram to Abraham, which means “Father of many” after God told Abram would father many nations.
Some names were also chosen due to circumstances surrounding the child’s birth. Such as Abraham and Sarah, who named their son Isaac (to laugh) because they both laughed when God said they would have a child in Genesis 17:17, Genesis 18:12 respectively.
Also, Eli’s daughter-in-law named her son Ichabod which means “no glory” for the Philistines had captured the Ark of God, and Eli and her husband had been killed (1 Samuel 4:21). But names also had simple meanings. For example, Isaac and Rebekah named their first-born Esau (hairy) because he was born hairy (Genesis 25:25).
Likewise, the names of God reveal His character and nature. When we pray His different names, we meditate on Who He is and see Him in a more personal way. It deepens our relationship with Him and enhances our prayer life.
I once did a study on the different names of God to write a poem and then learned how to pray them. It was refreshing, powerful, and I experienced greater intimacy with God. Here are ten of His names and how you can pray them to fire up your prayer life.
0. YHWH/Yahweh – yah-way
It is the name God gave Himself when Moses asked for His name in Exodus 3:14. It is translated in English Bibles as “LORD” all caps, not to be confused with Adonai which means Lord.
“And God said unto Moses, I Am That I Am: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I Am hath sent me unto you.” (Exodus 3:14)
Yahweh means “I Am that I Am,” or “He Will Be,” and it’s the only proper name of the God of Israel. It indicates God’s transcendent and self-existent nature. He was, is and will be. Almost all the names of God on this list is an extension of Yahweh.
Fun fact
Ancient Israelites had a high reverence for God’s name and never said it aloud. When reading scriptures, they would say Adonai instead of Yahweh. Later, Jewish scribes created a hybrid name by combining the consonants of Yahweh with the vowels of Adonai to create Yahovah. It served as a reminder to say Adonai and to prevent an accidental pronunciation of Yahweh.
However, many years later, Christians scribes who didn’t know Hebrew thought Yahovah was God’s divine name. They began to pronounce it and translate it. As a result, it entered Christianity and became Jehovah. Many people still use it today and believe it’s God’s name.
Let them praise the name of the Lord: for his name alone is excellent; his glory is above the earth and heaven. (Psalm 148:13)
Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001 chaplain@alaskaseniors.com
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