I have heard and read so many arguments about the “correct” name for God, and all that ever results from this topic is dissension within the body of Believers.
Does anyone really think that God doesn’t know who we mean when we pray to him?
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One thing that so many people don’t understand is that when the word “name” is used in the Bible, more often than not it doesn’t really mean an actual name, such as Adonai, God, Jehovah, Yahweh, or whatever, but is representative of the reputation and renown of the entity that the name represents.
Okay, that sounds a little confusing, I agree, but it is a difficult thing to understand.
We humans use the term “Make a name for myself” when we want to create a reputation, but when the Bible says, “For his name’s sake” or “Call upon his name”, for some reason it is too often taken as a literal command to use a specific name for God instead of just accepting that it only represents God.
Have you ever considered that the names we use for God (and there are plenty of them!) are really titles or descriptions of him?
In Exodus 3:13, when Moses says the people will want to know the name of the God who sent him, the answer he receives is (CJB):
“Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh ”
[I am/will be what I am/will be]
God is telling Moses that he is beyond any standard name or identifier because he is eternal. He is what he is, and he will be what he will be. Names are used to identify one thing from another, such as goat from elephant, Jane from Melody, or Steve from Harry, but God is totally unique: there is no name or moniker we can use that identifies him from another because there is no other.
We need names to identify who we are from other people, and since names are used over and over, we have to have two or three names, or sometimes even more than three. The reason we use them is to identify who we are from others.
But God doesn’t really need that, and what is completely unique is that we humans cannot read minds so when someone calls out, “Hey, Steve!” I look to see who it is, along with every other Steve in earshot. That’s because I don’t know who the caller means.
But God knows our hearts and minds, so when we pray to him, no matter which of the many, MANY different names we have for him, so long as the name we use we believe to mean the one true God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, I believe he will not have a problem with whichever name we use.
Remember: we are saved by faith, not pronunciation!
So, going forward, when you see or hear someone post or talk to you about using the “right” name for God, otherwise you are praying to a pagan god or some other ridiculous claim, tell them that God knows who you mean, and isn’t so egocentric or picky that he will reject a prayer because of what we call him.
If you ask me, I believe that to say God will reject a prayer if it isn’t using the “correct” pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton, or a name generally known to mean the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, is an insult to the Almighty because it implies he lied to us when he said he knows our heart and mind.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to insult God.
Heartfelt, humble prayers are always acceptable to God, and he isn’t concerned with which name you use.
Thank you for being here and please remember to comment and share these messages with everyone you know, even non-believers. Hey, after all, you never know how fertile the soil is until you plant a seed in it.
That’s it for today, so l’hitraot and Baruch HaShem!