What Is In A Name?

Then Moses said to God, “Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they shall say to me, ‘What is His name?’ what shall I say to them?” And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, “I AM has sent me to you.’”

We are all given a name when we are born, even before we have developed a personality or character. The name given to us can determine who we are and the kind of people we become. In the Old Testament, giving a name to the child was extremely important. It was a well known phenomenon that the person with that name grew into that name. For example, Abram meant “high father.” Here is a newborn baby and his future was already charted for him. Joseph means”to add to or augment.” These are the names these men as infants were given, yet in their adulthood, they became their name. So at birth, their name charted their life course and destiny.

Names are very important to God. They establish character. God told Moses to tell the people in exile that their God was going to deliver them. When Moses asked, what God shall I say is coming, God answered I AM. It was cryptic. Moses certainly didn’t fully understand what God was saying, but as the Hebrew children went through the wilderness for forty years, God revealed exactly who IAM is.

Knowing the names of God will help us get results when we pray. Psalm 91:14 -16 explains that when we use the different names of God, we will be addressing Him properly. “Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high because he has known My name. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation.”

When Jesus arrived on the earth, who was God Himself in skin, He taught us how to pray to God in Matthew 6:9. We know it as the Lord’s Pray and that it is the model in which we can make effective and result-producing petitions. The very first line is, “Our Father in heaven, HALLOWED be Your Name. Hallowed means “to be consecrated, pure or blameless or most holy one.” We must establish that each name that God has revealed is pure and unmarked or sanctified. There is absolutely no darkness, flaw, or error in God.

So as we study the Names of God, we know the character that is revealed will be flawless, pure and holy. The names are intended to reveal the heart of God and His desire to empower, help, protect, deliver and heal those who call upon His Name.

Confession: I realize that names are extremely important in God’s vocabulary. Nothing is accidental or clumsy. I look forward to learning more about God’s names and the character that is revealed through them.