{"id":34414,"date":"2023-09-07T07:23:52","date_gmt":"2023-09-07T11:23:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inspireafire.com\/?p=34414"},"modified":"2023-09-07T09:06:58","modified_gmt":"2023-09-07T13:06:58","slug":"how-to-pray-with-power-using-gods-names","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inspireafire.com\/how-to-pray-with-power-using-gods-names\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Pray with Power Using God’s Names"},"content":{"rendered":"

Prayer is so important. I don\u2019t think the world has ever collectively felt the need to pray as we do now. Perhaps in past war times, depressions, or other pandemics, but not in recent decades.<\/p>\n

So many need our prayers. Governing authorities from our local and state governments to our federal lawmakers need prayer. Our neighbors, friends, and coworkers need our prayers. It\u2019s all around us.<\/p>\n

Some of us wonder what we can do to make a difference right now. If that is one of your questions, something aching in your heart, then you have been chosen to pray. But I know many of us feel our prayers bounce back from heaven. We\u2019re not sure if they are doing any good. Please don\u2019t believe this lie from the enemy.<\/strong> Of course, he wants us to doubt God\u2019s goodness and power. Sure, he is determined to discourage us in the one major thing we are called to do! Satan does not want us to pray.<\/strong><\/p>\n

We are in the middle of a battle.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m here to tell you not to give up.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m writing to strengthen your prayer muscles.<\/p>\n

\"pray<\/p>\n

Find New Ways to Petition God<\/h2>\n

E<\/strong>ven though prayer seems passive, we must recognize it\u2019s power and resist the doubts that our prayers don\u2019t matter. If your prayer life could use a face-lift, start praying the Hebrew names of God and Jesus.<\/p>\n

Why would this help us? Because names are important to us and to God. For example, have you ever had someone recognize you and say your name when you didn\u2019t expect it?<\/p>\n

One day I walked into a hotel exhausted from an eight hour solo drive.<\/p>\n

\u201cName?\u201d asked the friendly front desk clerk.<\/p>\n

\u201cLee,\u201d I responded while fumbling with my bags.<\/p>\n

Without missing a beat he said, \u201cOh! Andy Lee?\u201d<\/p>\n

It always awakens my senses when someone I don\u2019t know somehow knows my name–not that it happens very often, but when it does, I\u2019m taken aback. My face must have given away my thoughts and he explained he\u2019d just spoken with the head of the conference and gone through the list of names. Even though the list was fresh on his mind,\u00a0I liked him. He knew my name.<\/p>\n

Our names are important to us.<\/strong>\u00a0Whenever someone calls\u00a0us by name\u2013especially someone we don\u2019t know, it gets our attention.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not good at remembering names.\u00a0 I always feel awful when I\u00a0know<\/em>\u00a0someone but her name won\u2019t retrieve itself from the cobwebs in my brain. Don\u2019t you hate it when the name comes to you two hours after the encounter?<\/p>\n

We know it\u2019s important. If it blesses us for people to know our name, wouldn\u2019t it bless God too? We are made in His image.<\/p>\n

The Promises of Praying God\u2019s Name<\/h2>\n

Jeremiah prophesied God\u2019s promise:<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026.Then you will\u00a0call upon\u00a0me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2013\u00a0Jeremiah 29:12<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It blesses me to think of attaining the\u00a0favor<\/em>\u00a0of God\u2019s ear.<\/strong><\/p>\n

This verse makes it personal like pouring your heart out to an attentive friend over a cup of Starbucks.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will listen to you,\u201d whispers the Ancient of\u00a0 Days looking straight into my eyes.<\/p>\n

Though I know this verse was first penned for the Israelites, the promise demonstrates the character of God, and how He works in our lives.<\/p>\n

But according to this verse something must happen before God hears us.<\/strong><\/p>\n

We must\u00a0call upon<\/em>\u00a0Him and pray to Him. What does it\u00a0mean to \u201ccall upon\u201d God?<\/p>\n

I\u2019m so glad you asked. (Smile.)<\/p>\n

It\u2019s more than saying, \u201cHelp!\u201d or \u201cHey, you!\u201d The Hebrew word translated in the NIV is Qara. According to the\u00a0Key Word Study Bible<\/a>, Qara\u00a0rarely refers to a random outcry.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0Qara is used to signify the act of naming. . . .\u00a0<\/strong>Naming a person may specify that individual\u2019s primary characteristic, be an evaluation, or recognize an eternal truth in the sense of summoning for a specific task. Another prominent usage has to do with calling on the name of God; that is to summon His aid\u2026. (Key Word NIV p. 1549)<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"prayer\"<\/h2>\n

GOD HAS MANY NAMES.<\/h2>\n

God\u2019s names reveal His attributes and how people experience His power and goodness.\u00a0When Moses asked His name, God replied, \u201cI AM.\u201d\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0This name signifies the One who encompasses all things and can do all things, the One who lives forever, the covenant God YHWH.<\/a><\/p>\n

Other names of God:<\/p>\n