We Don't Have To Wonder

The last two weeks’ posts have been all about Who God is. We’ve covered over twenty different names for God - each name pinpointing a specific part of God’s nature. But there’s still more!

Yahweh Nissi - meaning Yahweh, My Banner.
Exodus 17:15 “And Moses built an altar and called its name, The-Lord-Is-My-Banner”
He owns us, leads us, and covers us with His protection. He gives us the victory over battles that we have never been able to win by ourselves. When we rally behind His banner and march according to His commands, we’ll won’t lose! Addictions, depressions, fears, family problems - Yahweh Nissi has already given us the victory in every battle of life.

Yahweh Shalom - Yahweh, My Peace
Judges 6:24 “So Gideon built an altar there to the Lord, and called it The-Lord-Is-Peace.”
God is the source of our peace and rest. Shalom means peace, but it also means completeness and wholeness, with nothing missing or lacking. God wants to bring peace to the frantic. He wants to bring order to the confusion. His desire is to make broken hearts whole. Psalm 147:3 tells us, “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” That’s shalom peace, and that’s how Yahweh Shalom describes Himself.

Yahweh Maccaddeschcem - Yahweh, My Sanctifier
Exodus 31:13 “...that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you.”
God separated us for His own purpose. We’re called to walk out His purposes in our life not our own. Salvation is the start of His plan, not the end goal. Jesus separated you from your old life so that He can use you in this world.

Yahweh Ra’ah - Yahweh, My Shepherd
Psalm 23:1 “The LORD is my Shepherd, I shall not want.”
God is the one Who leads us and provides for us. There are benefits to having God as Your Shepherd. Provision (I shall not want), peace (He leads me beside still waters), healing for your soul (He restores my soul), and guidance (He leads me in the paths of righteousness) are all connected to having God as your Shepherd.

Yahweh Sabbaoth - Yahweh of Hosts
1 Samuel 17:45 “Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.”
He is the commander-in-chief of the armies of Heaven. Every angel listens to His commands and does them immediately. Psalm 103:20 says, “Bless the LORD, you His angels, who excel in strength, who do His word, heeding the voice of His word.” Apparently, even the written Word of God gives the angels direction!

Yahweh Shammah - Yahweh is There
Ezekiel 48:35 “...and the name of the city from that day shall be: THE LORD IS THERE.”
No matter where you are physically, no matter where you are in your relationships, no matter where you are emotionally, Yahweh is there! Of course, we know this from Hebrews 13:5, “For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’”

I’ve realized that we could spend months talking about each name and each part of God’s nature. Instead of doing that, I’ll wrap it up today.

Studying the different names of God helps us. It isn’t about knowing God’s “nicknames” or trying to find a name that gets His attention. When we use these names in prayer, it isn’t for God’s benefit, it’s for ours. These names are to remind us who God is! When we realize that we’re praying to our Healer, our Provider, our Peace - it takes the guesswork out of our prayers.

We’ve all had that lingering doubt when we pray for healing. We’ve all wondered whether God wants to heal our bodies or not. But when we realize that God calls Himself Yahweh-Our-Healer, we don’t have to finish our prayer with “if it’s Your will.” When we realize that God is Yahweh Shammah - the-LORD-Is-There - we stop asking Him to “be with us” and “be with them.” He’s always there!

The key to answered prayer is faith in God. One of the keys to faith is knowing that God wants to do what we’re asking. And one of the keys to knowing what God wants is to find out Who He is. So these names are more than historical information - we can still know God in these ways today!