January 4th: Your Name
“Pray then like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.” (Mt 6:9).
Yesterday as we spent time in prayer, we spent time honoring God’s name, confessing the ways we have failed to ascribe the honor He is due. Today, as we spend time praying, we are going to focus a bit more on God’s name. Throughout the Word of God, a number of different names and titles are used to speak of God. At times, God uses them to refer to himself in order to reveal a unique aspect of His character and His activity; while at other times, they are used by different individuals in Scripture to communicate their understanding about who God is, what He is like, and what He has done.
For instance God refers to Himself as God Almighty (Gn 17:1) when addressing Abraham. Almighty God highlights the fact that God is “most powerful”, stressing his omnipotence and all sufficiency. At the same time, in Psalm 95:6, the psalmist refers to God as the LORD our Maker (Ps 95:6) calling attention to God’s creative work in making and forming us as individuals and as His people.
Some additional names and titles used for God throughout Scripture are: Sovereign LORD (Acts 4:24), the Living God (Mt 16:16), the LORD of Hosts (Ps 24:10); God of seeing (Gn 16:13); Everlasting Father (Is 9:6); Mighty G0d (Is 9:6); Ancient of Days (Dn 7:9); King of Glory (Ps 24:7) the LORD your healer (Ex 15:26); and the Holy One of Jacob (Is 29:23).
As you spend time praying today, we want to invite you to spend time praising God for who He is and thanking Him for what He has done.