6 Prayer Positions — #2 Walking

Posted on January 24, 2012 by Stephen Nielsen

Walking.  Walking symbolizes doing, going or living.  If sitting symbolizes resting in the Lord, then walking is symbolic of a practical outworking of that position in Christ.  In our prayers, we are not only to just pray and wait on the Lord to answer; God wants us to do.  Our faith in prayer without works is dead.  Prayer without legs is no prayer at all.  Sometimes He may want you to just pray and wait, but at other times He may want you to put some legs on those prayers.

Now, as you are about to do the works that God has called you to do, you must also remain spiritually in the sitting position of resting in Christ.  Hence, when we walk, we walk not in our own strength, doing good works in our own effort, but we walk in the Spirit—by His strength and leading.

Have you heard of “prayer walking?”  It is a practical and fun way to pray.  And it gives to us an illustration of how we are to walk in the Spirit.  If you have never tried praying while walking, you should try it.  It will revitalize your prayer life and add a new dimension of faith to your prayers.

A couple of summers ago I had the opportunity to be involved in getting the Jesus movie into the hands of people in our neighborhood.  Part of this project involved “prayer walking”—where each team would go out a few days before the actual distribution and walk around the community praying specifically for each house and each family.  We would, for the most part, pray that God would prepare their hearts to see the movie, and that through viewing the movie they would decide to receive Christ.  You could say we were really putting feet to our prayers.

If you think about it, there are many cases in scripture where people walked while praying.  How about the children of Israel as they walked out of Egypt into the wilderness.  Don’t you think they were praying and praising and thanking God?  Or how about when Joshua and his troops walked seven times around the walls of Jericho? Believe it, that was a prayer walk of great faith.  What about Jonah? After being swallowed by that big fish, he, being obedient to the Lord, went straight to Ninevah and walked around and through the city (a four days walk) preaching repentance to the people.  I’m sure he prayed as He walked, for he was greatly outnumbered in that wicked city.

And look at the results in each case: The children of Israel, seeing many works of the Lord along the way, eventually reached the Promised Land; the walls of Jericho fell down; and the people of Ninevah repented—some have said it is the greatest revival on record.

I must confess that most of the time I walk and pray just to get out of the house and breathe some fresh air and to unload all of my burdens on the Lord.   I “pray walk” not to see miracles but to be refreshed in His presence.  As you walk and pray I suggest that you make it a fun time.  Go to a scenic and beautiful place, and as you pray admire the beauty of the Lord and thank Him.  Make it a praise time.  Make it a time of renewal.  There are other times of course when God may call you on a special mission to reach a certain people—such as when I was involved with the Jesus movie distribution.  In whatever type of prayer walk you do, you can be sure that God will bless you and will add to your faith.

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Six Prayer Positions — #1 Sitting

Posted on January 22, 2012 by Stephen Nielsen

 C. S. Lewis in his Screwtape Letters suggests that our bodily posture makes a big difference in our prayers, that we are animal creatures and whatever our body does, affects our souls.            

According to Markus Bockmuehl:

The argument here, is that since we are bodily, ‘animal’ creatures, our desires and aspirations necessarily find expression in bodily form.  When we are joyful or fearful, sad or angry, we will most naturally seek to manifest this in some appropriate outward and physical fashion…So also the posture we adopt in prayer is an outward and visible expression of our real (and not just inward!) need for God.

We may conclude from these words that when we freely express outwardly what our soul says inwardly we become motivated to pray more fervently.  But if we hinder the position of prayer that God is beckoning us to take, whether it be standing, kneeling, or on our face before Him, then we are disobedient and we cut off the true Spirit of prayer that God intends for us; that is, we cut off the Holy Spirit’s call to us—His gentle tug, pulling us to prayer, even to the posture He wants us to take.

 Oh Holy Spirit, Oh Spirit of Prayer, bring us to our knees!  Flatten us on our faces before the Father!  Cause us to see our real need for God.  Bring us, pull us to the throne.      

It is such a prideful thing to hinder the Holy Spirit’s work of prayer—to resist the humble positions of kneeling and bowing and holding our hands high toward heaven.  Oh, how long will we resist?  Do we think we are greater than God?  Is our body so frail that we can’t kneel for five minutes?  Is the pain that unbearable?

Let us be mindful that God is opposed to the proud and He gives grace only to the humble.  If we want His grace we must humble ourselves before Him (1 Peter 5:5, 6).  Let us listen to His voice.  He will tell us what to do—even the position He wants us to take. 

 

SIX PRAYER POSITIONS AND WHAT EACH ONE SYMBOLIZES

Sitting.  The first prayer position that we must start with is sitting, because sitting is the position of a student, of a learner. 

One who is eager to learn sits straight up with alertness and attentiveness. 

If you are eager to learn how to pray, I suggest that you begin by sitting at a desk with your Bible open. 

An eager prayer student may start by reading and studying the Bible every day.  Then, as he reads he is careful to pray over every passage that God blesses him with that day.

David is one who sat before the Lord in prayer (1 Chron. 17:16).  No doubt he was eager to learn all that God required of him; for he had a heart after God’s heart (Acts 13:22).

Sitting is also the position of meditation and rest.  I like this position of prayer because it reminds me that I am positionally seated with God in the heavenly places in Christ. Yes, God raised Jesus from the dead, and He seated Him at His right hand (Eph. 1:20).  And when we became a Christian God raised us up too with Christ in the heavenly places (Eph. 2:6).  And so there we are now, sitting and resting with Christ.  He has done all the work to get us there and we need only rest in His grace. 

But the problem with sitting is that sometimes we are found sitting before idols (which may happen to be such things as the TV, the movies, or the computer—things that take the place of God).  We so often rest and indulge ourselves with all of the lusts of the world and of the flesh more than we rest and enjoy the good things that God gives us to enjoy. 

Let us return to the Living God, for it is only in Him that we can find true rest and lasting satisfaction.  All other sources lead to death, because they are dead idols.  They have no life and can give no life.

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Earnest Prayer: a study of the greek word agonizomai

Posted on January 19, 2012 by Stephen Nielsen

Agonizomai.  This word means to struggle, to wrestle with, to contend or compete with an adversary.  In Colossians 1:28-29 we see that Paul labored and struggled (agonizomai) with all the energy of God, which was working (energeo) in him, to admonish and teach everyone with all wisdom, with the goal to present everyone perfect in Christ.  So here, whereas some people struggle just with their own personal problems, Paul struggled and worked (with the power of God behind him) in behalf of others. 

And we can believe that, as he struggled to admonish and teach, the real struggle was with the devil (Eph. 6:10-13), and his weapon against him was prayer.  For this reason, we can say that earnestness in prayer is working and struggling in prayer (by the mighty power of God) against the forces of evil.  And we do it with the goal to present people perfect in Christ.

Epaphras, who was one of Paul’s co-workers, was also a good example of one who wrestled in prayer.  As Colossians 1:12 tells us, he was always laboring fervently for the Colossian church in prayers, that they would stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.  And the reason he labored so fervently for them is because he had “a great zeal,” for them (v. 13).  It was zeal of love for them implanted in his heart by God—a zeal that empowered him to be a mighty wrestler (against the devil) in prayer.

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Earnest Prayer: a study of the Greek word energeo

Posted on January 17, 2012 by Stephen Nielsen

Energeo.  We said earlier that earnestness, by the word ektenos, conveyed the idea of not relaxing in effort.  Well, energeo carries on that idea but goes further.  Energeo brings the idea of work being efficient, effective and productive.  In prayer our earnestness is effective for only one reason—because God is helping us.  He is the one who puts earnestness in us, and helps our prayers to be productive.  He works His power in us so that whatever effort we make in prayer, that work becomes effective—so that it will bring answers to our prayers.  But more than that, when He works in us by His mighty power—as He is putting His own earnestness into our prayers—He will bring things into our life that far exceed what we ever thought of asking for (Eph. 3:20).

Elijah was a great example of one who prayed with true earnestness—earnestness that was effective.  James tells us (in James 5:17-18) that “He prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months.  And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruits.” 

Now that is effective and productive prayer!  But what made his prayers so effective?  Was it just pure earnestness and striving?  No!  More than that; he toiled in prayer with the power of God as He lived a life that was pleasing to God.  James 5:16 says, “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much” (Energeo is the word used here to describe Elijah’s prayer.).  Thus, when we commit ourselves to God in doing His work, as Elijah did, He will work His power and earnestness in us to produce great and wonderful results.  This is earnestness at its best.

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Earnest Prayer: A study of the Greek word eklenesteron

Posted on January 15, 2012 by Stephen Nielsen

 

This is my second installment of four on this study of earnest prayer—which are excerpts from my book Principles of Prayer. 

Eklenesteron.  This word has basically the same meaning as ektenos, except with this word the intensity of earnestness is greater.  The word appears in the New Testament only in Luke 22:44, where it describes the way Jesus prayed just before His trial and crucifixion:  “And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly.  Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” 

Here it seems that the reason why He prayed so earnestly was because He was so grieved and distressed over the thought of His crucifixion—where he would suffer and pay a horrible penalty for the sin of the whole world.  But take note that His prayers were not weak as to feel sorry for Himself.  No, His prayers were strong.  As verse 43 indicates, “An angel from heaven appeared to Him and strengthened Him.  Thus, seeing His great need, His Father gave Him the strength He needed to pray—enough to overcome His great anguish of soul.

Here is a lesson of prayer.  When you are in great distress, don’t give up as the disciples did (Lu. 22:45-46), for they chose to sleep their troubles away.  Rather, ask God to give you the strength to pray for as long as you need to.  Your prayers must be as strong and as intense as the greatness of your troubles.  Therefore, if you have little troubles, pray a little.  If you have normal troubles, pray a normal amount.  But if you have BIG troubles, pray big and strong, even with loud cries and tears—as Jesus did (Heb. 5:7).  Pray as long and as hard as you need to, to overcome all your pain.  And He will surely come and help you.

No doubt, no one has ever prayed with as much earnestness as Jesus did; but there were some, such as Moses and Paul, whom I believe also prayed with eklenesteron.  Both of these great intercessors were willing to give up their own souls for those they loved.”

Here is what Moses prayed: “Oh, these people have committed a great sin, and have made for themselves a god of gold!  Yet now, if You will forgive their sin—but if not, I pray, blot me out of Your book which You have written” (Ex. 32:31-32).

Similarly, Paul describes His earnest desire for those that he loves: “I have great sorrow and continual grief in my heart.  For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren…” (Romans 9:2-3)  

Harry E. Jessop, in his book, tries to describe Paul’s great heartbreak and earnest prayer.  He writes,

 

This heartbreak was not for himself.  Neither was it the result of worked up emotion, the hysteria born of overwrought nerves.  The sin of others and their consequent danger, so weighed upon his soul that he was driven to earnest pleadings with strong crying and tears.  He could hardly endure the thought of an eternity of bliss if their wandering souls were left to their awful doom, therefore he prayed, and prayed with a breaking heart.

    

In these words of Jessop’s I think we see the key to the reason for earnestness.  It is for the love of others—to plead for their lost souls. 

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Earnest Prayer: a study of the Greek word ektenos

Posted on January 14, 2012 by Stephen Nielsen

 

According to Thayer’s Greek Lexicon, this Greek word “[comes] from a verb which means to ‘stretch out the hand,’ thus it means to be stretched out.”  In prayer, it conveys the idea of praying fervently, without ceasing and not relaxing in effort.  This kind of prayer is a continuous prayer of straining and stretching to gain the answer.

Ektenos is found only twice in the New Testament.  In Acts 12:5, it is used to describe the kind of prayer the church prayed for Peter, who was kept in prison.  In this verse ektenos has been translated at least four different ways.  The NIV and the RSV translate it as “earnestly praying” and “earnest prayer for him was made.”  The KJV translates ektenos as prayer “without ceasing,” the NKJV as “constant prayer,” and the NASB as prayer being made “fervently.”  I’m not sure which one of the translations is the most correct, but I would guess that they are all good translations.  Therefore, if we put them all together, we may conclude that earnest prayer is constant, without ceasing, and fervent. 

Particularly, in this case, we see that earnest prayer was made for Peter by the church.  Certainly there is more power in corporate prayer, especially when it is united in earnestness.  And such was the case here, for, as it happened, Peter was miraculously delivered (Read this amazing story in Acts 12: 5-17).

In the second occurrence, in 1 Peter 1:22, ektenos is used of how we are to love one another:  “Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart” (NKJV). 

Most translations, as it is here in the NKJV, render ektenos, as “fervently,” but the RSV translates it as “earnestly” and the NIV as “deeply.”  So, putting it together, we are to love one another deeply, earnestly and fervently. 

This love then is a love that is stretched out to the limits for others.  It is a special kind of pure, heart-felt love given by the Holy Spirit that only believers possess.  Moreover, I believe that there is a connection of this kind of love to earnest prayer.  For it seems reasonable that when our prayers are earnest they are prayers of love from the heart of God.

This is what Duewel has said about fervency in prayer as it relates to love:

 Fervency is born of love…Love is the very nature of God.  His heart is aflame with love for us and for His world.  The flame that burns in the heart of God will set your heart aflame if you will draw close enough to Him.  His love radiates to your heart.  As you pray, His love places on your heart deep concerns for the needs he sees and wants you to see.  His love, as it imbues you, makes your prayer a sweet perfume before Him (Ps. 141:2).  God’s love is dynamic.  It adds love, desire, and zeal to your praying.  

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Hebrew Names of God: Elyon

Posted on January 12, 2012 by Stephen Nielsen

If you are familiar with Ted Dekker’s Black, Red and White, Elyon is the name used for the mysterious “Creator” in the story.  When I read the books I wondered why Dekker made up a crazy name like that for one who was obviously God.  Now I understand.  Elyon is actually one of God’s Hebrew names.

The name Elyon, also spelled Elyown and Elyowniyn (in Daniel) is translated as “most High,” or “most high God.”

When the name is written with “God” as “most high God” I think the name is strengthened, and is written as Elyon El.  El (translated as God) means strong and mighty.  Elyon is derived from alah, to go up, to be elevated, and designates God as the high and exalted One.  So, put together it would mean the strong and mighty One who is elevated above all others.

 

 USES OF ELYON

 Elyon is used in the Old Testament 57 times.  It is used for the name of God 32 times; but is also used for other things 25 times.

 These other things I refer to give us some insight into the meaning of the name of God.  They are all descriptions of something that is elevated or on top, such as: the top basket (Gen 40:7); Upper Beth Haron (a city, I Ki. 18:17); Upper Gate (2 Chron. 23:20; upper outlet (2 Chron. 32:30; upper room (Ezek. 42:5).  Hence the word here suggests headship, one on top, or exalted.

 Elyon is used four times in scripture with LORD (Yahweh): In Gen. 14:22; Ps. 7:17; Ps. 47:2; and Ps. 97:9.  This really puts a personal emphasis to His name, especially to those who know Him personally—like us.  He is the most high God and He is ours.  He is my God and is over all others.

 The name is used in Daniel four times, but is spelled a little different, as Elyowniyn.  I don’t know why.  Ask a Hebrew student.

 Elyon is translated as “most High” (with a capitol H) 18 times.  At first I didn’t know why, and then I figured it out.  When the name is not used along side of another name like LORD or God, it is always capitalized as “most High,” otherwise it is always as “most high.”

 Now the big question is: why different names of God are used? And here in this study we are asking why the name Elyon (most High) is used in certain contexts?  Here are six reasons that I would suggest:

 

SIX REASONS WHY ELYON IS USED IN CERTAIN CONTEXTS FOR GOD’S NAME

 1.  When it says that He is the owner and creator of heaven and earth.  In Genesis 14:19, Melchizedek said to Abraham, “Blessed be Abram of God most High, possessor of heaven and earth.”

 2.  To encourage us to praise Him.  Psalms 9:2 says,

             I will be glad and rejoice in You;

            I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.

 

3.  When it says that God is a great King. Psalms 47:2 says,

 For the Lord Most High is awesome;

He is a great King over all the earth.

 4.  He is most able to redeem.  Psalms 78 35 says,

Then they remembered that God was their rock,

And the Most High God their Redeemer.

 

5. He is above the anti-Christ, and in the end will destroy him and give His saints rulership in His kingdom.

 Dan 7:25-27

25 He shall speak pompous words against the Most High,

Shall persecute the saints of the Most High,

And shall intend to change times and law.

Then the saints shall be given into his hand

For a time and times and half a time.

26 ‘But the court shall be seated,

And they shall take away his dominion,

To consume and destroy it forever.

27 Then the kingdom and dominion,

And the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven,

Shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High.

NKJV

 

Elyon.  I really like that name.  It’s a lot like Elohim.  But I think I like it better.  It has a nice ring to it.  Don’t you think?

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Hebrew Names of God: Adonai

Posted on January 8, 2012 by Stephen Nielsen

This is the third of four studies on the Hebrew names of God.  Click on this post to also see studies on Elohim and Yahweh on my blog site.

Adonai, also spelled Adonay, and translated as Lord (with only the first letter capitalized), means master, sovereign ruler, and indicates to us that He is master over us and we are His servants. 

 The name is used of both men and God.  About 300 times the name is used of a human master, and 467 times as God.  When used for a man it is always in the singular form—Adon, and the first letter of its English form, “lord,” is never capitalized.  When used for God it is “Lord” and is always in the plural form—Adonai, which suggests God’s trinity (as Elohim also does).

 

ADONAI IS OFTEN USED WITH YAHWEH

 Adonai appears in scripture 182 times by itself as “Lord,” but 285 times along side of His other name Yahweh.  In just three cases Adonai is written as “LORD our Lord” (or Yahweh our Adonai, Neh. 10:29; Ps. 8:1; Ps. 8:9).  But it appears 282 times as “Lord GOD” or as “Sovereign LORD” (in the NIV and NLT).  Notice that when Yahweh is written as GOD” it is in all caps.  And when translated as “Sovereign LORD” the translators are telling us what Adonai means—that He is sovereign.

 The reason, I suppose, that Adonai is written with Yahweh, as “Lord GOD,” is to confirm to us that Yahweh is our master and is sovereign.  And we could also take it the other way, that our Lord (Adonai) is GOD (Yahweh).

 Among the 282 times Adonai is written as Lord God, 222 of them are in the book of Ezekiel.  This is because one of the major themes of Ezekiel is God’s holiness and sovereignty.  Over and over again when the prophet Ezekiel prophecies what God would do in the way of judgments against the sin of Israel (esp. against the false prophets), and also against other nations, the concluding statement is “Then you [Israel] shall know that I am the Lord God” (NKJV, Ezek. 13:9; 23:49; 24:24; 28:24; 29:16).  Hence, the major teaching of the prophet was that they, through God’s judgments, would learn who He is, that God is the almighty ruler of the Universe, that He alone is GOD and  they should bow down to Him as servants.

ADONAI SUGGESTS THE MASTER-SERVANT RELATIONSHIP

The following things are true of Adonai—our Master:

 1.  He owns us as a master owns his slave.

2.  As Our owner, He cares for us and watches over us as a husband loves and cares for his wife (Eph. 5:28-29).

3.  He demands and expects our obedience; and He rewards the obedient and disciplines the disobedient.

4.  Our Master is sovereign.  The writer of Psalms 115:3 says, “…our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases.”  This is the foundation of His sovereignty.  Branching off of that, we can say, along with John Piper, from his book, Desiring God that none of His purposes can be frustrated; hence, “He must be the happiest of all beings.”  Adonai is strong enough and wise enough to make all things work together for His good—for His happiness.  The evil intentions of men cannot frustrate the decrees of God.  They can only bring His plans to their fruition—to make Him happy.

 

The following things are true of God’s servants:

 1. We are not our own.  We are His.  Adonai owns us so we belong to Him (1 Cor. 6:19).

 2. As God’s servants, we should expect His protection and care.  Just as servants in Old
Testament times were regarded as part of the family, we as His servants are also part of His family and we will reap the benefits of His care if we are yielded to Him as servants.

 Read how Old Testament servants were so privileged—more than hires servants and foreigners.

 Ex 12:43-46

And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the ordinance of the Passover: No foreigner shall eat it. 44 But every man’s servant who is bought for money, when you have circumcised him, then he may eat it. 45 A sojourner and a hired servant shall not eat it.

 

Here we see that the slaves who were purchased lived with their masters in their own house, were circumcised, were privileged to eat the Passover, and were partakers of God’s covenant.  Wow!  Not at all like slaves have been treated in the last few hundred years. Old Testament slaves were treated as an adopted member of the family!  And that’s a good representation of how we should look at our relationship with Adonai our Master.  He owns us and cares for us.  We are adopted members of His family and we are partakers of the new covenant in His blood.

3.  Since God is sovereign, and always happy in Himself, when we yield to Him as servants and delight in Him, we will be happy as He is.  And since nothing can frustrate His happiness—no matter what happens in the world around us—nothing should frustrate our happiness (our joy) either.

 

ADONAI IN THE OLD TESTAMENT

We will examine the following Old Testament characters to see how they knew Adonai and regarded themselves as His servants.

 MOSES

 Ex 4:10

Then Moses said to the Lord, “O my Lord [Adonai], I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.”

 

Notice that Moses addressed God as Adonai and said that he was “Your servant.”  This was a humble beginning for Moses, but because he yielded himself as God’s servant he became a great man of God.

  GIDEON

 Judg 6:15

 So he said to Him, “O my Lord [Adonai], how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.”

 

Here again, like Moses, Gideon admitted his weakness, but he addressed God as Adonai (Master).  And as a result Gideon trusted Him as Adonai and became a great warrior.

 

 ISAIHA

 Isa 6:1,8

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord [Adonai] sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple.

 

 8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord [Adonai], saying:

“Whom shall I send,

And who will go for Us?”

Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”

 

Here we see that Isaiah’s vision of Adonai’s greatness and holiness no doubt made him a willing servant so that he said “Here am I sent me.”

DAVID

 Ps 119:125

I am Your servant;

Give me understanding,

That I may know Your testimonies.

 

Ps 123:2

Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters,

As the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress,

So our eyes look to the LORD our God,

Until He has mercy on us.

 

Here I think it is interesting that “LORD” is Yahweh, but it could have been written as Lord (Adonai), because David is speaking of God as His Master.

 

THE MEANING OF ADONAI IS CARRIED OVER INTO THE NEW TESTAMENT

 Lord and Lord Jesus in the New Testament mean the same as Lord (Adonai) in the Old Testament.  Hence, our Lord Jesus is our Master.  He bought us with a price—the price of His own blood (2 Pt 2:1).

Just as a master in the O.T. was expected to provide for and protect His slaves, the Lord Jesus delivers His servants from every evil (2 Tim 4:18).

But our Lord Jesus is not only our Lord.  He helps us to be His servants by giving us an example to follow.  He has provided Himself as the perfect example of a servant; He was the ideal servant of God, as the following verses demonstrate:

 Mark 10:45

For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

 

John 8:29

And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him.”

 

Phil 2:7-8

But made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.

 

 WHAT DOES ADONAI MEAN TO US?

Well, here’s what this study means to me: if I want to get to know God as Adonai, and if I want to be a true servant of God and reap the benefits of a servant, I must act like a servant—I must yield myself to Him as a servant would to his master.

And what are the benefits of the servant of God?  Well, I suppose there are many, but the main one is that when I yield to Him I become free from sin!  For scripture says that when I am a servant of God I am no longer a slave of sin.  Yielding to God (to Adonai, who is my Master) sets me free from sin—from the slavery of sin (Rom. 6:16-18).

 Rom 6:22

But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life.

 

Oh the joy of submitting to Adonai!  He gives so much to us when we submit as servants to Him!

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Hebrew Names of God: YHWH or Yahweh

Posted on January 5, 2012 by Stephen Nielsen

 I have been sharing with you from my study of the names of God.  I guess the reason I am doing this study is because I want to get to know God better and to pray to Him using His different names.  I think it will enrich my prayers.  I hope you get something out of it too.

 This time we are looking at the Hebrew name YHWH, most often translated as its Hebrew name Jehovah or Yahweh, and translated in the Bible in English as LORD.  Notice that all the letters of LORD in your Bible are capitalized.  So whenever you see LORD with all caps, you know that it is the Hebrew name Yahweh.  In my opinion the Bible publishers should print His name as Yahweh instead of LORD.

 Elohim appeared first in the Bible, in the very first verse, translated as God.  The name Yahweh is the second name that appears in scripture, the first appearance is in Genesis 2:4, along side His other name Elohim.  It is translated as “LORD God”.

 

 A NAME WITH DIFFERENT PRONOUNCIATIONS

 As I understand it, the exact transliteration of the Hebrew name is YHWH, but its true pronunciation has been lost due to the following reasons:

1.  Because the name Yahweh is associated with God’s holiness and righteousness, a group of pious Jews came to believe that it was not proper to utter His name; that it was too sacred to be uttered.  Hence, it was not uttered or read at all in the synagogues (and still isn’t, I don’t think).

 2.  Because of this fear of saying His real name, they substituted YHWH for either Adonai or Elohim.  Another group of Jews left the consonants (YHWH) intact and attached to them the vowels of Adonai.  So if you put it together the name would be pronounced something like Yahowaih.

 3.  In 300 B.C. the name became Jehovah.  Hence, the original pronunciation (of YHWH) has been lost.

4.  In four different places—in Exodus 6:3, Psalms 83:18, Isaiah 12:2 and Isaiah 26:4—it is translated in the King James Version as Jehovah (but other versions have it as LORD).  This I suppose has aided people to believe the name should be pronounced as Jehovah.

5.  More recently, it seems that scholars are saying Yahweh is more accurate.  Other spellings such as Yehovah and Jahweh are also used.  I like Yahweh myself.  It seems to match the Hebrew letters YHWH better, and I guess I just like the sound of it.

  

THE MEANING AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE NAME

 The name Yahweh is likely connected to the Hebrew verbal root hwy or hwh meaning “to be”.  Hence, we get the meaning, “the being who is self-existent.”  We also see in His name that He in Himself possesses essential life.

 Yahweh is different than Elohim in that Elohim could be used for other pagan gods; but Yahweh is used only for the true God.  Elohim is sort of a generic name for God, but Yahweh is His personal name and appears only in the Bible, no where else.

Yahweh is the name for God given by God especially to Israel.  When Moses asked God what His name was at the burning bush He said it was “I am.”

Ex 3:14-15

 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.'”

 Though the name Yahweh was revealed as early as Genesis 2:4, Yahweh was not fully revealed to Israel until He spoke to Moses at the burning bush.  This encounter with God was the main occurrence that helped to reveal the meaning of His name.  There has been several interpretations of “I am” and “I am who I am” (listed in The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology Vol. 2, by Editor Colin Brown).  Here are three that I like:

 1) “I am because I am,” or, there is no cause for God’s existence outside of Himself.

2) “I am He who exists.”

3) “I am He who is,” or, “I am the one who is.”  He is the God who alone has real existence.

 

What hasn’t been said is that “I am” seems to say that God always exists in the present.  There is no past or future with God.  You could say that God sees our past and our future as in the present.  Hah, I wonder if we will see our own past and future also in the present when we get to heaven.  Far out!  But maybe not.  I know we will never be totally (completely) like God—otherwise we would be God; that will never happen!

Anyway, because of the burning bush experience, the name Yahweh can be known as the personal revelation of God, especially to His people Israel.  Elohim was God to all the nations around. But to Israel, the Elohim of Israel was Yahweh, because He had personally revealed Himself to them, not only at the burning bush, but through many and various miracles.  Hence the true meaning of His name Yahweh gradually unfolded as He revealed Himself.

The name Yahweh is also used of God when He refers to His nature, or His moral and spiritual attributes, especially in His relationship to us.  Here are some of His attributes, which are connected to His name (Notice that LORD in all caps is His name Yahweh):

 

His Righteousness

 Psalms 11:7

For the LORD is righteous,

He loves righteousness;

His countenance beholds the upright.

 

His Holiness

 Leviticus 19:2

Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy.

Isaiah 6:3

And one cried to another and said:

“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts;

The whole earth is full of His glory!”

 

His Judgment

Because He is holy, He pronounces judgment and metes out punishment.

 Exodus 32:33-34

 And the LORD said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot him out of My book.

 

His Love and Compassion

Jeremiah 31:3

The LORD has appeared of old to me, saying:

“Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love;

Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.

 

Judges 10:16

So they put away the foreign gods from among them and served the LORD. And His soul could no longer endure the misery of Israel.

 

Isaiah 63:7-9

I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the LORD

And the praises of the LORD,

According to all that the LORD has bestowed on us,

And the great goodness toward the house of Israel,

Which He has bestowed on them according to His mercies,

According to the multitude of His lovingkindnesses.

8 For He said, “Surely they are My people,

Children who will not lie.”

So He became their Savior.

9 In all their affliction He was afflicted,

And the Angel of His Presence saved them;

In His love and in His pity He redeemed them;

And He bore them and carried them

All the days of old.

 

His Salvation And Deliverance

 Ex 6:6-7

Therefore say to the children of Israel: ‘I am the LORD; I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, I will rescue you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments.

 The name Yahweh is not only given to Israel but to every believer.  We can call Him Yahweh too.  He is our Yahweh.  He forever exists to save us, deliver us, and help us to be holy as He is.  And He does that for every believer through the person of His Son Jesus Christ.  Through Christ you can know and experience the eternal Yahweh.

  

THE USAGE OF THE NAME

Yahweh appears 6828 times in the Old Testament.  Sometimes Yahweh is used alone, sometimes along side of His other names, and sometimes connected to other names—as a compound name.

 In Genesis two, God’s name Yahweh is used for the first time along side of His other name Elohim.  It can be read as God (Elohim) the LORD (Yahweh), or the LORD (Yahweh) God (Elohim).  In chapter two, after the use of just Elohim (in chapter one), God’s emphasis turns to man, the focus of His creation; and He introduces Himself as Yahweh.  Hence, He says “I am Yahweh Elohim”—or, “I am your personal God.”  So here, I think the reason why Elohim and Yahweh are written next to each other is for God to introduce Himself to man as being more than just his creator, but as his personal God.

 When Yahweh is used alone, I suppose it is because He needs no explaining.  And when Elohim is used alone, it is probably because God is not portrayed in a personal way or His holy attributes are not at stake.

 When Yahweh is used as a compound name, this of course is to point out or highlight one of His attributes.  I can hardly wait to start studying them!

At this point I want to look more closely at how Yahweh is used in Genesis two and three.  As I see it, we can see in the name Yahweh that He created the earth because He cares for us; and He put us on the earth for a good purpose.  Going through all the verses that contain the name Yahweh here’s what I see:

1.  He (Yahweh) made the earth and the heavens for us (v. 4).

2.  He (Yahweh) caused it to rain on the earth so that things would grow—for us (vv. 5, 6).

3.  He (Yahweh) formed us and gave us life (v. 7).

4.  He (Yahweh) made a garden—for us (v. 8).

5.  He (Yahweh) gave us a duty—to keep the garden (v. 15).

6.  He (Yahweh) gave us boundaries—to eat of any tree except one (vv. 16, 17).

7.  He (Yahweh) gave us companionship (vv. 18, 19).

8.  He (Yahweh) dealt with us after we sinned (3: 15-18).

9.  He (Yahweh) clothed us (3:21).

10.  He (Yahweh) became our protector and guide (3:22-24).

 

THE SPEAKING OF THE NAME

Though the name Yahweh is recorded in scripture right from the creation in Genesis 2:4, we don’t know if everyone knew His name.  We know that everyone did not speak His name.  The serpent and Eve, for instance, did not use the name Yahweh.  When speaking of God they used Elohim (“has God [Elohim] said” and “God [Elohim] has said.”

Here are some possible reasons why the serpent and Eve did not use Yahweh:

1.  The serpent didn’t want to make reference to Yahweh because it would remind him of who He was.

2.  Adam and Eve may not of known His name yet.

3.  Eve was under the spell of the serpent and was being tempted.  When we are tempted we tend to forget about whom God is, that He cares for us.

 

In Genesis 4:1 we see that Eve did speak the name of Yahweh.  This is the first reference of anyone speaking His name.

Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, “I have acquired a man from the LORD.”

NKJV

 

Sometime later, after Cain slew his brother Abel, Eve bore another son, Seth.  And from Seth came Enosh.  From that time on, through the line of Seth, “men began to call on the name Yahweh” (Gen. 4:26).  Hooo Yaa!!

 Here are the recorded names of those who followed in the line of Seth, whom I believe knew God and prayed to Him as Yahweh (although we don’t know for sure):

             Seth

            Enosh

            Cainan

            Mehalalel

            Jared

            Enoch (who walked with God)

            Methuselah

            Lamech

            Noah

 

After Noah the next person recorded to call Him Yahweh was Abraham (Gen. 12:8; 13:4).

 David also called on Yahweh.  Psalms 116:4 says,

 Then I called upon the name of the LORD:

“O LORD, I implore You, deliver my soul!”

 

We of course can call on Yahweh at any time.  He is our salvation and our personal God.  Romans 10:13 says. “For whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.”  Notice that “LORD” is in all caps in your Bible.  That means that LORD here is Yahweh.  Yes Yahweh is even found in the New Testament, because Romans 10:13 is a quote from Joel 2:32, which indicates the name of Yahweh. 

Last, I want to warn you to be careful not to see God as many Gods.  There is only one God, but we see Him and can get to know Him better by His many names.

 

 

 

 

 

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Hebrew Names for God: Elohim

Posted on January 3, 2012 by Stephen Nielsen

A Demonstration of the Power of Elohim

A while back I did an Old Testament study of the names of God.  I’d like to share it with you now.  This is the first of four of His names that we will study.

 Elohim is the Hebrew name of God I’ve been studying lately and I want to share this study with you.  I hope it will encourage you and help you to get to know God better.

Elohim is the name of God that is first mentioned in the Bible, and it appears in almost every verse in the first three chapters of Genesis.  If you look through the whole Old Testament, that name will appear about 2596 times. (Of course you will have to know the Hebrew language—or have some good Bible helps.  I don’t know Hebrew, but I have top notch Bible Software—with all the bells and whistles.  So in my study I was able to easily identify all the different Hebrew names of God.)

 Elohim is probably the most basic name of God, and maybe we could say a generic name for God, because it is also used for heathen gods, and for angels, rulers and judges.  But when Elohim is used of God (our creator God) it means “the one true God.”  It also means “the Strong One.”

 The most interesting thing about this name Elohim is that it is plural, which tells us that He (or they) are more than one person.  This of course implies the trinity—that Elohim is Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  This idea really comes out in Genesis 1:26, when “Us” and “Our” is used instead of “Me” and “My.”

 Then God [Elohim] said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

 Since Elohim is the only name of God mentioned in Genesis chapter one, I think we can get a good idea of what Elohim means—of the Elohim aspect of God—from looking at this chapter.  And we will also look at some of the Psalms.

From Genesis, chapter one, we see that Elohim created, hovered, spoke, saw, called, and made.

Elohim “created,” Genesis 1:1.  “In the beginning God [Elohim] created the heavens and the earth.”  He did it in six days.  He spoke it into existence.  What does that tell you about Elohim?  It speaks of His omnipotence and of His deity.  He, as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, is above all and is more powerful than we can imagine.  Psalms 104 speaks of His greatness in creation:

Ps 104:1-2

O Lord my God [Elohim], You are very great:

You are clothed with honor and majesty,

2 Who cover Yourself with light as with a garment,

Who stretch out the heavens like a curtain.

 

Ps 104:5

You who laid the foundations of the earth,

So that it should not be moved forever,

 

Elohim “hovered,” Genesis 1:2.  “And the Spirit of God [Elohim] was hovering over the face of the waters.”  Here we see the Spirit of Elohim hovering over the earth.

  In Psalms 18 I sort of see how God (Elohim) hovers, or flies over the earth.  In this passage we see particularly the power of Elohim answering David’s prayer in his time of distress.  David said in verse 6, “I cried out to my God [Elohim].”  Here is how Elohim is described as He answered David’s prayer for help.  Notice the power of Elohim. 

 He [Elohim] heard my voice from His temple,

And my cry came before Him, even to His ears.

7 Then the earth shook and trembled;

The foundations of the hills also quaked and were shaken,

Because He was angry.

8 Smoke went up from His nostrils,

And devouring fire from His mouth;

Coals were kindled by it.

9 He bowed the heavens also, and came down

With darkness under His feet.

10 And He rode upon a cherub, and flew;

He flew upon the wings of the wind.

11 He made darkness His secret place;

His canopy around Him was dark waters

And thick clouds of the skies.

12 From the brightness before Him,

His thick clouds passed with hailstones and coals of fire.

 

So here in this passage we see Elohim as master of the heavens, as He flies like a bird, or like an eagle, over the earth, who hovers over all those He loves.  He watches them and cares for them.  And in His power He will reign down terrible destruction on all His enemies—those who seek to harm His own.

 Elohim “said,” Genesis 1:3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 20, 24. 

Then God [Elohim] said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.

Then God said…

Then God said…

Then God said…

Etc.

Etc.

 

Here we see that Elohim spoke things into existence.  What power!!

 

Psalms 33:6 says,

 By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,

And all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.

 

Elohim “saw,” Genesis 1:4, 10 ,18 ,21, 25, 31.

 

And God[Elohim] saw the light, that it was good. 

And God saw…

And God saw…

And God saw…

And God saw…

Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good.

 

Elohim in His power put His seal of perfection on everything that He created.  When it says that He saw that it was very good, this means, I think, that He determined by His power that it be good.  Hence, because He saw it was good so can we.

 

Elohim “called,” Genesis 1:5, 8, 10. 

 God [Elohim] called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.”

God [Elohim] called…

God [Elohim] called…

 

When Elohim calls things what they are, He in fact is establishing what they are, is expressing their reality and assigning it its place.  Elohim has that kind of power!  In Psalms 74: 16 and 17 we see this power of Elohim in creation.

 

16 The day is yours, and yours also the night;

you established the sun and moon.

17 It was you who set all the boundaries of the earth;

you made both summer and winter.

NIV

 

Elohim “made,” Genesis 1:7, 16, 25, 31.  Elohim made the firmament; He made the two great lights and the stars.  He made the wild animals; He made everything, and made it good.

 This word “made” is much like “create,” but “made” involves more of the process of creating.  It entails the details of creation and the work of creation.  When Elohim made things He took much thought and care and work to make them.

 When I think of Elohim, I don’t know why, but I think of the great and terrible Oz—in The Wizard of Oz.  Kind of silly, hah?  But of course He is much more than that.  So much more.

 Elohim.  I love that name.  Elooooheeeeeem.  He is so great!!!!!

 Elohim,

Oh my Elohim,

How great and powerful You are!

 I want to call Him Elo, my Elo.  But that’s not His name.  His name is Elohim.  Elooooheeem.

 Some people call Him the man upstairs, the big guy, or big Daddy.  But that to me is disrespectful.  His name is Elohim, the one who created you from dust, who made you, who fashioned you with His hands, and who lovingly and powerfully made everything in just 6 days.

 When I think of how His Spirit hovered over the face of the waters (Gen. 1:2) and how He rides on the wings of the wind (as the Psalms describe), His name Elohim gives me goose bumps. He is such a mystery, such a terror in the skies. 

 

Elohim,

Oh my great Elohim,

Who can know Your greatness,

 Your awesome power? 

 

 

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