Here at ZION, we have established a discipline of praying the Names of God as a part of our corporate worship. Personally, I now include this in my individual prayer life and would strongly recommend it—hopefully this short dissertation helps you to decide the same.
The practice of praying the Names of God in our gatherings began in 2023, and since then we have published several videos to help explain some of the Names we pray. You can find some helpful information in this YouTube Playlist: What’s in a Name?
To pray the Name of God is to declare and profess faith in the character of God.
We read of the first revival in the Bible in Genesis 4:26, as the Lord turned the hearts of people back to Him.
And as for Seth, to him also a son was born; and he named him Enosh. Then men began to call on the name of the Lord.
To invoke (call upon) the name of the Lord is to proclaim His name, and thereby His Greatness. Simply put, this looks like prayer, praise, thanksgiving, acknowledgement of His mercy, and celebration of His love and grace.
Some suggest this revival in Genesis 4:26 was the commencement of corporate worship, as families became tribes, extending the practice of worshipping and serving God’s purposes in the earth.
Here’s a bit of a geeky insert… which you can skip if you wish <Skip>
Born to Adam and Eve, Seth is Cain’s younger brother… that’s right, the Cain that killed Abel and was banished for his sin. Seth clearly learned by watching the ways of God as he chose to name his son Enosh, which comes from the root words that mean: to be weak, frail, man is mortally frail.
This expression, (name Enosh given), is a confession by Seth in contrast to the pride and arrogance of his older sibling, Cain. Therefore, the posture of worship before God through Enosh is an expression of the humility of a man who accepts he is a weak and frail man, and accepts he is created to need God, and all His fullness revealed in His Divine nature.
You could say, the descendants of Cain were establishing their kingdom by the strength of their arm and extent of their invention, (building cities and establishing culture and economy); whereas the descendants of Enosh lived under the Name of the Lord in humility and worship, their lifestyle of sacrifice establishing the Kingdom of God in their midst – this being the rule and reign of a Sovereign King, Divine in nature and present in their reality.
Keep Reading…
As I said earlier, when mankind began to call on the Name of the Lord, they were choosing to submit to His ways in worship and faith, but this also includes a choosing to be a part of His redemptive purposes in the earth.
The translation of the original text varies across scholars, with the phrase “call on the name of the Lord to include call “on”, “with”, or “in”.
- You can call out with the name of the Lord.
- You can call in the name of the Lord.
This phrase therefore means to yield to a higher power, but also to be associated with or known by that name on which you call. This is why we who call on the name of the Lord are referred to as “children of God.”
When we cry out in God’s Name we are crying out as His children.
Enosh, being one who called on the name of the Lord, is a man who lived by faith in that which he could not see (in the natural) and yet chose to submit and worship as evidence of having received that which was promised.
God’s Name is God’s Promise.
To call on the name of the Lord is to learn to speak with God in the language of faith. For example;
- When you cry out to Yahweh Rapha, you are professing faith in God your healer.
- When you cry out to Yahweh Tsidkenu, you are professing faith in God as the One Who provides your righteousness by His grace and not your works.
- When you cry out to Yeshua, you are crying out to the God Who saves you.
- When you cry out to Immanuel, you are crying out to the God Who is with you.
In his short (and free) ebook, Simple Revival, Bill Johnson says,
The restoration of the spiritual life of Israel often started with re- building the altar. Revivals begin in the same way. The altar was the place where sacrifices were made, and deep repentance was demonstrated. The stones of the altar were uncut stones, meaning that coming before God in surrender was never to be shaped by our design or control of the moment. Coming to God has always been through grace.
The Lord has instructed us to rebuild the altar, and how we have been instructed to do that is to call on the Name of the Lord.
Further scriptures for your reading and meditation:
In scripture, we see the people of God demonstrating faith by their “calling on the name of the Lord.” This is how the people of God are known.
Genesis 12: 8 (Abram)
There he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord.
Genesis 26:25 (Isaac)
So he built an altar there and called on the name of the Lord.
1 Kings 18:24 (Elijah)
… you call on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the Lord; and the God who answers by fire, He is God.
Psalms 116:1-2
I love the Lord, because He has heard my voice and my supplications. Because He has inclined His ear to me, therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live.
Psalms 116:17
I will offer to You the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the Lord.