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Years back, I called a church in Texas to speak with the Executive Pastor. I was writing a magazine article on this church, so I was asking the pastor for an interview.
He responded to my request by saying, “Sure, why don’t you come to morning prayer at our church?” I responded that I would come and asked the time. He said, “We get up early at our church; we start praying together at 5 a.m. and finish at 7 a.m. I’ll be up front, so come introduce yourself when you get here.”
HHHHMMMHHM.
I was writing a magazine article – I didn’t anticipate having to earn my interview by getting up at 4 a.m. to get to the church for two hours of prayer.
However, being the intrepid Pastor Grant, I arrived at the church and walked into the sanctuary at 4:59 a.m. to find myself in the midst of two to three thousand followers of Jesus already on their knees praying.
I introduced myself to the pastor by kneeling next to him as he prayed. After the entire church remained on their knees praying for 30 minutes, the pastor walked to the front of the auditorium and told the congregation…
Let’s pray the Jehovah names of God. As we pray, remember that each name describes an attribute of God’s nature. Claim the name if it meets a need that you have.
He began to shout the names of God, with two or three thousand followers shouting the names of God after him in chorus. They shouted:
Jehovah Jireh (our God who provides) Psalm 65:9;
Jehovah Rapha (our God who heals) Psalm 41:3;
Jehovah Nissi (God our banner or victory) Exodus 17:15;
Jehovah Tsidkenu (our God of righteousness) Psalm 7:11;
Jehovah Mekadesh (our God who makes holy) Jeremiah 7:23;
Jehovah Shalom (our God of peace) Judges 6:24;
Jehovah Shammah (our God is there) Ezekiel 48:3;
Jehovah Rohi (God our shepherd) Psalm 23:1.
Again and again, they prayed…
Jehovah Jireh, Jehovah Rapha, Jehovah Nissi, Jehovah Tsidkenu, Jehovah Mekadesh, Jehovah Shalom, Jehovah Shammah, Jehovah Rohi!
Prayer progressed for the next hour and a half and then I interviewed the pastor. I don’t remember much about the prayer other than praying the names of God. I also forgot the pastor’s name until writing this Interruption.
But I still pray the Jehovah names of God!
Jehovah is the most often used word for God in the Old Testament. It occurs first in Genesis 2:14 and then “Jehovah” repeats an additional 6,500 times throughout the Old Testament.
Jehovah means “I AM!” or “I AM the God of…” – provision, healing, victory, righteousness, holiness, peace, presence, and shepherd.
I walk and pray several times a week, and while walking, I often say the Hebrew “Jehovah” names of God – Rophe, Rohe, Shammah, Shalom, Tsidkenu, Mekadesh, Nissi, and Jireh!
What is your need? Grab one of these names and pray it again and again today.
And for extra credit – get up tomorrow morning at 5 a.m. to pray.