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Three Cord Ministries
Knowing and Praying God's Names

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"I am who I am"

And those who know Thy name will put their trust in Thee;
For Thou, O Lord, hast not forsaken those who seek Thee.

Psalm 9:10

First things first!

Before we can have a relationship with someone, we need to know them! As a minimum, we need to know their name! God wants us to know Him through His son Jesus Christ, by means of His Holy Spirit. He wants us to know His name.

Here are but a few of the Names of God that can be called upon in many situations within a marriage relationship. Three Cord Ministries wishes to acknowledge the following as resources.


1) The book "Lord, I Want to Know You" by Kay Arthur of Precept Ministries http://www.precept.org, Chattanooga, TN (ISBN 0-88070-880-8).
2) An article entitled "The Names of God" by Lambert Dolphin.

1) Elohim - The Creator - the plural of (El) God.

2) El Elyon - The Most High

3) Adonai - The Lord, Master

4) El Shaddai - The Lord Almighty (The All Sufficient One)

5) Jehovah (Yahweh) - The Self Existent One

6) Jehovah Jireh - The LORD Will Provide

7) Jehovah Shalom - The LORD is Peace

8) Jehovah Rapha - The LORD that Healeth

... and many more!



Think of the situations in your marriage where you can call upon one (or more) of these names of God! When you pray, you can still call upon Him as Father God, Heavenly Father or Lord if you want. He knows His names! But, in Scripture, He has been called other specific names for very specific situations starting right in Genesis 1:1.

1) Elohim - Creator

"In the beginning God [Father,Son and Holy Spirit](Elohim) created the heavens and the earth." When we pray using the name Elohim, we are praying to God as creator. We were created for His glory. He made us fearfully and wonderfully (see Psalm 139:13-14). We also pray the name Elohim as our strong tower when we seek refuge. That is the name Proverbs 18:10 uses. It says "The name of the Lord (Elohim) is a strong tower - the righteous run into it for safety."

- Pray for your spouse as a creation of Elohim and thank Him for creating your spouse!

- Thank Elohim that you and your spouse can run to Him for safety!



2) El Elyon- The (Sovereign) God Most High

The name El Elyon designates God as sovereign ruler of all the universe and Redeemer of Israel. It is first mentioned in Genesis 14:20.

It was God most high, El Elyon, who delivered Abrams enemies into his hand. Genesis 14:20 says "And blessed be God Most High (El Elyon) who has helped you conquer your enemies.

It was the God Most High, El Elyon, who was and is the Redeemer of Israel (Psalm 78:35) and it is the God Most High, El Elyon, who rules today over the affairs of man today. The sovereignty of El Elyon is shown in many other scriptures including:

Isaiah 46:9-11 - sovereignty over all including birds, animals and man.

Daniel 2: 20-23 - sovereignty over rulers of the earth.

Deuteronomy 32:39 - sovereignty over illness and disease.

1 Samuel 1:5-6 - sovereignty over life and death.

Isaiah 45:6-7 - sovereignty over nature and the world.

- Thank El Elyon that He is sovereign in the universe!

- Thank El Elyon that He daily rules in your marriage affairs - all of them!



3) Adonai - (Master)

Adonai (Lord or Master) is used 300 times in the Old Testament. It is always plural when referring to GOD. The first use of Adonai is in Genesis 15:2. Abraham is questioning God about his "nations as countless as the stars".

Genesis 15:2 says "O Lord GOD (
adonai or Master), what good are your blessings when I don't even have a son?"

Abraham was questioning God as his Master.

Other references to God as Adonai are found in Judges 6: 15 in the story of Gideon. Gideon calls God his Lord.

"... O Lord (Adonai) how shall I deliver Israel?"

Gideon was questioning God as his Master.

Also in Exodus 4:10 when Moses was making excuses why he should not be used by God to deliver the Israelites from Egypt.

" ... O Lord (Adonai) I'm just not a good speaker ... I am clumsy with my words."

Moses was questioning God as his Master.

The Bible is clear about God's nature as our Lord and Master.

In Psalm 8 "O LORD, our Lord (Adonai), the majesty of your name fills the earth!"

He is Lord and Master of the Earth.

Psalm 135 verse 5 says "For I know that the LORD is great, and that our Lord (Adonai) is above all gods."

He is Lord and Master of the Universe.

The importance of calling God our Lord and Master cannot be underestimated. Even though we can be saved, we must also come under God’s authority, we must call God our Lord and Master.

- Even though it may be difficult to call a person "master", adonai requires that we call Him master!

Daily call Him Master of your marriage.

- Pray that adonai will put in both your hearts, the desire to call Him master

... above all others - family, work, church.



4) El Shaddai - Lord Almighty - the All Sufficient One

Whenever you see the name 'God Almighty' in the Old Testament, you see El Shaddai. When Abram first knew his God as his El Shaddai, he fell on his face. El Shaddai is first used in Genesis 17.

Genesis 17:1-3 says "When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, 'I am God Almighty (El Shaddai); serve me faithfully and live a blameless life. I will make a covenant with you by which I will guarantee to make you into a mighty nation.' At this, Abram fell face down in the dust."

'EL' is one of the oldest terms for deity in the human race ' it stands for 'might' and 'power'. Thus El Shaddai is the one that we can call upon for sufficiency. This makes us appreciate Christ's words to Paul in 2 Corinthians even more.

2 Corinthians 9 says "And He has said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.'"

-Thank El Shaddai that He is the all-sufficient one - you don't need any other!

- When you pray, listen to Christ as He speaks to you - as He did to Paul when He said ...

…my grace is sufficient for you!




5) Jehovah (Yahweh) – The Self Existent One

Of all the names of God, Jehovah or Yahweh (YHWH) is the name most frequently used in the Bible. It is used 6,823 times. The first use occurs in Genesis 2:4 where Jehovah is compounded with Elohim.

Genesis 2:4 says "This is the account of the creation of the heavens and the earth. When the LORD (Jehovah - Elohim) made the heavens and the earth"

Even though the term Jehovah was first used in Genesis 4:2, it wasn't until MOSES at the burning bush, revealed the name that he received from God - “I AM WHO I AM” to the people of Israel, that the people understood that God was the covenant keeping God.

In Exodus 6:2-4, Jehovah said “ I appeared to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob … I established My covenant with them, to give them the land

of Canaan ..."

Jehovah is the self-existent One – the “I AM WHO I AM”. He is the eternal “I AM”, the Alpha and Omega, the same yesterday, today and forever. All of life is contained in Him.

- Pray that the significance of the name Jehovah is written on your heart and in your mind.

- Know that God never changes. He never leaves you or forsakes you. He is Jehovah!




6) Jehovah Jireh – The LORD Will Provide

The compound name of God, Jehovah Jireh is first mentioned in Genesis 22:14. "JIREH" means to "see" or "to provide” or to "foresee” as a prophet. Remember the story of Abraham and his son Isaac. It was God (Jehovah Jireh) that provided the sacrificial ram that was caught in the bushes.

Genesis 22:7-14 – Look for the phrase "God will provide"

7. Isaac said, "Father?" "Yes, my son," Abraham replied. "We have the wood and the fire," said the boy, "but where is the lamb for the sacrifice?" 8. "God will provide a lamb, my son," Abraham answered. And they both went on together. 9. When they arrived at the place where God had told Abraham to go, he built an altar and placed the wood on it. Then he tied Isaac up and laid him on the altar over the wood. 10. And Abraham took the knife and lifted it up to kill his son as a sacrifice to the LORD. 11. At that moment the angel of the LORD shouted to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!" "Yes,"; he answered. "I'm listening." 12. "Lay down the knife," the angel said. "Do not hurt the boy in any way, for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld even your beloved son from me." 13. Then Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in a bush. So he took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering on the altar in place of his son. 14. Abraham named the place "The LORD Will Provide. "This name has now become a proverb: "On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided."

In Genesis 22:7 Isaac asked the question (and a good question it was) – "...but where is the lamb for the offering?"

Abraham replied - "God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." He was literally saying that - "God will see for Himself the lamb."

The word "provided" can be literally translated as "seen" or “seen to" thus God provided or saw the lamb, His Son as the sacrifice for us.

Because God sees ... he provides. Jehovah Jireh provides all our needs!

We read in Philippians 4:19 - "my God shall supply (provide, see) all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus."

-Pray in the name of Jehovah Jireh for all provisions in your marriage – not just financial!

- Thank Jehovah Jireh that He foresees in your marriage your needs long before you do!

7) Jehovah Shalom – The LORD is Peace

Peace, peace and more peace. That is what we desire for the world, that is what we desire in our families and what we desire inside of us. But peace seems so hard to come by – we have no inner peace when we are separated from God, we have no peace in our relationships if there is misunderstanding and miscommunication. The world is far from being a peaceful place because of selfishness, greed, fear and mistrust.

God offers peace. One of the strongest names of God is peace - Jehovah Shalom. This is the name Gideon used when he built the altar after seeing God face to face.

Judges 6:22-24. "When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the LORD, he cried out "Sovereign LORD, I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face!" "It is all right," the LORD replied. "Do not be afraid. You will nor die." And Gideon built an alter to the LORD there and named it "The LORD Is Peace "(Jehovah Shalom) (NLT)

There can be no peace – inner or outer except through a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Read the Aaronic blessing in Numbers 6:22-27. "The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make His face to shine on you, and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up His countenance on you and give you peace." (NASB)

Isaiah 26:3 tells us "You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, whose thoughts are fixed on you!" (NLT)

Reflect on the words of Jesus' as written in John 14:27. "Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, do I give you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful." (NASB)

We cannot ‘get’ peace from the world or anything in it – money, fame, prestige or things. We can only call on Jehovah Shalom for peace.

- Pray in the name Jehovah Shalom for inner peace and for inner peace in your spouse!

- Thank Jehovah Shalom that you don’t need to be slave to anxiety from this world!

8) Jehovah Rapha – The LORD that Healeth

The first mention of the name Jehovah Rapha appears in the Bible in Exodus 15:26. The Covenant God, Jehovah has led His people out of bondage from Egypt. At Mara they cried out for water because they couldn’t drink the water there … it was bitter. Moses threw in a tree and the water became sweet. God tested them and said “If you will give earnest heed to the voice of the LORD your God, and do what is right in His sight, and give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I gave put on the Egyptians; for I the LORD (Jehovah Rapha), am your healer.

Keeping His commandments and statues would keep the people healthy. The tree at Mara made the bitter waters sweet and cured the bitter waters. The tree that His son Jesus died on has taken our bitterness and has healed our diseases. Jehovah Rapha is able to heal all diseases - physical, emotional and spiritual.

The Bible is full of healings – from King Hezekiah in 2 Kings 20, to healing the land in 2 Chronicles 7:14 to healing people as described in the New Testament in Matthew 8:16-17. The New Testament is full of the healing power of God (Jehovah Rapha) through the mighty name of Jesus.

He wants to heal us too today, not only of our physical illnesses but our emotional pain and our broken hearts. Jehovah Rapha can heal our marriages.

- Pray in the name Jehovah Rapha for any physical healing that you need right now.

- Pray in the name Jehovah Rapha for emotional healing in your relationship with your spouse.