A Name: Yahweh

So God has a name.

And just to clarify, it’s not God.

It’s Yahweh.

The fact that God has a name is way more important than most of us realize. In ancient writings like the Bible, your name was your identity, your destiny, the truth hidden in the marrow of your bones. Names are revelatory of the nature of a person.

The first time someone learns God's name in Scripture is in the story of the burning bush, after God talks Moses into leading the Israelites out of slavery. Moses wants to know what he should tell them when they ask him about this God.

And Moses’ question is fascinating. In Hebrew, it’s "mah shemo?" which means, “What is the meaning of your name?”

Moses isn’t just asking for a label like Bob or Hank. He’s asking the Creator God, “Who are you? What are you like? Tell me about your character.”

And that’s when the Creator speaks his name.

“I am who I am.”

One of the ways to translate this Hebrew phrase is “whatever I am, I will be.” Meaning, whatever this God is like, he’s that way consistently.

Over time, the Hebrews stopped saying the name of God out loud. One of the Ten Commandments is, “You shall not misuse the name of Yahweh your God.” So they would call him other names. The most common title was adonai, a Hebrew word meaning “Lord.”

Because of the Jewish switch to adonai, usually YHWH is translated into English as “the Lord.” This is how the vast majority of translations write out God’s name, and so it’s what most followers of Jesus call God.

In my opinion, it’s a dangerous move that could make us miss out on a key facet of how we relate to God. Why? Because “the Lord” isn’t a name; it’s a title. Calling God “the Lord” is like me calling Tammy “the wife.” That would be weird. Why? Because I’m in a close relationship with her, and that’s not the language of intimacy.

And what you call somebody says a lot about your relationship.

In the same way, God wants to be called by his name, not a title. That's why he says to Moses

“This is my name forever,
the name you shall call me
from generation to generation.”

I would argue that we need to get back to calling God by his name.

But Jesus took this even one step further. He taught us to call God “Father”—the most intimate relational name there is.

Now, let’s take a step back and talk about the staggering implications this has for how we relate to God.

For starters, this means that God is a person. By person, I mean he’s a relational being who wants to know and be known, not an impersonal energy force. And he's a God who responds. More of a friend than a formula.

Think of how this could rewire how you pray.

A lot of people feel guilty because they don’t enjoy prayer. Others just push through it because they know it’s the right thing to do. Most of us avoid it.

That’s because most of us don’t actually pray.

Prayer is what Moses did with God in the tent. What Jesus did with the Father in Gethsemane. It’s brutally honest, naked, and vulnerable. It’s when your deepest desires and fears and hopes and dreams leak out of your mouth with no inhibition. It’s when you talk to God with the edit button in the off position and you feel safe and heard and loved. It’s the kind of relational exchange you can’t get enough of.

And our prayers make a difference. Most of us don’t actually believe that prayer changes reality. But it does.

And what you find waiting for you is Yahweh, the person, who wants to relate to you.

And you don’t even have to climb a mountain. All you have to do is open your lips.