Many of my teachings simply come from my quite times with the Lord. This week I was reading in John and I was suddenly struck by the incredible instruction the Lord has given us in the 14^thand 15^thchapters that seem to be key to effective prayer.

John 14:1

Amplified Bible (AMP)

14 Do not let your hearts be troubled (distressed, agitated). You believe in and adhere to and trust in and rely on God; believe in and adhere to and trust in and rely also on Me.

12 I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, if anyone steadfastly believes in Me, he will himself be able to do the things that I do; and he will do even greater things than these, because I go to the Father.

13 And I will do [I Myself will grant] whatever you ask in My Name [as presenting all that I Am], so that the Father may be glorified and extolled in (through) the Son.

14 [Yes] I will grant [I Myself will do for you] whatever you shall ask in My Name [as presenting all that I Am].

I love that Jesus first addresses our heart issues. He knows that fear and uncertainty can unravel us. We get agitated and distressed so easily. So He brings us right back to trust. Trusting in the love of God for us, His care for us. Trusting in His character.  I know my husband and because I know him I can trust him, trust his judgment and direction. To trust anyone we have to really get to know them. It is the same with God.  Jesus knows us so well and loves us so much that He encourages us by telling us that we will be able to do greater things than He did!  Really? Heal the sick, teach with authority, restore lost dignity, bring hope to the hopeless? My immediate response to verse 12, which I wrote in my bible margin was how. How do I do what He did and more? My question was answered in the very next verse. “I will grant you whatever you ask in MY NAME. In the amplified it states to ask in His Name is to present all that He is. If presenting all that is represented by the name of Jesus is vital then I need to understand all that His name represents and establish it in my mind and in my heart.

God or I AM  is known by many names. The repetition of these names throughout His Word places an emphasis on the unchanging aspects of His nature and character.

God desires for us to know Him and even experience His nature and character through His names. Once we understand these we can present different aspects of His name back to Him in prayer. In Scripture, the names of God are like miniature portraits and promises and once we have those down we will be able to stand on the promises and revealed nature of God with great trust and security.

There are 17 names of God, 17 ways to address the Father.

This week we will take a look at Jehovah Jireh.

Jehovah Jirehis first used in Genesiss 22 when God appears to Abraham on the basis of meeting his needs. It is the first time a compound name for God is used. Jehovah is the eternal changeless One who reveals His ways to you. This is one of my very favorite names of God and one that through the years has meant the most to me. Jehovah-Jireh means “The Lord will provide”. God revealed Himself as the Lord who would provide way back in the first book of the Bible, Genesis. Abraham was about ready to sacrifice his son Isaac on an alter at the top of a desolate mountain in the land of Moriah. We know it was desolate because when they reached the base of the mountain, Abraham took with him the wood for fire, and knife that would be needed to complete the sacrifice. He must have known none of those things would be found at the top. He also took Isaac who was to BE the sacrifice and left two servants behind.

When they were near the top, Isaac said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering? And Abraham said, ‘God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering my son.'” Just as Abraham was about to kill his son, the Lord stopped him and showed him a ram caught in a thicket and told him to use that instead. God had placed that ram nearby in advance, knowing He was going to need a substitute for Isaac.

After the sacrifice was complete, Abraham named the place “The Lord Will Provide” which in Hebrew is YHWH-jireh. “Jireh” translates into “Provide” which is a word with wonderful Latin roots. Pro means “before” and video means “to see”. So it means to see in advance or before the need is known. God is preparing an answer before we know that it is a need. See Genesis 22:1-14.

This act of incredible faith did not come out of thin air. Abraham had been walking with God for 50 years. Faith is not static, it grows. It was built on a covenant relationship. Abraham was not led by his mind or his emotions, he was led only by the words of God that He would provide. We see Abraham obeying God. Abraham looked at the promises of God (that he would multiply a nation through Isaac) and not the circumstances. Before Abraham brings the knife down he looks up. This is really important, Abraham was taking his vision off the natural. He was looking to where God wanted him to look and focusing on God’s Word…Abraham did not let the Word depart from before his eyes:

“…I will make your seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, …Gen 26:4

“And I will make your seed as the dust of the earth…” Gen 13: 16

“..and make your seed as the sand of the sea…” Gen 32:12

He was saying, “I can’t have that if Isaac isn’t raised from the dead, because God called him the promised seed.

Just like Abraham you and I must hold on to our promise in His Word, which is our confidence, in order to see our reward.

Where Abraham looks and what he says is important.   We have to have a faith mouth to go along with a faith vision.

“And Abraham said to his young men, ‘Stay here with the ass, and I and the lad will go up and worship, and come again to you’ Gen 22:5

Wow, he was speaking in faith! He then told Isaac that God would provide the sacrifice.

In conclusion when we pray we need to believe we will see God’s provision, perhaps at the 11th hour. Ask God to direct your eyes to the promises in His Word that strengthen your faith in Him. Then ask for ears to hear and eyes that see and a mouth that praises Him ahead of time for the provision. Remember Jehovah Jireh means that God provides the answer before we ever see the need.

So, this week in prayer please ask the Lord to provide and make note of how Jesus answers your prayers so that you might encourage us next week! We will sporadically visit some of the names of God again in the coming months.