Psalm 131
When some people pray and say, “God,” they mean “powerful servant,” or “giver of what I want,” or “somebody I hope is out there”. A believer’s prayer, however, addresses God as “Lord.” What’s the difference?
The word here should be “Yahweh”. That is how our God had it written. Yahweh is the Name by which our God self-identifies. God tells Moses His Name, “Yahweh”. All the other names for God are titles or descriptions inspired people give to God. This is the Name God gives to us.
Yahweh – I Am. We pray, not to anything like us, for we cannot say, “I am.” We can say only “I am, for now.” God always is, always was, always will be. We cannot say that, though many live like that! Prayer is our way of connecting with life beyond the living. Prayer finds us meeting in the Eternal One, so that we may face all the temporary stuff.
Yahweh – I Am. We pray to One who is. Too many get too attached to what will not be. Lovers, money, health, even our bodily existence. Prayer settles us into Whose we are – the One who will never not be, the One who can move us beyond what is no longer.
Yahweh – I Am. We pray to the God who delivers us from the slavery of our times, the One who moves in the universe to draw all people to Him, for either judgment or grace. This is a God who acts and acts decisively for the burdened and the broken. We pray to be on God’s side.
We pray to Yahweh, and are changed by the encounter! Then, we bring His work in us to our world.
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