Day 14 "O Yahweh" - Prophets Meet Directly with the Living God

For the last few months, I have been making a conscious effort to call upon the Name of God, Yahweh in prayer. Whenever I call out His Name, it helps me to stay focus on God Himself.

Today, we continue with our overview study on how the prophets pray in the Old Testament.

The prophets have a very intimate relationship with God. They truly know God as "Yahweh", the Living God.

Here is a  list of some of the prayers that are found in the Prophetic books. This will give you a clear picture that the prophets do address God by His Name when they enter into God's presence to pray.  I will only quote verses where they begin their prayers.

I want you to capture the pattern that the prophets of old frequently call God's Name when they enter into  prayer: O Yahweh!

Isaiah

Isaiah 33:2

Yahweh, be gracious to us; we log for you

Jeremiah

Jer 5:3

Yahweh, do not your eyes look for truth?

Jer 10:23

Yahweh, I know that people's lives are not their own . . .

Jer 12:1

You are always righteous, Yahweh . . .

Jer 14:13

"Alas, Sovereign Yahweh!  The prophets keep telling them . . .

Jer 18:19

Listen to me, Yahweh . . .

Jer 20:7

You deceived me, Yahweh, and I was deceived.

Jer 32:17

"Ah Sovereign Yahweh, you have made the heavens and the earth.

Ezekiel

Eze 4:14

"Not so, Sovereign Yahweh!  I have never defiled myself.

Eze 20:49

"Sovereign Yahweh . . .

Hosea

Hos 9:14

Give them, Yahweh - what will you give them?

Joel

Joel 1:19

To you, Yahweh, I call . . .

Amos

Amos 7:2

Sovereign Yahweh, forgive!

Jonah

Jonah 4:2

Isn't this what I said, Yahweh, when I was still at home?

Habakkuk

Hab 1:2

How long, Yahweh, must I call for help . . .

Hab 1:12

Yahweh, are you not from everlasting?

Hab 3:2

Yahweh, I have heard of your fame.

Know this: The prophets are very conscious of the fact that when they call "O Yahweh" - they are MEETING DIRECTLY with God.

Just like when we call a friend on the phone, we know we are talking directly to that person when we get connected on the phone. If we were not wanting to talk to that friend, we would not call him/her. After we greet each other by names, we start chatting.

Often times, in prayers, we fail to connect with God before we start talking to God. We don't even call on God and we start mumbling our prayers. By habit, we already know what we want to say most of the time as soon as we close our eyes. We have 'created' for ourselves a little "comfortable prayer ritual' -- we had forgotten that the most important thing in prayer: to MEET DIRECTLY with our Living God.

Application:

So when you pray tonight, quiet down to prepare yourself to meet with God.  Call on God's Name "Yahweh" to meet with Him.

When you pray, "O Yahweh", remember: you are meeting directly with the Living God.

This means:

1. Prepare yourself to meet with God.

2. Call on God's Name – Yahweh

3. "Turn" your full attention to God.

4. Stand before His presence.

5. Be present to meet with the Living God.

Conclusion

I am now very excited for you.  Once you have learned these spiritual principles laid out for you in this book, this will transform your prayer life.  You now know what it means to enter into God's presence.  You have the key to tap into the depth of prayer - to meet with the Living God, Yahweh.

Day 13 Elijah & Elisha - Stand Before Yahweh

Over the past couple of years, I've read and re-read Old Testament to understand what God wants to reveal to us through His Name, Yahweh. After all, this is the most important word in the Bible, appearing 6828X.

I read through all the passages on prayers to see how men called upon Yahweh. There are so many things to share and right now we are just touching the tip of the iceberg on calling God's Name.

Today, we want to look at how the prophets pray. 

When the prophets call on Yahweh's Name, they are very conscious of the fact that they are in the presence of Yahweh.

What does it mean to be "in the presence of Yahweh"?

It means "they stand before Yahweh".

In the Scripture, the phrase "Before Yahweh" occurs around 233X.

Let's look at two prophets today: Elijah & Elisha

1. ELIJAH

A.  Elijah calls on Yahweh

1 King 17:20

And he cried unto Yahweh, and said, O Yahweh my God . . .

1 King 17:21b

And cried unto the Lord, and said, O Yahweh my God, I pray thee . . .

B.  Yahweh God answers his prayer

1 King 17:22

And Yahweh heard the voice of Elijah . . .

            

C.  Elijah calls on Yahweh at Mount Carmel

1 King 18:36b

Elijah the prophet came near, and said: Yahweh God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel ...

1 King 18:37

Hear me, O Yahweh, hear me . . .

D.  Yahweh God answers his prayer

1 King 18:38

Then the fire of Yahweh fell . . .

Elijah calls on Yahweh & God listens and answers him.   
This is true prayer.  Prayer becomes a dialogue.

***************************

2. ELISHA

A.  Elisha calls out to Yahweh

2 King 6:17

And Elisha prayed, and said, Yahweh, I pray thee . . .

2 King 6:20b

Elisha said, Yahweh, open the eyes . . .

B.  Yahweh answers Elisha's prayers

2 King 6:17b

And Yahweh opened the eyes ...

2 King 6:20c

So Yahweh opened their eyes ...

Elisha follows his master, Elijah.  Elisha calls on Yahweh & God listens and answers him.   

When prayer becomes a dialogue, we love to pray.  
We are motivated to build a close relationship with God.

***************************

Elijah & Elisha:  Stand Before Yahweh

How do these 2 prophets, Elijah and Elisha have such great faith that God answers them when they call out to "Yahweh"?

They have this life quality: 'standing before Yahweh' .

ELIJAH

1 King17:1 ... Yahweh before whom I stand

1 King18:15 ... Yahweh before whom I stand

ELISHA

2 King 5:16 ... Yahweh before whom I stand....

Both prophets are very conscious of the fact that they 'stand before Yahweh'. Yahweh is the Living God. They always live in the presence of Yahweh.

APPLICATION:

What spiritual lessons can we learn from Elijah and Elisha?

1. Call out to Yahweh.

2. Stand before Yahweh.

Our Tsuen Wan Family has been learning both of these things on Sundays and in our weekly Bible Studies in the last few months.

Be ever conscious you are "Before Yahweh"

when you "call His Name"

as Yahweh

is

in front of you.

:)

Day 12 "O Yahweh" - To Make Contact With God

When we read through the Old Testament, you will discover that many Old Testament saints and prophets do call on God's Name when they come before God in prayer. Did you ever notice that before?

I will list out some Scriptural examples for you to see. When you see this insight in one flash, you will begin to grasp the importance of calling on God's Name, Yahweh, in prayer.

Let's take a look at the some of the Old Testament saints in prayer.  This list is not exhaustive. In the limited space that we have, we will look at some men of God to help us see how their prayers make contact with God.  I will not expound on each verse.  I want you to see everything in one flash so that you can see how important it is to address God's Name in prayer.

MOSES

Deut 3:24 

O Lord Yahweh, you have only begun ...

           

Deut 9:26 

And I prayed to Yahweh, O Lord Yahweh ...

JOSHUA

Josh 7:7 

And Joshua said, Alas, O Lord Yahweh ...

SAMSON

Judg 16:28

Samson called unto Yahweh, and said, O Lord Yahweh, remember me . . .

HANNAH

1 Sam 1:11

And she vowed a vow and said, O Yahweh of hosts …

DAVID

2 Sam 7:18

Then went king David in and sat before Yahweh and he said: Who am I, O Lord Yahweh . . .

SOLOMON

1 King 8:23

And he said, Yahweh God of Israel, there is no God ...

2 Chronicles 1:9

Now, O Yahweh God, let thy promise unto David . . .

HEZEKIAH

2 King 19:15

And Hezekiah prayed before Yahweh, and said, O Yahweh God of Israel . . .

2 King 19: 16

Yahweh, bow down thine ear . . . Yahweh, open thine eyes . . .

2 King 19:17

Yahweh, the kings of Assyria . . .

2 King 19:19

Now therefore, O Yahweh our God, I beseech thee . . .

2 King 20:3

I beseech thee, O Yahweh, remember now how I have walked ...

ASA

2 Chronicles 14:11

And Asa cried unto Yahweh his God, and said, Yahweh it is nothing . . .

JEHOSHOPHAT

2 Chronicles 20:6 And said, O Yahweh God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven . . .

From the above,  you can see saints of old in the Old Testament do make it a point to address God's Name, Yahweh, in prayer.

The reasons are very obvious!

In their prayers, they meet up with God:

1. "TURN" the attention to God.

2.  Call on God's Name - Yahweh.

3.  Yahweh God is the object of FOCUS in prayer.

Application:

When you pray tonight in your quiet time, you are there to make contact with God, to meet up with Him. 

"Turn" your attention to God. 

Call on His Name, Yahweh. 

Let Yahweh be you focal point in prayer.

Tomorrow, we will study the prophets and watch how they pray.

Day 11 "O Yahweh" - "Turn" Your Full Attention to God

Yesterday, we learned the importance of calling Yahweh's Name when we enter into prayer.

1. God has given us His Name to call to Him.

2. The Psalmists call out to God: O Yahweh!

It is so important that we call on God's Name when we pray, because we are entering into God's presence in a dialogue.

We must turn our 'DIRECTION' to God when we pray.

Just like when you have a conversation with someone, you turn your direction to the person you are talking to. 

Sadly, for many people, when they pray, they have never turned their hearts to God. Why?  They are still thinking about themselves, their needs, their little world as they enter into prayer.  The result is that they have said a lot of things in their prayers, but it is all a monologue.

It is like the Parable of the Publican where the Pharisee is found "praying to himself".  The Pharisee is just having a monologue himself.

When we do not turn our 'direction' to God, we will never make contact with God.  And when there is no contact, no connection with God, our prayers are dull and lifeless, because there is no interaction.

              

This concept of turning to God seems so simple, yet this is so difficult when we implement this in prayer. This is where I have failed for many years in my prayers.

Do you find that a lot of time, during the day, your thoughts are constantly about yourself, your families, your work, your meals, your house, your kids, etc. We are usually very 'self' absorbed in our little world. So even when we enter into prayer, our thoughts continue to surround our needs, our feelings, our emotions, our health, etc.

When we come to prayer, you must learn to 'turn away' from 'self' and 'TURN TO' God.

This is how calling on God's Name "Yahweh" can help us.

It helps us turn our full attention to God.

When you call upon Yahweh, you must take this action:

"Turn your attention fully to Yahweh".

Whenever I call upon God's Name, Yahweh in prayer, it helps me "TURN my focus" to God alone!

This is why the Psalmists call on God's Name when they pray. Calling out the Name of 'Yahweh" help them turn their whole attention to God.

  

Application:

Tonight, spend some quiet time before God and call upon His Name, Yahweh.

1.  Allow yourself to be quiet and 'turn' your attention to God. 

2.  You may have a lot of things to say to God. Learn to cease all these thoughts.

3.   Call on His Name "Yahweh" from your inner most being. See what happens.

Let your prayer time become a DIALOGUE!

I want to hear from you. Share your experiences with me.

:)

Day 10 Psalmists address Yahweh By Name

Yesterday, what did you discover when you read from Psalm 1 to Psalm 41?

Just reading the opening lines of some of the Psalmists prayers in Book 1 reveals to us how saints of old enter into prayer.

Psalm 17:1  Hear me, Yahweh, my pleas is just.

Psalm 18:1  I love you, Yahweh, my strength.

Psalm 21:1  The king rejoices in your strength, Yahweh.

Psalm 25:1   In you, Yahweh my God, I put my trust.

Psalm 26:1  Vindicate me, Yahweh, for I have led a blameless life.

Psalm 28:1  To you, Yahweh, I call; you are my Rock

Psalm 29:1  Ascribe to Yahweh, you heavenly beings.

Psalm 30:1  I will extol thee, O Yahweh.

Psalm 31:1  In thee, O Yahweh, do I put my trust.

Psalm 33:1  Rejoice in Yahweh, O you righteous.

Psalm 34:1  I will bless Yahweh at all times.

Psalm 35:1  Plead my cause, O Yahweh.

Psalm 38:1  O Yahweh, rebuke me not in your wrath.

Psalm 40:1  I waited patiently for Yahweh.

Can you feel the impact of how the Psalmists pray?

This is self explanatory!

What do you see in one flash?

Address God's Name In Prayer

The saints of old make it a point to call out to God's Name "Yahweh" when they enter into prayer.

This matter is so obvious that it totally escaped my attention all these 30+ years of being a Christian. What a shame.

As we move along in this devotional series, we will discover the reasons why it is so important to call on God's Name when we enter into prayer.

This could be the missing element in your prayer life as it was for me.

Do you call out to God's Name when you enter into prayer?

Have you ever tried to call out to Yahweh when you start your prayers?

Call "Yahweh" From Your Heart

When you call on God's Name, Yahweh, do not 'mouth' His Name. This is not calling out to Yahweh. Never pay lips service to God.

As I watch myself and people who call out to Yahweh, I witness a deep stirring in our souls to take hold of God Himself. It is an awakening moment from within. You will know it yourself. From thereon, you get strengthened in faith calling on His trusted Name.

          

God always answers this kind of prayer.

Application:

1.  Call out to God's Name Yahweh whenever you enter into prayer. 

2.  Call from your heart.

:)

Day 9 Psalmists pray: "O Yahweh"

Let's have a quick look at Psalms 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13 & 15 as these are Psalms praying to God.

I want you to pay attention to the first line of each Psalm, because they show you how the Psalmists enter into prayer.

What pattern do you notice in these prayers?

Psalm 3:1 O Yahweh, how many are my foes!

Psalm 5:1 Give ear to my words, O Yahweh ...

Psalm 6:1 O Yahweh, rebuke me not in your anger ....

Psalm 7:1 O Yahweh my God, in you do I take refuge...

Psalm 8:1 O Yahweh, our Lord ...

Psalm 9:1 I will praise thee, O Yahweh, with my whole heart.

Psalm 10:1 Why, O Yahweh, do you stand far away?

Psalm 12:1 Save, O Yahweh, for the godly one is gone...

Psalm 13:1 How long, O Yahweh?

Psalm 15:1 O Yahweh, who shall sojourn in your tent?

We are only at Psalm 15, what do you notice right away in the prayers of the Psalmists when they go into God's presence?

The saints of old made it a point to call out to God's Name Yahweh when they enter into prayer. As we move along in this series, we will discover that it is so important to call God's Name when we enter into prayer.

For now, it is a good start for you to see that the OT saints call upon the Name of God "Yahweh" as soon as they enter into God's presence in prayer.

Application:

When you have some free time today, I urge you to find some quiet moments to continue reading the Psalms.

Start at Psalm 16 ... to Psalm 17... to Psalm 18 ... until you reach Psalm 41 where Book 1 finishes.

1.  Observe how the saints of old enter into prayer.

2.  Write down your observations.

3.  What pattern do you see?

:)

Day 8 Yahweh - 664X in Psalms

"Yahweh" is the #1 most frequent noun in the Bible

The Hebrew word for "Yahweh" is:  יהוה

The word "Yahweh" appears 6828X in the Old Testament.

Take a look at the above graph:

The left column inside the red box contains the list of Old Testament books.

The green bar graph inside the blue box gives you a visual view of the number of occurrences of Yahweh in that specific book.

There are a lot of insights we can draw looking at this visual graph.

Can you see which book has the most frequent occurrences of Yahweh?

It will be the book with the longest green line to the right.

Which book is it?

The Book of Psalms has the MOST occurrences of "Yahweh".

Isn't this interesting!

Yahweh occurs 664X in Psalms.

What insight does this give us?

In fact, this should not surprise us!

Why?

Psalms is a Book of prayers and worship.

Psalms is a collection of poems, praises, and songs expressed in worship directed to God.

a.  Half of them were written by David.

b.  His son, Solomon wrote 2 of them (Psalm 72 and 127).

c.  Asaph, the music director wrote 12 of them.

d.  Another 12 were written by the sons of Korah, the Levites who served in the Temple. 

e.  Heman, the singer wrote Psalm 88.

f.  His companion, Ethan wrote Psalm 89.

g.  Psalm  90 is Moses' prayer.

h.  48 Psalms are anonymous.

Whenever I read these Psalms, I feel within me an eager yearning and longing to draw near God to touch Him.

Read a few of the Psalms for yourself and you will know what I mean.

Not all Psalms are prayers. Some are didactic and liturgical known as wisdom Psalms which are designed for teaching purposes. Some are Messianic containing prophesies on the Messiah.

For now, we will concentrate on Psalms that are prayers directed to God.

Application:   

Read Psalms 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10,12,13,15 before you go to bed tonight and pay attention to the name of God, Yahweh.

Remember, whenever you see the LORD in all capitals, the Hebrew word is the word "Yahweh".  It's unfortunate that translators replaced God's Name with "LORD".  By doing this, God's Name is taken out from the Bible.

So whenever, you see "LORD", read Yahweh.

:)