Prayer is conversation with God. If we know Him well, we can pray more comfortably. Jesus gave us some of his names in Revelation 1:8:

I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty. -Revelation 1:8 KJV

The name Lord is the Greek word, Kyrios. It means “master”- a superior person with the right to hold authority. Kyrios is the New Testament translation of the Hebrew word, Jehovah (or Yaweh). Jehovah is God’s name for Himself when He is showing us that He is the Superior, the Covenant Maker and Grace Giver.

A lot to think about: superiority, authority, graciousness all at once. Power and grace. We submit to His authority because of His greatness and His love.

In your prayer time, can you pause and think on His name: Lord– and worship Him?

 

Prayer is relationship with God. It is easier to have relationship with someone if you know his name. Christ, being God, can’t fit into just one name. Here is another name from Revelation 1:

I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty. -Revelation 1:8 KJV

Another one of Christ’s names: Which is, and which was, and which is to come.

That’s a long and descriptive name. God told Moses a version of this name in the book of Exodus: “I am that I am“ (Exodus 3:14).

He is the God who IS. There never was a time that He wasn’t. There will never be a time that He isn’t.

We, humans live in linear time. There was a time we weren’t here, we are here right now, but there will come a time we aren’t here (but we will be somewhere else eternally).

God, on the other hand, lives outside of time. He isn’t affected by time, but He can affect time. (Joshua 10 has a story about that).

Since God isn’t stuck in time, He can guide our footsteps. He knows where He is taking us.

As we talk to Christ, who is, who was, and who is to come, we can turn each day and all our future over to Him. He can handle it- He knows what He wants for us.

 

Welcome to the new blogsite. Glad you could join. My purpose, as in the former prayer blog, is to enable conversation on prayer.

Prayer is part of our relationship with God. Just like any relationship we talk and listen together.

Relationships deepen as we come to know each other better. God already knows us better than we know ourselves. We can come to know Him better by knowing Him by name.

Here are some ways Christ referred to Himself:

I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty. -Revelation 1:8 KJV

Here’s a cool bit of trivia about that name “Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending”:

For thousands of years, the teachings of the great philosopher, Aristotle, defined how people thought about important things. Aristotle taught that all things had several  “causes”:

One was the efficient cause (which is philosophy-speak for “the being who made a thing”).

One was the final cause (which is philosophy-speak for “the purpose of that thing that was made”).

The Greek word for efficient cause is arche (translated beginning in Revelation 1:8).

The Greek word for final cause is telos (translated ending in Revelation 1:8).

In other words, Christ is saying to us, “I am the Alpha and Omega, the One Who Made Everything AND the Purpose For Which Everything Was Made”.

His name says a lot. He made you (and everything). He made you (and everything) for Himself.

Prayer project: Give a few minutes’ meditation on His name, Alpha and Omega, the Arche and Telos. Give Him praise and ask Him what that means regarding your own purpose in life.