Prayer Power

Article Title
By Petey Prater

Praying the Name of Jesus – I AM WHO I AM

In the next few columns we’ll study Jesus’ names and why knowing his names helps us in prayer. This month’s name study is from Exodus 3: I AM WHO I AM. Verse 14
Let’s begin with a little quiz.

1. What do you believe is life’s single most important question?

2. When Moses stood before the burning bush and received God’s orders to lead his people out of Egypt he asked “the angel of the Lord” in the burning bush what he should tell them God’s name is. Exodus 3:13 The Lord answered, “I AM WHO I AM”. Verse 14 Why did God reply with such a strange name?

How did you answer those two questions?

This is what I believe:

1. Life’s most important question is, “Jesus, are you the only Savior, are you sufficient to meet my needs?”

2. When Moses asked the Lord, “What is your name,” he was really asking, “Lord, are you sufficient to meet my needs if I obey you and trust you as Savior?” Moses’ unspoken question is everyone’s most troubling life question. The Lord answered Moses’ unspoken question with his name, “I AM.” God was saying, “I AM Sufficient Savior. I AM able to meet all your needs.”

“I AM” is present tense. Jesus is our ever-present God. He is I AM of the past, I AM of the present, I AM of the future.

The Hebrew of I AM THAT I AM is “Eheyeh asher Eheyeh…I am the Self-existent One; the Eternal, the One who always has been and always will be…the Ever-present and Living One. It is equivalent to Jehovah the Eternal.” Dake’s Annotated Reference Bible, p 67, Exodus 3:14.

How is knowing God’s name helpful in prayer? The Bible says:

“Those who know your name will trust in you….” Psalm 9:10
“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.” John 14:13 Amplified
“…the people who know their God shall prove themselves strong and shall stand firm and do exploits for God.” Daniel 11:33 Amplified

When we know God we trust him. Trust produces faith that depends on God. Faith releases obedience that does “exploits”.

“God’s name is his self-revelation.” Charles Endicott, A Bible Commentary His names identify his character and attributes. To pray a particular name is to access the sufficiency of that character trait. Faith believes, dependent on God’s name and obtains the answer.

In knowing God’s name and authority Moses found his own identity and authority. He went from herding sheep to mighty leader when he yielded to I AM. God always releases authority to those who bow to his authority.

Are we willing to know God by name and own our true identity and destiny as intercessors and servants? If we will bow to I AM as Moses did and obey God he will empower us with authority – with stunning results. Exploits will be ours! And glory will be his!

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Petey Prater is a Beaverton, OR writer and speaker who can be reached at peteyprater@yahoo.com. She writes poetry and devotionals and contributed to two books:

Prayers for Troubled Times, compiled by Jeannie St John Taylor, AMG Publishers and
101 Stories of Answered Prayer by Jeannie St John Taylor and Petey Prater, AMG Publishers