The Names Of GodSýnishorn

Dependency, a child-like faith, is crucial to knowing the names of God.

The psalmist noted that this majestic, splendid Creator of the Universe is paradoxically best addressed and praised from the mouth of infants (Psalm 8:2).

Similarly, the Gospel of Matthew records that when Jesus entered the temple of Jerusalem, children were crying out to him saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David.” When the chief priests and scribes became indignant at this and asked Jesus if he had heard the children, Jesus replied,

“Yes; have you never read, ‘out of the mouths of infants and nursing babies You have prepared praise for yourself’?” (Matthew 21:15-16).

The cry of a child calling out for its mother or father is authentic because of its dependency upon the care received from its parents. Likewise, only those who are aware of their sinful, fallen lives and their dependent need for God’s intervention will come to know the nuances of the names of the God who comes to those who cry out desperately to Him. As we experience the God who sent redemption to His people, we will cry out like the psalmist,

“Holy and awesome is His name” (Psalm 111:9).

Are you maintaining a conscious, every day dependency upon God? Are your prayers to God the prayers of “infants and nursing babies” in that you cry out in desperate need of Him and His strength?