Heavenly Father I praise You for being redeemed through Christ. I praise You for labeling me as Your child and Your creation. I praise You for creating me with a purpose and with giving me the Holy Spirit to guide me, comfort me and to teach me wisdom.
Holy Spirit, Solomon wrote, “A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favor rather than silver and gold. The rich and poor have this in common, the Lord is the maker of all.” [Proverbs 22:1&2] I have learned through life that my name is the start of what people think and see of me. It is the first label I was given when entering this world. I may never have riches, I may never have fame, but if my name is written in the Book of Life, then I have lived a successful life. Your word says that You knew me before I even had form in the womb. You have plans for me, and You have given me the talents and Spirit to accomplish these plans.
Holy Spirit I have learned through Your word how You view us differently than even we view ourselves. Take for example, “Now the angel of the Lord came and sat under the oak tree in Ophrah belonging to Joash the Abiezrite. Gideon his son was threshing wheat in a winepress to hide it from the Midianites. The angel of the Lord appeared and said to him, ‘The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor.’ …And he said to the angel, “O my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father’s house.”[Judges 6:11&12,15] God saw Gideon as a mighty man of valor while Gideon saw himself as small, weak, and insignificant. He became what God said he would be. Caleb was known as a man that had a different spirit, which God honored him for this. How am I to be known? Will I be known as a servant of the almighty God? Or will I be a pathetic failure who could not stand for God? Will I be known as a prayer warrior or just a fool who types prayers? My one desire is to be known as God knows me. I have never let labels from others stick to me and I don’t plan to start now. People have called me a failure, stupid, lazy, conceited, prideful, large, fat, ugly, and stuck in my ways. That is what they think of me, I don’t care, their opinion does not decide my eternal life, God’s opinion does. Satan likes to attack me for the sins of my past, I say that God, through the blood of Christ, has forgiven me and that is all that matters. I may suffer temporary consequences for my past choices but I still have the hope of my future.
Holy Spirit, God has been given the names: Elohim, El Roi, El Shadday, El Olam, Yahweh Yireh, Esh Oklah, El Kanna, Qedosh Yisrael, Yahweh Shalom, Yahweh Tsebaoth, Melek, and Christ has been given the names: Prince of Peace, Immanuel, Mesiah, King of Kings, and You the Holy Spirit have been given names as: Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, the small Voice. In all these names You are God, three in one, our creator, savior and guide. We are nothing without You. From nothing (dust) were we made from, and from nothing we will return as far as this earth is concerned but the real us will either spend eternity in heaven with You or forever lost in hell separated from You because we chose that path. I pray that my name means something to You and that it is written in the Book of Life. That is the only label I need. Amen.