Bible names are significant because they are often a prophetic utterance of character. Take the name of Jacob in the Old Testament, for example. The circumstances of Jacob’s birth provided him with a suitable name….it can mean “to follow, be behind” but it can also mean “to supplant or overreach”. Both meanings are apt descriptions of his birth.

A name can enshrine all the characterists of the person bearing that name. Hence, in the Bible, God’s name stands for all that He is in His nature and in His deeds. When Moses asked God His name, he was asking for His identity, “Who are you?”

God’s response was an enigmatic, all-encompassing expression of His being, translated, “I am who I am,” declaring in three tenses, past, present, and future the essence of His eternal, unchanging nature. Unexpressed but understood is the truth that God is to every person what they need Him to be.

Old Testament saints like Abraham, David, and many others expressed their experience of God’s sufficiency in their hyphenated names of Yaweh…Yahweh-Jireh, Yahweh-Rohi etc. As they called on His name, they discovered that He was sufficient for every need.

Calling on the name of the Lord is a way of expressing our trust in Him. When we call on His name, we are linking our our imperfection with His perfection, our need with His supply, our nothing-ness with His everything-ness, our weakness with His strength.

David recognised the value of calling on God’s name. By doing so in every situation, he was expressing his utter dependence on the Lord, even for his very breath.

There is no greater way to express our gratitude to God for His goodness to us than to embrace all the benefits of His salvation. Gifts are of no use to the recipient if he does not use them. God’s goodness is likewise useless until we weave His blessings into our lives.

So, David’s solution to his question is simple.

Psalms 116:12 NLT
[12] “What can I offer the Lord for all he has done for me?”

We can offer the Lord no better expression of gratitude than to do what David said…

Psalms 116:13-14 NIV
[13] “I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord. [14] I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people.”

Not only would he receive and act on every promise, but he would also fulfill his commitment to be faithful to God. By calling on His name, David was linking all
his need to God’s abundant supply.

The very name of Jesus, uttered in a moment of crisis or need, is to mobilise all that He is to come to our aid. How better can we value our fellowship with Him than to trust Him to be who He is?

Psalms 50:14-15 NLT
[14] Make thankfulness your sacrifice to God, and keep the vows you made to the Most High. [15] Then call on me when you are in trouble, and I will rescue you, and you will give me glory.”