As we come to the table of prayer, remember that true prayer is not just one-sided; it is an exchange – exchanging our sentiment, need, etc., for His control, victory, and perspective. Remember that the word “ray” is in this word: true prayer gives a ray of light in a dark place. It lets us know that we are going in the right direction.
Prayer is upward, not self-ward. God is not a dumping ground; He’s a forklift. He meets us at the fork in the road and lifts us when we let go of what we’re hanging onto. We can only hang on to one thing or person at a time, so we need to decide if we want our grip or God’s.
Genesis 4: 25-26 – (most people will have no idea what she is talking about) comes out of loss. Think of the losses in life that have catapulted people into worthwhile purposes: Danny Thomas losing a child – St. Jude Hospital; Chuck Colson in prison – Prison Fellowship, etc. This portion is referring to the time when Adam and Eve have a son Seth, who is a replacement for Abel, who was killed by his brother (and you think you have family problems). Of course, there is no real replacement for the loss of a child, but the name Seth does mean “set or appointed” (Luke 3:38) – was the substitutionary line which saw Methuselah and Noah……
Keep in mind that prior to the birth of Seth; God still spoke directly to those He summoned. He spoke to Cain about Abel, etc, but there was something additional going to happen here. “Then men began to call upon the name of the Lord (Yahweh).” vs. 26. There would be opportunity to summon God’s name and not just wait for God to speak to them. “It was at that time” – what time? Time when a substitutionary brother was born …. Reminds us that we can only seek the face of God because we had a substitute for sin and He, in turn, opened up access for us in the presence of His Father, God. Men “began” to call. The word “began” is the Hebrew word “huchal” (chalal – pronounced khaw-lal), meaning “to pierce, perforate, hollow, slain.” accomplish is another definition. Here, God allows the perforation of the veil of His presence to be punctured … again; it comes through the piercing of His son, ultimately. Here men begin to “call upon the name of the Lord”. “To call” is the Hebrew word “likro”, meaning, “to call, proclaim, read”. From the word qara (kaw-raw), it also has the idea of calling with the name of in an invocation. We come to Him in praise, prayer, and the reading of the word. We’re summoning His name as we read His word.
“….Upon the name”. The word “name” is the Hebrew “besem or “shem”, pronounced “shame”. It means “a name as designation of God; to be called with and use that name in worship”. It is far more than calling on God for needs; it is calling on Him in wonder, knowing any prayer that is uttered in His ear will get His attention. And oh how grateful we should be that though the pronunciation is shame, there is no shame in His name. He frees us from shame through Him looking down on shame – belittling it. I wrote a piece years ago about shame – spelling it out: sh, sh – ends the blame – at the end “me” has no shame. No need to aim(ame), shame is no game, for there is no shame in Jesus’ name.
Call upon “the name” – the only name that matters. This is the name of God in caps – it is Yahweh – the personal, covenant name of God Almighty to his people. In freedom we can call upon His name, because we called unto Him. This image goes beyond the wonderful visual of the bridegroom and his bride, and reminds us that Jesus is the brother who provides us as co-heirship in the eternals, for He was our substitutionary brother – sacrifice. Remember that God had a sacrifice waiting for Abraham. That ram was in the thicket waiting how long – we don’t know. We just know that the ram became visible to Abraham after he lifted up his hand to be obedient to his Heavenly Father. In our lives we will not see the gifts God has placed there already, until we surrender our gifts/lives to Him fully.