The Power of Names

Every Name for One Name

Good ideas come and go, but only God ideas last for eternity. In my journey to build a global movement to pray for everyone by name, God has often reminded me that this is His idea, not just a good idea. And it is anchored in the Scriptures.

The Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 2:1-6: “I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving be made for all people—for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.

This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people.”

The New Living Translation says simply, “Pray for all people.” The central theme of this passage is all people. The Apostle Paul makes three significant points:

Verse 1: God commands us to pray for all people.

Verse 3: God wants all people to be saved.

Verse 6: Jesus gave His life as a ransom for all people.

The Greek words translated as “all people” in 1 Timothy 2 are pantōn anthrōpōn, which mean “every human.” It is worthy of note that Paul didn’t use the Greek word ethne, which refers to entire ethnic groups. That’s because we are saved as individuals and not as people groups. Salvation is personal and individual. People come to faith in Christ one at a time.

Inspired by the Holy Spirit, Paul lays out the challenge of praying for all people—every man, woman, and child. As far as I know, no generation has ever prayed personally for every human alive. This is an unfulfilled mandate in Scripture that we can’t ignore any longer.

A rational person might shake their head and say, “I appreciate where you’re coming from, but be realistic. Every person by name? What you mean is most people, right?” No. Impossible as it may sound, we believe God meant it when He said all people.

As I continued to seek the Lord about this vision, I asked Him to show me why this was so important to Him. He gave me a deeply personal example. God reminded me of the day our daughter Chloe was hospitalized with near-complete amnesia and could not walk or open her eyes. She didn’t even know her own name. The date was May 13, 2016.

A few hours after her neurologist said Chloe would never walk again, a pastor from São Paulo reached out to me on WhatsApp. I didn’t know him, but a mutual friend had shared the urgent prayer request for Chloe’s healing with him, and he had mobilized several churches in Brazil to pray for her.

It meant the world to me that people were praying for Chloe when she couldn’t even remember her name. They weren’t praying generic prayers; they were praying for her specifically. The Lord whispered to me: “Everyone is my Chloe. I want everyone prayed for by name because I love them even more than you love Chloe.”

Drop. The. Mic!

As Simon Sinek says, “Your why matters.” The Apostle Paul says we should pray for everyone because God wants all people to be saved. That is a very compelling why. Paul is implying that the salvation of many people depends on our prayers.

God is waiting for a generation to arise and say, “We’re in. You told us to pray for everyone, so You will help us do it.” Why not us, and why not now? Why wouldn’t God give us everything we need to pray for everyone by name? After all, He commanded us to do so in the Scriptures.

God is inviting you and me into His quest to save the world, and the first step is to pray for people. Prayer is a simple act, but according to this passage and many others, it has an eternal impact. Dick Eastman puts it this way: “When we get to heaven, we will realize that everyone there is a result of someone’s prayer.”

God’s love compels us to pray for eight billion people by name so they can know the only name that has the power to save them. The name that is above every other name. The name that saves sinners, calls prodigals home, heals the sick, and comforts the brokenhearted. The name that causes every demon in hell to tremble and every angel in heaven to worship. The name of…Jesus.

The name Jesus means “Savior.” The angel said to Joseph in Matthew 1:21, “She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” Jesus was given a name that described His mission and purpose in life. He was sent to Earth to become the Savior of the world.

In Ancient Rome, the predictive power of a person’s name was captured by the Latin proverb nomen est omen, meaning “the name is a sign or the name speaks for itself.” We can see examples of this all around us. Usain Bolt, the famous sprinter and eight-time Olympic Champion, has truly lived up to his name.

In the Bible, names are significant because they reveal people’s character and often their fate. Isaac and Rebekah named the younger of their twin sons Jacob because he was deceitful from the womb. He tried to grab his brother Esau’s heel so he could come out first.

And sure enough, Jacob became deceitful, as his name indicated. This is a biblical example of nomen est omen. But what happened when Jacob wrestled with God and had a change of heart? God changed his name to Israel to reflect the change in his nature. Israel means “God strives.”

Maybe you don’t like your name, or maybe you or others equate your name to something bad. Perhaps there are stains in your past and mistakes you’ve made that you can’t undo. But God promises to give you a new name—a new identity in Him.

Jesus said in Revelation 2:17: “And I will give to each one a white stone, and on the stone will be engraved a new name that no one understands except the one who receives it.” Have you noticed God has a thing for names?