When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless. And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.” Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying: “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations.  I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you. Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God” (Genesis 17:1-8).
The more we identify with God’s revealed identity, the more we will see miracles in our lives. Throughout the Old Testament, the names of God pop up to teach us His identity. Adonai means, “Lord God.” El Shaddai means, “God Almighty” (Ps. 91:1). El Roi means, “the God who sees me” (Nahum 1:7). Yahweh Yireh means, “God Provides” (Ph. 4:19). And Yahweh Tsebaoth means, “The Lord of Hosts” (Ps. 46:10-11). There are at least fourteen names of God in the Old Testament. These are just a few, but they provide a window into the character and nature of God.
In the New Testament, Jesus spoke of one name for God. Over and over again, more than one hundred times, Jesus tells us to call God our Father. Each time we pray to our Father, it changes how we see Him, and how we see ourselves. We can come to Him as the One that knows us and the One who is our Father. Only children can call God Father. That is who we are: His children.
