Christian Devotional – September 23, 2022

Prayer in Action, Day 34

Names. Read through Nehemiah 10:1-29.

As we read these verses, we see a long list of names. These are the names of the men who were making a decision to commit themselves to the Lord. When I used to read the Bible, I would get frustrated by long list of names. They are typically names that are difficult or unusual to me, and I struggle to know how to pronounce the names.

However, names have taken on a different meaning for me now. Names have tremendous importance to God. We seal our decisions by signing our name. That’s how we identify ourselves and that’s how we make commitments. These individuals were the same. The fact that they chose to ascribe their names to this pledge indicates their commitment level and dedication to the one true God. Their names were to be forever remembered as those who had committed their loyalty to God.

When we think about our name and the fact that God has our name written in the Lamb’s book of Life if we have accepted him as our Savior, our name is important to God. There are probably plenty of people who cannot pronounce my name or who would want to skip over reading it, but that makes my name no less important to the Creator of the heavens. God knows me by name. God knows my commitment to him by name. As you read through these names, remember that each one of these names represents a specific individual who made a commitment to follow the Lord no matter what. Would we be willing to put our name in such a list?