The righteous man runs into it and is safe.”
(Proverbs 18:10)
“Is this not great imagery? The name of the Lord is a tower. So, picture a strong tower when an invading army is coming, and you need to flee. You need to find refuge, protection, and so you run to the tower. That’s the picture here. The name of the Lord is a strong tower. The righteous man runs into it and is safe, runs into it. So, what’s it? What’s this tower again? It’s the name of the Lord. God’s name is a tower. Just think about that. The name of the Lord, Yahweh, the one true God, the everlasting God. I just want you to think about all of scripture and what we see about God’s name, because we see God referred to in all kinds of different ways with all kinds of different names.
God is our refuge and strength. May we run to Him and see that we secure in His grace.
I just want you to think about how his name is a strong tower for you to run to every day, run into it, and experience safety, experience security, experience joy, and peace, and love, and life, and protection, and provision. Just think about it as we pray. Oh, God. We look to you today and we praise you as the one true God. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord. You are the sovereign king, Adonai. There is no one like you. You are sovereign over all things. You’re in control of all things. So, we find security in you Adonai. You are Jehovah-jireh. The lord will provide. You are our provider. Amidst all of our tendencies to worry, to be anxious, we run into your name, Jehovah-jireh. You are our provider. We know that you will provide for us.
You are our healer. You are our shepherd. You are our king. You are our father. Oh, father. You care for us as children. You, the sovereign Lord Adonai, call yourself our father. We praise you for your love for us. We rest in your love for us. We run to your love for us. We praise you, Jesus. You are the resurrection and the life. You are the one who gives eternal life. We run to you. We don’t have to fear death. We run to you. Your name is resurrection and life. We find life in you, the way to the truth and the life. You’re the bread of life. You are nourishment for us today amidst a world that leaves us famished, because it doesn’t fulfill all that we need. You are all that we need. You’re the bread of life, the water of life.
You are our redeemer, our rescuer. You are our savior. You save us from all our sin. Oh, God. When we think about the penalty to our sin, we run to you, and we find safety, salvation in you, our savior. This is what your name means, Jesus. Oh. Even as we’re praising you for your name, running to your name, we pray for those who don’t know your name. God, we pray today for Manga Kanuri in Niger, hundreds and thousands of them who don’t know the name of Jesus, this Muslim people group that doesn’t know Jesus is the savior, who doesn’t know you as father. They’re working to try to earn their way to you. They don’t know your grace. May they come to know your grace, your name as Savior, as Lord, as Father, as Redeemer, as Rescuer. Oh, God. We run to your name.
We just pray, as we read your word and we see your name in different ways, your revelation of yourself in different ways, we pray that every time we see your name we would just see a strong tower, we would run to it, and we would rest in your provision, your promises, your power, your protection that are all evident in your name. You are the Lord. We love you. We worship you. We run to to your name, and we are safe. We pray that you would help us to point others to your name, help us to proclaim your name to people around us today. Help us to proclaim Jesus as Savior today to people right around us, to people like the Manga Kanuri in Niger. Please, oh, God, that others might run to your name and experience your safety in it. We praise you for your name. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.“
By David Platt – Pastor of McLean Bible Church – Washington DC