EACH SUNDAY DURING THE SEASON OF LENT, Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church has reflected on a name for God. I AM. El Olam. My Rock. Some names for God are familiar, comforting, and well-worn. Other names may beguile us, chafing against our preferred ways of speaking about God and the ways we call upon the Holy One in prayer and speech.

Two Sundays ago, we considered the name El Olam—a name assigned to God by Abraham, meaning Everlasting One, Steadfast God, the God who abides, who sticks with us, who stands by us, come what may. At the end of the sermon, I challenged worshippers to pray to El Olam. I encouraged you to wrap your tongue around perhaps an unfamiliar name for God.

I hope you accepted this challenge. Now we want to take it a step further. The clergy at Fifth Avenue invite you to send us a short prayer that features one of the names for God that we are discussing this Lent. With your permission, we will share these written prayers on our social media accounts, and we would also love to incorporate some of them into our worship liturgies.

To participate in this Lenten exercise, simply email your prayer to [email protected]. Please include your name so that we may acknowledge your contribution.

Your prayer can be just a few simple, heartfelt sentences that name God. Perhaps you’ll pray to God as El Olam or My Rock—or as Snake, Carpenter, Prophet, King, Worm, Teacher, Lord, Suffering Servant, or Shepherd. Scripture offers a surprising abundance of names for God. These names, like God, stretch our imaginations and, if we let them, deepen our faith. Naming God in prayer reminds us who God is—and who we are before God.

Don’t leave us hanging. Give it a try. Together, let’s fill the world with good, solid, honest prayers this Lent.

Call upon the Lord. Speak God’s names.

Blessings,
The Rev. Dr. Scott Black Johnston
Senior Pastor