The name of the Lord is a strong tower. The righteous man runs into it and is safe.
– Proverbs 18:10
What a powerful picture of the name of the Lord. Picture this strong tower that when the enemy is coming after you run into it and you are safe. You are protected from all of the forces around you. This is what the name of the Lord is for the righteous man or woman, for the one who is trusting in the name of the Lord.
Proverbs 18:10 teaches us that God is our Protector and Sustainer.
Just picture his name and the strength of his name and the protection that is found in his name. He is the Lord. Yahweh, this is the name he reveals himself to his people as in the Old Testament, as the covenant-keeping God. The great I am, who was and is and always will be. The self-existent creator of all things. The sovereign ruler and sustainer of all things.
He loves you. He is gracious and compassionate towards you. Think of the way he reveals his name to Moses in Exodus 34. “The Lord, the Lord, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, in mercy toward his people.” This is all wrapped up in the name of the Lord.
Then you think about all his other names all over scripture, Old Testament, New Testament alike. God Almighty, Jehovah Rapha, Jehovah Jireh, the Lord who heals, the Lord who provides, the Lord who protects, the Lord who’s our banner, Jehovah Nissi.
Proverbs 18:10 reminds us that God is our Rescuer.
Then how Jesus comes on the scene and reveals God in the flesh in his name. His name means the one who will save you from your sins. He’s the Lord, the Sovereign One. Jesus is the Good Shepherd, the Great Shepherd. He’s the I am who’s the bread of life and the way and the truth and the life. We could just go on and on with all the names of Jesus. He’s the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Jesus is the Righteous One. He’s the Supreme Sacrifice. He’s the Savior of the World. This is your God. Run into this strong tower of His name.
When this world is coming at you from all kinds of different directions, when the adversary is coming at you from all kinds of different directions, when you’re facing temptations, when you’re facing spiritual attacks, when you’re facing all kinds of challenges in your life, run into the strong tower that is the name of the Lord. Remind yourself who God is and remind yourself he is all of these things for you, and as a result, you are safe in him.
Oh God, we praise you for your name. Lord, for who you are, for what your name reveals about your character and your attributes, for what your name reveals about your power and your love and your wisdom and your justice and your mercy. God, we hide in your name.
This verse reminds us that God is our safety, peace, and comfort.
We will run to your name as a strong tower, and we pray for all of these things on our behalf that flow from who you are and what your name is for your provision, for your healing, for your peace, for your protection, for your mercy, for your help. God, for all the things that your name promises you give to those who run to you and trust in you.
God, I don’t know everything that everybody listening to this right now is walking through, but I do know that your name is a strong tower for them to run into and find safety and peace and comfort and security. I pray that even now in this moment, they would find themselves resting in your name and who you are and how you promise to provide for them.
God, we pray for people who don’t know your name, who see your glory in creation, but haven’t heard the good news of who you are and how much you love them. They haven’t heard your name, Jesus, for the truth about who you are. God, we pray for the spread of the gospel, the good news of your name among all the nations.
Prayer for the Runga People
We pray specifically today for the Runga people of the Central African Republic. God, we pray for this people group where there are no known followers of Jesus. Nobody who knows your name is the one who saves them from their sins. God, we pray for the spread of your name and your goodness and your grace and your glory to all the peoples of the earth, including the Runga of the Central African Republic.
We pray that you would use our lives toward that end. Yes, God, that we would rest in your name, that we would run to your name and find protection, a strong tower in your name, and that we would spread your name even today. God help us to speak the name of Jesus into other people’s lives and we pray that they would trust in your name. As a result that they would find in your name, the eternally strong tower that it is.
We pray all this according to your Word, which we love in Proverbs 18:10. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
David Platt serves as a Lead Pastor for McLean Bible Church. He is also the Founder and Chairman of Radical, an organization that helps people follow Jesus and make him known in their neighborhood and all nations.
David received his B.A. from the University of Georgia and M.Div., Th.M., and Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Some of his published works include Radical, Radical Together, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, and Don’t Hold Back.
He lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area with his wife and children.
