Can I pray using the name Jehovah?

Yes, you may pray using the name Jehovah. The psalmists called upon God by his name constantly, and nothing in Scripture forbids a believer from doing the same. “Jehovah” is the traditional English form of the Hebrew name YHWH, and if it helps you pray with reverence and gratitude, it is a fitting word to use. At the same time, it is worth noticing how Jesus taught his disciples to pray: not with a special form of the name, but with the words “Our Father”. Through the Son, and by the Spirit, believers are brought into God’s family and invited to speak to him as children. So “Jehovah”, “Yahweh”, “LORD”, “God” and “Father” are all legitimate ways to address the one God. Christians pray in Jesus’ name, trusting his work rather than a formula. What matters most is not the precise word but the heart: faith, humility and truth.

How the Psalms pray by the name

The Psalms are the prayer book of the Bible, and they are full of the name. One psalmist, looking back on a time when God rescued him, describes his prayer in the simplest terms:

I love Jehovah, because he heareth My voice and my supplications. Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, Therefore will I call upon him as long as I live. The cords of death compassed me, And the pains of Sheol gat hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow. Then called I upon the name of Jehovah: O Jehovah, I beseech thee, deliver my soul.

— Psalm 116:1-4 (ASV)

Notice the pattern. He loves God because God heard him. He resolves to keep calling on him. And his prayer is short and direct, built around the name. Another psalm gives the promise that stands behind such prayers:

Jehovah is nigh unto all them that call upon him, To all that call upon him in truth.

— Psalm 145:18 (ASV)

The condition is not correct pronunciation but truth: sincerity, honesty and faith. The entry Is it wrong to say Jehovah? explains why the commandment about the name forbids its misuse, not its use.

How Jesus taught us to pray

When his disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, he gave them words that begin with a relationship:

So then, this is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.

— Matthew 6:9 (BSB)

Jesus does not abandon the name; the first request is that it be hallowed, treated as holy. But he directs his followers to address God as Father. This was not a downgrade from the name but a gift. The eternal Son, who shares the divine name, brings those who trust in him to share his own way of speaking to the Father. Paul describes the change the Spirit makes:

For you did not receive a spirit of slavery that returns you to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption to sonship, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”

— Romans 8:15 (BSB)

A Christian who prays “Father” is not using a lesser word than “Jehovah”. He or she is using the word Jesus gave, for the one God whose name is Jehovah, and doing so as an adopted child, by grace.

Praying in Jesus’ name

Christians end their prayers “in Jesus’ name” because Jesus himself taught it:

And I will do whatever you ask in My name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me for anything in My name, I will do it.

— John 14:13-14 (BSB)

To pray in his name is not to add a closing phrase that makes prayer work. It means coming to the Father on the basis of who Jesus is and what he has done: his life, death and resurrection for us. It means asking what fits his character and purposes. This shows how the name is fulfilled in the New Testament: the Son shares the one divine name, and through him we come to the Father. The entry Is Jehovah the same as Jesus? explains how Father, Son and Spirit relate.

Practical guidance for praying with the name

If you are unsure how to begin, a few simple suggestions may help.

Use the name as the Psalms do. Pray a psalm aloud in the ASV, where “Jehovah” appears throughout, and let its words become yours. Psalms 23, 34, 103 and 116 are good places to start.

Move freely between forms. You might begin “O Jehovah, my God”, continue “Father”, and close “in Jesus’ name”. The Bible itself does this, and there is no need to keep to one word.

Keep it simple. Jesus warned against piling up words as though length impressed God:

And when you pray, do not babble on like pagans, for they think that by their many words they will be heard.

— Matthew 6:7 (BSB)

Repeating the name many times does not make a prayer more powerful. A short, honest prayer is enough.

Let the name remind you of God’s character. When you say “Jehovah”, remember what the name was proclaimed to mean at Sinai: merciful, gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. Pray to that God.

Where Christians differ

Christians hold a range of practices here, all within faithful bounds. Many pray mainly to the Father, following the Lord’s Prayer, while also addressing the Son and the Spirit directly, as Stephen did when he prayed “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit”. Some prefer “Yahweh” as closer to the Hebrew (see Is God’s name Jehovah or Yahweh?); some prefer “the LORD” out of respect for Jewish tradition; others, especially those formed by older hymns and the King James Version, love the word “Jehovah”. Jehovah’s Witnesses give special emphasis to praying with the name Jehovah; this site is not affiliated with them, and holds that no single form is required. The church’s historic confession is that God hears all who call upon him in truth through Christ.

For reflection

Choose one psalm this week and pray it slowly, using the name as the psalmist does. Then pray the Lord’s Prayer, and notice the move from name to Father. Ask God to make your prayers honest rather than polished. And pray with others in a local church, where the name of the Lord is called upon together.

References

The Westminster Shorter Catechism (1647), questions 98–107, on prayer and the Lord’s Prayer.
John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion (1559), book 3, chapter 20.
Augustine of Hippo, Letter 130, to Proba, on prayer (early fifth century).
Matthew Henry, A Method for Prayer (1710).
The Book of Common Prayer (1662).