Calling on the Lord — Definition

The Definition and Significance of Calling on the Lord

To call upon the Lord is to enjoy the rich presence of His divine Person.

What does it mean to call on the name of the Lord? To call upon the Lord is to enjoy the rich presence of His divine Person. Both our initial contact as well as our continuing with Him depend in large part on this simple opening and calling. Each time we call upon the Lord’s name, He comes to us and we receive Him in a fresh, new way. Our experience of His presence is renewed and enhanced when we audibly call His name.

Some Christians may consider calling on the Lord equivalent to the same as praying to Him. It is true that calling is a type of prayer, but calling is not merely praying. For example, Jeremiah 29:12 clearly differentiates the two: “Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.”

Although prayer may be silent, calling must be audible.

Both the Hebrew and Greek words for “call” denote “to call, cry, to utter a loud sound, call out, call upon, call upon someone for aid, or to invoke.” In other words, it is to call a person by saying his name aloud. Although prayer may be silent, calling must be audible.

The Hebrew word qara which is usually translated “call”, may also be translated “cry with a loud voice” as in Leviticus 13:45: “And as for the leper in whom the infection is, his clothes shall be torn, and the hair of his head shall be let loose, and he shall cover his upper lip and cry, ‘Unclean! Unclean!’” According to the Jewish law, a leper had to warn people from afar of his approach by loudly crying “Unclean! Unclean!” Such a cry obviously could not have been silent or even quiet, but rather had to be vocal and quite loud.

Therefore you will draw water with rejoicing from the springs of salvation, and you will say in that day, Give thanks to Jehovah; call upon His name!

Isaiah also tells us that our calling on the Lord is our crying to Him. “God is now my salvation; I will trust and not dread; for Jah Jehovah is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation. Therefore you will draw water with rejoicing from the springs of salvation, and you will say in that day, Give thanks to Jehovah; call upon His name! …Sing psalms to Jehovah…Cry out and give a ringing shout, O inhabitant of Zion: For great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel” (12:2-6). In these verses Isaiah tells us to give thanks, sing, cry out, and shout. All of these parallel and further describe the calling mentioned in verse four. In verse two he proclaims that God is our salvation and our strength. God is everything to us! Therefore, on our part, we simply need to draw water out of the springs of God’s salvation. How can we draw water out of the springs of God’s salvation with rejoicing? This passage gives us a number of ways. One is to call on His name; another is to praise the Lord. We can also enjoy His salvation by psalming or crying out and shouting to Him. It is quite meaningful that Isaiah pairs giving thanks and calling in verse four and pairs crying and shouting in verse six. This appositional structure strongly implies that to call on the Lord is to cry and shout to Him.

Such a confession with one’s mouth is obviously vocal and not silent.

Furthermore, Romans 10:9-10 says, “…if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart there is believing unto righteousness, and with the mouth there is the confession unto salvation.” These verses point to two actions which produce two distinct results. Believing is a function of the heart resulting in righteousness. Confessing, however, is a function of the mouth resulting in salvation. Such a confession with one’s mouth is obviously vocal and not silent.