What Name Are You Carrying?

In her pain, Rachel named her son Benoni, meaning "son of my sorrow" (Genesis 35:18). But Jacob, recognizing that the name did not align with the child’s destiny, called him Benjamin—“son of the right hand.”

This moment reveals a powerful truth: sometimes names are given not from revelation, but from emotion. Rachel, in the agony of childbirth and nearing death, named her son based on her pain. Jacob, however, spoke a name that aligned with purpose.

When Jacob himself was born, he was given a name that meant supplanter or deceiver, due to the way he grasped Esau’s heel (Genesis 25:26). That name followed him for years—until God Himself changed it to Israel after a divine encounter (Genesis 32:28), saying, “Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel, for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.”

There are names people carry—both natural and spiritual—that do not reflect their God-ordained destiny.

When we speak of names, we’re not just referring to physical labels. A name can be spiritual. It carries identity, attitude, behavior, and characteristics. In my culture, as in ancient Israel, names often reflect the circumstances of birth. If a family was going through grief, poverty, or conflict, a child might receive a name echoing that moment. But though the name reflected the season, it didn’t always reflect the destiny.

How often do we see the same today? Children and even adults walking through life with spiritual names like Failure, Rejected, Forgotten, Angry, Unworthy—names spoken over them by trauma, family dysfunction, culture, or the enemy. These names become false identities that shape their character and their choices.

But these are not the names that God spoke when He formed them.

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” —Jeremiah 1:5

There is a divine identity for every person—an original name from God tied to purpose, character, and calling. But many never access it because the pain of life gave them a counterfeit.

God does not name based on pain; He names based on purpose. And when He names, His name brings alignment with identity and destiny.

The enemy’s strategy is to rename you by circumstances:

·        Like Naomi, who tried to rename herself Mara, meaning "bitter" (Ruth 1:20).

·        Like Jabez, whose name meant “pain,” but who cried out to God, and God changed his story (1 Chronicles 4:9–10).

·        Like Simon, renamed Peter, meaning “rock,” because Jesus saw destiny where others saw instability (John 1:42).

What name are you carrying?

Are you living under a name spoken by trauma? By generational patterns? By rejection or fear?

Today, our prayer is this:

“Lord, reveal the name You have given me. Awaken me to my true identity. Uproot every false name, every false identity, and every counterfeit character trait that is inconsistent with Your purpose. Ignite within me the nature that reflects Your calling.”

There are people walking with character traits that don’t belong to them—anger that came from their environment, fear that came from abandonment, insecurity that came from comparison. But these are not fruits of the Spirit.

“If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” —2 Corinthians 5:17

We are praying today for identity restoration. We are not just seeking a better name; we are seeking alignment with the character that matches our calling.

“To the one who overcomes, I will give a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.” —Revelation 2:17

Prayer

Father, in the name of Jesus, I ask You to reveal every false name I’ve carried—names spoken by trauma, by people, or by pain. Strip them away. Awaken me to the name You spoke before the foundation of the world. Reignite in me the character, the nature, the attitude, and the purpose that reflects You. Let me walk not as Benoni, a child of sorrow, but as Benjamin—seated at the right hand of favor. Let me be who You have called me to be. In Jesus' name, Amen.