I was thinking last week about names. A Bible study I am working through brought up a link between an Old Testament name and a New Testament name and highlighted the significance of names and their meanings. There are so many names in Scripture that remind us of God's attributes and/or God's leading in individuals' lives.
We all have different reasons for naming our children as we do. My husband and I chose our children's names just because we liked them. Others choose to name their children after family members or famous people. People groups in other parts of the world have their own ways of choosing names for their children. There is a people group who live near the Beng people in Cote d'Ivoire called the Baoule. Their custom is to name the child after they day of the week on which he/she was born. Thus, all boys born on Mondays have the same name, and all girls born on Saturdays have the same name, etc. There are 7 names for girls and 7 names for boys. Many Beng people name their children the same way that the Baoule do.
I like praying for people by name, and I thought it would be a good idea this month to pray for the Beng people by name. Granted, I don't know all of their names, but if we pray through the 14 names, we will be praying for all the Beng people with those names (which would be a good number of them).
So... for the next week, I challenge you to pray each day for the Beng. On Monday, we will be praying for those born on Monday (named Kouassi and Akissi). On Tuesday for those born on Tuesday, etc.
Here's the list. You can print it out or jot it down and reference it each day this week.
Monday- Kouassi (male) Akissi (female)
Tuesday- Kouadio (male) Adjoua (female)
Wednesday- Konan (male) Amlan (female)
Thursday- Kouakou (male) Ahou (female)
Friday- Yao (male) Aya (female)
Saturday- Koffi (male) Affoue (female)
Sunday- Kouame (male) Amoin (female)
Let's cover the Beng people in prayer this week and pray for them by name.
