It's been amazing to see how the
truth of Almighty God knowing our names has touched so many lives. From the
richest to the poorest, the forgotten to the famous, we all just want to be
known. It's incredible to think that GOD wants to know people like us. It's
really been something to see this promise break through the hardest hearts.
The actual writing of this song is probably the
opposite of inspirational but what has happened since then has been truly
amazing. "He Knows My Name" was the name of a sermon that my pastor
Mark Pickerell was planning on doing. He asked me to write something to go with
his talk. So out of discipline and obligation, I wrote this simple song.
Nothing really happened on the Sunday that I sang
it, just as I had suspected. However, several months later, one of the ladies
from my church sang it at their women's retreat and suddenly, the love of God
fell in such a strong way that nearly everyone there was crying tears of joy and
healing. Because of this, I decided to sing it again at church. That's when it
hit. Not only did it really minister to our whole congregation, but the song
that I thought might make an okay children's song, broke my heart. God broke my
heart with how He loved me in such an intimate way.
After that, it started being sung at various
Promise Keepers events and Greg Laurie's Harvest Crusades around the country.
Thousands of people came to Christ as it was being sung. Someone even told me
that they thought it was the modern day "Jesus Loves Me." I could
hardly believe that God was using this simple song in such a powerful way.
All of this said, my favorite story behind this
song is how God has used it overseas. Some of you have heard about the mercy
ministry that I'm involved with called "Charlie's Lunch." It's a
feeding program for hungry street children, many of them orphans. Well, "He
Knows My Name" has become a theme song for this ministry and is sung by
many of these kids. On the new Hosanna! Music album, "Never Gonna
Stop," I tell the story about a little orphan boy named Jerry. As one of
the poorest of the poor and abandoned by his parents, Jerry would have to go
down as one of the most forgotten people in the world. Anyway, I tell the story
of how he kept asking me, "What's my name"? Jerry so wanted to be
known. Well isn't this just like our heavenly Father? Jerry, a little orphan boy
who was so unknown and who just wanted one person to know his name, will have
his name known in more than 100 countries. I love it when the underdog wins.
That's the kind of God we serve and that's why I will always love this song.
"He Knows My Name" reminds us that we
worship a God who loves and cares for the Jerry's of this world just as much as
the richest King or the most famous celebrity. Because of the Father heart of
God, I know there will always be hope for people like you and me! Praise, glory,
and honor be to our loving, merciful God!
