In an effort to convince you that we should call God “Jehovah,” the Jehovah’s Witnesses may tell you that God’s name “was clearly of crucial importance to him [Jesus] since he mentioned it repeatedly in his own prayers.” (The Divine Name That Will Endure Forever, p. 3)

The Watchtower elaborates:

Consider the model prayer that Jesus Christ gave. It begins this way: “Our Father in the heavens, let your name be sanctified.” (Matthew 6:9) Later, Jesus prayed to God: “Father, glorify your name.” In response, God spoke from heaven, saying: “I both glorified it and will glorify it again.” (John 12:28) Clearly, God’s name is of the utmost importance. (What Does the Bible Really Teach?, p. 195)

Now, sanctifying and glorifying God’s name doesn’t mean repeatedly calling him “Jehovah.” Rather, it means proclaiming and reverently showing what God is like—the greatness of his person and character.

How can we get this across to Jehovah’s Witnesses?

When they tell you that Jesus “mentioned it [Jehovah’s name] repeatedly in his own prayers,” ask them to show you one scripture passage where Jesus begins one of his prayers by addressing God as “Jehovah.”

They won’t be able to find one.

Witnesses like to cite John 17:6, where, during his high priestly prayer, Jesus tells his Father, “I have made your name manifest to the men whom you gave me out of the world.” (Watchtower translation)

 Ask them to go through that entire chapter in their own translation and see how Jesus addresses God.

 Six times, he calls him “Father.”

 Nowhere does he refer to him as “Jehovah.”

 In fact, Jesus regularly addressed God as “Father” (Matthew 11:25; 26:39,42; Luke 10:21; 22:42; 23:34,46; John 11:41; 12:27-28; 17:1,5,11,21,24-25) or, when he was dying, as, “My God, my God” (Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34)—never as “Jehovah,” not even in the Watchtower’s own New World Translation.

Ask the Witnesses to show you any verse where Jesus taught his disciples to begin their prayers by saying, “Jehovah…” In the Lord’s Prayer (model prayer), Jesus said to address him as “Father.” (Luke 11:2) Apparently, “sanctifying God’s name” did not require them to address him by the divine name.

Make it clear that you don’t believe Jesus was saying that they could address God only as “Father.”

For example, ask them to read aloud Luke 2:29, where godly Simeon addressed God as “Sovereign Lord…” Ask them to read aloud Acts 4:24 and Revelation 6:10, where the disciples and tribulation martyrs call him that as well.

Nowhere are they rebuked for failing to address God either as “Jehovah” or as “Father.”

Witnesses often follow up by saying something like this: “Have can you draw near to someone if you don’t use his name? That’s why Jesus called his Father ‘Jehovah.’”

I have two replies to that.

My first response is a personal one. I ask, “Is use of someone’s personal name the most intimate way to address them? My children don’t call me ‘David’. They call me ‘Dad.’ In a similar way, isn’t it much more intimate to address God as ‘Father’ than as ‘Jehovah’?”

My second response is based on scripture. I ask, “When he was on earth, how did Jesus’ closest friends address him? I don’t think you’ll ever find them calling him ‘Jesus.’”

Have one of the Witnesses read John 13:13 aloud, where Jesus says to his disciples: “You address me as ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are correct, for I am such.” (Watchtower translation).

Even his inner circle of disciples—Peter, James, and John—addressed and referred to him in this way. (Matthew 14:28-30; Luke 9:54).

Sometimes I follow up by asking, “Since Jesus said his closest friends properly called him by titles of respect like ‘teacher’ and ‘lord’ instead of by his name—Jesus—why would it be wrong to refer to his Father as ‘God’ or “Lord’ instead of using the name ‘Jehovah’?”

Regarding their claim that Jesus used the name “Jehovah” repeatedly in his prayers, I might say something like this: “I certainly don’t claim that it’s wrong for you to begin your prayers with, ‘Jehovah…’ but since you haven’t been able to show me even one verse in your own translation where Jesus actually prayed to his Father that way, do you see why I don’t think that is required or more spiritual than other respectful forms of address?”