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Numbers 6:24-25 24 The LORD bless you and keep you; 25 the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; 26 the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
Galatians 1:3; Philippians 1:2
GRACE to you and PEACE from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
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Not only did Jacob and other Old Testament fathers pronounce blessings on their sons, but Paul starts each of his letters with a blessing (Gal 1:3; Phil 1:2 “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”). We find about three hundred references to blessing in scripture. Invoking God’s blessing on those you favour was, for the Jews, almost as natural as breathing.
The authority to bless is one of the most precious gifts God has given us. Genuine spiritual transactions take place when we speak blessing in Jesus’s name.
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Romans 12:14 BLESS those who persecute you; BLESS and do not curse them.
1 Peter 3:9 Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, BLESS, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a BLESSING.
1 Corinthians 4:12 and we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we BLESS; when persecuted, we endure;
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We should use it often to minister to people. This is a wonderful privilege we have as representatives of the Supreme Blesser.
When you speak a blessing you aren’t just saying idle words. You are willing good for that person. You’re standing in God’s presence as one of his chosen people and priests, welcoming his goodness into the life of another. Speaking blessing must always involve God, because only God is able to bring those good things about. So in blessing, we ask God to bring about these things. Because blessing is about engaging our will for the sake of another person, it is not just about our words. We enter into blessing with our whole being, pouring ourselves out for another. A meaningful blessing requires thoughtfulness, because it is a very personal act. Speaking blessing is a privilege of being in God’s family. We don’t enter into blessing as someone who is giving God orders of how to act or what to do, but with humble expectation that God hears us, is ready to respond, and is already desiring to bring his goodness into the life of another.
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Blessing prayer differs from intercession in that we are not speaking to God about a person; rather, we are speaking to a person and calling down the rule and presence of God over that person in Jesus’s name.
(See Acts 3 for more context as Peter and John encounter the lame beggar at the temple gate.)
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A great place to begin is by examining the most well-known blessing in the Bible, from Numbers 6. The Lord bless you. That means, “God bring good consistently into your life.”
The Lord bless you and keep you. That means, “God protect you. God build around you his safekeeping. The blood of Jesus and the Spirit of Christ be over you and keep you.” Stop for a moment and think about saying that to someone: “God bless you and keep you.” Imagine looking them in the eyes when you say it. This is very intimate and can be threatening. I’ve done this with groups where people broke out in tears and broke out in laughter because it touched them so deeply. Emphasize “you.” This needs to be very personal.
God bless you and keep you. God make his face to shine upon you.
There’s so much about the face of God in the Bible. One of the most precious things that we can have is living before the shining face of God. Now, if you have trouble with the shining face, find a grandparent somewhere and watch their face shine on their grandchild; that can give you a little idea. There is such radiance that comes out of a person with a shining face. And your face is meant to shine. Glory is meant to be shared from God to human beings. Glory always shines.
Speaking a thoughtful blessing into the life of another person can be very affirming: a strengthening of what God is already doing and what he wants to do in the future. It can look similar to encouragement, but has a different weightiness, as your blessings are really strong prayers for God’s presence in a person’s life. Here are some ideas for crafting powerful blessings for those around you: Listen carefully for the stories, dreams, and fears of others. Let these things inform the specific blessings you speak over them. Ask for guidance as you seek to understand what God is doing in each of these areas. Ask God to give you a picture, word, or scripture for someone. Then turn those ideas into a special blessing. If you have children, consider incorporating daily blessings into your relationship. The blessing and acceptance of parents is a powerful thing in a child’s life. You could end each day by speaking a blessing over them.
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Make a list of people you would like to see come to Jesus. Consider things like...
Ask God which five people he would like you to pray for. They could be on your list or he might bring someone new to mind. Write down the names of your “5s.”
Pray for and bless your 5s for 5 minutes (i.e. 5 minutes for the whole list not 5 minutes per person) a day for 5 days for 5 weeks.
For further direction, try praying one letter of the acrostic B.L.E.S.S. each day for each of your 5s.
Day 1: Body Health, protection, strength Day 2: Labour Work, reward, security, provision Day 3: Emotional Joy, peace, hope Day 4: Social Love, marriage/dating relationship, family, friends Day 5: Spiritual Salvation, revelation, faith, grace
Every five weeks do a review and evaluation, asking yourself the following:
Blessing can be directly spoken over others, or indirectly sought in times of prayer apart from those you wish to bless. Here are two simple ways you could incorporate blessing into your prayer times: