Sunday, March 3, 2019

A blessing and a prayer...



When our children were young I loved to pray a blessing over them. Usually this was inspired by certain passages of Scripture we'd have studied that day or week in our morning devotions before homeschool lessons began, but other times it was led by the Holy Spirit.

This morning when I was writing in Rafaella's 1st birthday card that same gentle leading brought me to Numbers 6:24-26 so I wrote it inside the card and prayed it over her life. Then I wondered aloud, "Lord, why this particular blessing on her young life?"

It's a beautiful blessing, indeed one of my own favourites, but as no answer was forthcoming from the Lord apart from a sweet sense of approval that I'd obeyed His leading, I decided to ponder the words within the individual sections of the blessing/s.

The LORD bless you and keep you...

In the Hebrew text when the Lord says to 'keep you' it means He will hedge around you, guard you, protect and attend to you. Isn't that marvelous!?

The LORD make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you...

In the Hebrew text 'and be gracious to you' means that God bends down towards us in kindness, showing mercy and pity, to favour us. How loved we are!

 The LORD lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace.

The word for peace here is Shalom, the beautiful greeting or blessing which the Jews still offer today. In this verse the Lord literally turns His face towards us, looking face to face at us, and offers us His gifts of friendship, good health, prosperity and safety.
There are no gifts to compare with those the Father has for us!

Now that I see there is a holy treasure trove of goodness in this blessing I will pray it often over Rafaella's life, in fact I shall pray it over the lives of all my children and grandchildren.

Perhaps you have never had someone pray a blessing over your life before?
Then let me change that...

Heavenly Father, gracious LORD, I kneel before you and offer this prayer of blessing from my heart for every sweet child of yours reading these words today and any day in the future, that they may have this great blessing of Yours washed over their lives and filling every empty or parched space in need of nourishment and hope.
May the Lord bless you sweet child of God, may He forever keep you inside His hedge of protection, guarding and protecting you until the great and glorious day of Jesus' return;
May the Lord look down upon you with kindness, mercy, pity and favour as you walk the narrow road which leads to life;
May He look upon you face to face and bestow the gifts of safety, friendship, good health, prosperity and safety in the measure that is perfect and good in His sight for His own holy purpose, abounding in true peace always.
Lord, may you draw all hearts to your own and be gracious as we seek to know you more and walk closer to your chosen path for our unique and God-gifted lives,
In the name of your precious Son Jesus I pray this,
Amen.




20 comments:

Cathy Nason said...

Absolutely precious Jenny -- thank you!!!

Jacqueline said...

Thank you

Unknown said...

Thank you so much, for your beautiful prayer. I have never had someone pray for me like this. God's wonderful blessing to you

Angie in SoCal said...

At the end of Mass, we are sent forth with a blessing. Often these words (Numbers 6:24-26) are said and we say Amen after each part. Thank you for blessing us and giving us a fuller meaning of these beautiful words.

tylasnan said...

Thank you so much for your blessing Jenny. It was wonderful to receive.
Cheers, Karen.

Jenny said...

Thank you so much. I am blessed through you.

Anonymous said...

Merci Jenny , belle prière
Bisous de la France

Farm Quilter said...

Thank you, my dear friend.

TerriSue said...

Way back, it seems like a lifetime ago, when I was in youth group at my church, we would sing this at the end of each meeting. Every time I come upon these verses I start singing them in my head and I am once again transported. I think I need to teach them to my grandchildren. Thank you Jenny.

Samantha said...

I know that your post touched hundreds of lives today. But when I opened it in my email I saw "Jenny of Elefantz to me" and that's how I felt,
as if you and I were having a chat and you were just telling me what I needed to hear from the Lord today, Jenny. Many if not all of your posts feel that way to me. Thank you for following the Lord the way you do and sharing that with all of us. You truly bless my life weekly with your thoughts. I am so grateful I found your patterns and blog.

Brenda said...

From the bottom of my heart, thank you, Jenny. I also pray God's richest blessings on you and your family.

Winifred said...

Thank you so much Jenny. That is a beautiful blessing. It was so kind of you to share it with us. God bless.

Mary said...

Thank you so much. God bless you.

Carol said...

Thank you, I'm touched by and thankful for your prayer for me.

Dee said...

Thank you, Jenny.

Pam said...

Thank You!

Águeda said...

Thank you very much, Jenny. Good Bless you, your familiy and home too. Hugs.

lvkwilt said...

As others before me, I pray the same blessing for you and yours. Christianity seems to be under attack here in the US and it makes me so sad. I won't get political, but I can't believe God is happy with many of the things that are going on here. It is so important to remember that He is in control! Blessings to you!

Unknown said...

Beautifully said.

Lesley Jacobson said...

Jenny you’re prayer meant so much to me thank you. You
have such a beautiful way of expressing yourself.
I had to read again today a second time,as I needed a dose of
Inspiration. God bless you!