The LORD said to Moses, “Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them:
“May the LORD bless you
and keep you;
the LORD make his face shine on you
and be gracious to you;
the LORD turn his face toward you
and give you peace.”
“So they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.”
Numbers 6:22-27 (NIV)
Our October 2024 Contending in Prayer Guide is focused on Blessing Prayer where we verbally speak blessing over people. (Note: The October and November prayer guides are adapted from the 2022 NFLT Prayer Week resources.) The words “bless” and “blessed” are all over the Bible showing up 427 times in the NIV. Blessing of people involves speaking gracious words that proclaim our desire for God to act for the other person’s ultimate well-being. Blessing also involves doing actions to help make these words of blessing a reality — as much as this is humanly possible. Blessing is what love of neighbour is all about. If we love, we will speak words of blessing. If we love, we will do actions to help make these words a reality.
Numbers 6:27 implies that somehow in the process of the priests pronouncing blessing over the people, God would “put [his] name on the Israelites” and “bless them.” A blessing is not just empty human words but something that has spiritual and physical impact on others. A major job requirement for being an Old Testament priest was to bless the Israelites, and the text from Numbers 6:24-26 became the blessing pattern that continues even to the present. Since the New Testament proclaims the church family today as a “royal priesthood” (1 Peter 2:9), each believer is rightfully a “priest” who can carry forward this task of blessing others.
The Numbers 6:24-26 Blessing Prayer asks that God would:
- “bless you” which means that God would bring his goodness (relational, physical, spiritual) onto the one being blessed
- “keep you” which means that God would “protect,” “guard,” and “preserve” the one being blessed;
- “make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you” which means that God’s saving presence would be near that person and their transgressions/sins graciously forgiven;
- “turn his face toward you and give you peace [shalom]” which means that God would focus his attention onto the life situation of the one being blessed and ultimately give them shalom (a healed relationship with God, others, creation, and one’s self).
The Numbers 6 blessing is all about God protecting people; about God’s presence dwelling among the people; and about God’s provision of ultimate wholeness and well-being (shalom). When we pray Blessing Prayers over people, we are asking God’s name to be put on these people so they would experience his divine protection, presence, and provision — but also that God’s name (a shorthand way of saying his salvation, character, purpose, and mission) would be on them and embraced by them.
Blessing Prayer 1: Bless My Church!
The New Testament deeply values the church since it is here that God’s powerful presence is to be so fully active that the gates of Hades (or Death) cannot overcome it (Matt 16:18). The local church is where God is bringing a new family-like relationship into existence between people that shines out to the watching world. When people are reconciled to Jesus, enemies become family; the powerful become servants; and the vulnerable become brothers and sisters (1 Tim 5:1-3; James 1:27). Jew and Gentile, slave and free, and male and female can share in the bread and cup together (cf. Gal 3:28).
Our first Blessing Prayer is that in the local church, God would be deeply present there; God would keep, guard, and protect it; God’s reconciling Holy Spirit would be at work powerfully; and God’s mission embraced. In all of this, we desire that the whole church — local, national, and global — would truly be “the light of the world” and a “lamp” giving light to everyone, so that the world would “glorify [our] Father in heaven” (Matt 5:14-16).
Blessing Prayer 2: Bless My Family!
While Jesus clearly prioritizes one’s relationship to himself and to the people of God in cases of conflict between that and one’s biological family (cf. Luke 14:26), Jesus also rebukes the Pharisees for teaching that people can use religious loopholes to avoid taking care of their father and mother (Mark 7:11). Paul tells Timothy that it is a denial of the faith to not provide for one’s relatives, and especially for one’s own household (1 Tim 5:8). Our biological (or adopted) families are deeply significant for believers, and our faith is to be on display as it is lived out there. Our families are most often our first “mission field” and just like the task of Old Testament priests was to pray, teach, and intercede on behalf of the people, we are called to do this on behalf of our families. When parents bless their children — praying for the saving presence, protection, and provision of God on their children — they are being reminded of their profound responsibility to steward these children well on behalf of the God who wants to bless. Blessing Prayers warn us against harming, abusing, or neglecting vulnerable family members (cf. Matt 18:6).
So our second Blessing Prayer is for all those who are in our family circle — whether that be a very small or a very large circle. Laban spoke a Blessing Prayer over his children and grandchildren (Gen 31:55). Jacob blessed each of his sons and their families (Gen 49:28). David after bringing the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem went home “to bless his household” (2 Sam 6:20). In the Jewish world even today, parents verbally speak a Blessing Prayer over their children each week on Sabbath. Jesus like a loving parent blessed the little children (Mark 10:16) and then blessed the disciples (Luke 24:50-51). Blessing Prayers can also be directed toward one’s parents. Proverbs 30:11 rebukes those who fail to bless their mothers.
Blessing our families is about them experiencing God’s shalom in its fullness — a healed relationship with God through Jesus, healthy and whole relationships with others, a healthy and whole relationship with the physical creation, and a healthy and whole relationship with one’s own body, soul, mind, and spirit. Blessing Prayers are evangelistic in this sense — praying that our families would respond to God’s ongoing invitation in Jesus and that they would then live into God’s beautiful story for them.
Blessing Prayer 3: Bless the World!
God’s vision of blessing is not only to bless us, our families, and our churches but he also wants to bless the whole world. God declared this to Abraham way back in Genesis 12:3 — “I will bless those who bless you, I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” The New Testament story of how God so loved the world (John 3:16), that Jesus came as the fulfillment of this global blessing. Jesus’ mission of global blessing is behind the vision recorded in Revelation 7:9 — “After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.”
Our Blessing Prayer for the world is that people around the world would experience God’s presence and protection in suffering. Our Blessing Prayer for the world is that all people would hear and respond to God’s redemptive invitation in Jesus. Our Blessing Prayer for the world is that through all of this, God’s shalom would spread across the earth — as we await the day when King Jesus returns and his Kingdom comes to earth as it is in heaven. Blessing Prayers are certainly Kingdom prayers!
Consider:
- What blessing from God (presence, provision, protection, etc.) does your church most need today?
- Is there something you can do today to be part of God’s blessing over your church — or another church in your community or around the world?
- As you think through your family members, write down one thing that each person most needs from God today.
- As you think about the world that God loves, is there a particular nation (or an ethnic group here in Canada) that God has put on your heart to bless?
- Is there something you can do today to be part of God’s blessing over the particular nation or ethnic group that the Holy Spirit brought to your heart?
Pray these words out loud:
Jesus, I pray a blessing over ______________ (my local church) that we would experience your spiritual and physical protection as we seek to be a healthy disciple-making church in our community.
Jesus, I pray a blessing over ______________ (my local church) that you would shower his “peace” [shalom] over our church family so conflict and disunity could be overcome and we would be a light to the world.
Jesus, I pray a blessing over ______________ (my local church) and that you would help me to be a blessing there by _______________________________________________________________.
Jesus, I pray a blessing over our larger MB church family that you would provide wisdom and grace for all the pastors and leaders, locally and beyond, as they serve the church family.
Jesus, I pray a blessing over ______________ in my family that this very day they would experience protection from harm; the gracious presence of Jesus; and God’s wholeness and peace.
Jesus, I also pray a blessing over ______________ in my family that this very day they would experience protection from harm; the gracious presence of Jesus; and God’s wholeness and peace.
Jesus, I pray a blessing specifically for the nation of _________________ that this very day their population would experience protection from harm and suffering; those who have never heard of you would hear an authentic and loving presentation of God’s good news for the world; and many would taste God’s salvation.
Jesus, I pray a blessing over mission agencies like Multiply, MCC, and others as they seek to be the hands, feet, and voice of Jesus to the nations.
Jesus, I speak out your words from Numbers 6:24-26 over my church, over my family, and over the nations:
May the LORD bless you and keep you!
May the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you!
May the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace! [shalom!]
Blessing Prayers can also be in song form. For an example, see the I Speak Jesus Blessing Prayer from Charity Gayle:
I just wanna speak the name of Jesus
Over every heart and every mind
‘Cause I know there is peace within your presence
I speak Jesus
I just wanna speak the name of Jesus
‘Till every dark addiction starts to break
Declaring there is hope and there is freedom
I speak Jesus
‘Cause Your name is power
Your name is healing
Your name is life
Break every stronghold
Shine through the shadows
Burn like a fire
May your Kingdom come to earth as it is in heaven. Amen!
